Search Engine Placement

Hi, I have two questions.

1.

http://www.mydomain.com forwards to http://www.mydomain.com/forum

Will this impact search engine placements?


2.

I created a sitemap before installing vBSEO and Google indexed it so do I need to do remove that sitemap for vBSEO to work properly?

Thank you.

1. Is it a 301 redirect? It should not have any impact, but you should make sure you link directly to www.mydomain.com/forum/ if that is where you want your traffic to go. Why not just install your forum at root if that is the only component to your site? You might consider installing vBAdvanced or another CMS at root level and linking into yoru forum.

2. Just make sure it is the vBSEO Google/Yahoo Sitemap generator you have installed, and set its configuration options for vBSEO's CRUs (Content Relevant URLs).

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your response.

1. I will look into moving the forum to the root even though link is directly to www.mydomain.com/forum.

2. I used free sitemap generator from this site Google Sitemap & Yahoo Sitemap Generator to create and link the sitemap from google's sitemap page. I did this before installing vBSEO. How do I use vBSEO sitemap generator? I guess I need to remove the current sitemap?

Thanks

(2) Yes - you should install our custom sitemap generator instead.

I downloaded vBSEO sitemap generator Ver. 1.7 but it doesn't have installtion insturctions for vBulletin® Version 3.6.4

Can you please help?

Thanks

yes it does..

there are some read me files with it.

maybe in a doc/ folder

Readme file does not have 3.6.4 instructions.

It only has 3.0.x and 3.5.x

It would be the same as 3.5. Upload the files, and install the XML product.

ok here is what I did....can you please confirm if this is ok.

A. Upload the 'vbseo_sitemap' folder along with the files in it to your forum root.

1. CHMOD 777 the 'vBulletin-root/vbseo_sitemap/data/' folder

B. Go to your ADMIN CP > 'Plugin System' > 'Manage Products' > Click on [Add/Import Product]

1. Browse to the file 'vbseo_sitemap.xml', Click 'Import'

C. Open your 'vbroot/.htaccess' file and enter the following code:

Apache and mod_rewrite

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^((urllist|sitemap).*.(xml|txt)(.gz)?)$ vbseo_sitemap/vbseo_getsitemap.php?sitemap=$1 [L]

(Code in blue was already in my .htaccess...I just added code in red above that)

D. To Configure:

1. Go to your ADMIN CP > vBulletin Options > vBSEO Google/Yahoo Sitemap Generator
2. Edit your settings as desired
3. Important: Enter your Direct Script Run Code (this is also your password for your automated reports)

I did not see the option "Direct Scirpt Run Code" anywhere

Scheduled task was already created


Thanks!!!!

I pointed Google sitemap to http://www.mydomain.com/forum/vbseo_...eo_sitemap.php

After few minutes, Google gave following error:

Unsupported file format
Your Sitemap does not appear to be in a supported format. Please ensure it meets our Sitemap guidelines and resubmit.

If you're running vBSEO, you don't need to modify the .htaccess at all. RewriteEngine On should already be at the top of the file, and should not be added a second time. It may cause issues.

What is the actual URL you submitted to Google?

It should be: www.yourdomain.com/forum/sitemap_index.xml.gz

The "Direct Script Run Code" was changed to "Password" to make it more clear.

First time I added http://www.computerindia.com/forum/v...eo_sitemap.php

After your reply I added http://www.computerindia.com/forum/v...p_index.xml.gz

But now I get the following in Google Sitemap

General HTTP error: 4xx error
We encountered an error while trying to access your Sitemap. Please ensure your Sitemap follows our guidelines and can be accessed at the location you provided and then resubmit. [?]


Also, I do not see the password option in AdminCP -> Plugins & Products -> Manage Prodcuts -> vBSEO Sitemap Generator -> Edit


Also, I already had RewriteEngine On so I removed the second entry.

Use the exact link I posted, using your domain name.

Just like this: http://www.computerindia.com/forum/sitemap_index.xml.gz

That link is also displayed for your on the vBSEO Sitemap menu.

ok I added http://www.computerindia.com/forum/sitemap_index.xml.gz and google sitemap status is OK now.

But if you click on the link you will see that it doesn't have any links etc. Can you check the link please to see if it's ok? I already ran the scheduled task from admincp.

Thanks!