I'm lost...

I have installed 1.7 and when I go to submit my sitemap to Google it wants me to either upload a html file they generate or a meta tag. How am I supposed to submit the files that vbseo provides?

That's just to verify that you own the site. Follow those directions first, then you can Add Sitemaps.

The html file is required for "site verification" only, and that allows you to see google crawling stats and other useful details.

For the sitemap submission you should open http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/siteoverview and:
1. Submit "http://www.yourforumsroot/" in the "Add Site" input field
2. Click "Add a Sitemap" link in the sites list table and provide http://www.yourforumsroot/sitemap_index.xml.gz as sitemap URL.

so the sitemap_index.xml.gz file needs to be in the forum root rather than the vbseo_sitemap/data folder?

No, the .htaccess rule makes it *appear* to be in the forum root. The forum root URL/path is the one you submit, and it should find it.

Okay thanks, I will check back here if it returns any errors once it checks status. I take it 1.7 works with version 3.6.2?

Yes it works fine

hmmm...Google returned a 404 not found error. I have edited the .htaccess file as directed...any thoughts?

If you're using vBSEO, you don't need to edit the .htaccess, since the Sitemap rule is already included.

Originally Posted by Keith Cohen

If you're using vBSEO, you don't need to edit the .htaccess, since the Sitemap rule is already included.

okay, made that correction and resubmitted the sitemap and now I get this error from google:

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

Do you have default vBSEO .htaccess file in your forums root or it is modified somehow?

The only modifications are some rewrite rules to redirect some hotlinkers

Please post your .htaccess here

Originally Posted by Oleg Ignatiuk

Please post your .htaccess here

here it is:

# Comment the following line (add '#' at the beginning)
# to disable mod_rewrite functions.
# Please note: you still need to disable the hack in
# the vBSEO control panel to stop url rewrites.
RewriteEngine On
# Some servers require the Rewritebase directive to be
# enabled (remove '#' at the beginning to activate)
# Please note: when enabled, you must include the path
# to your root vB folder (i.e. RewriteBase /forums)
#RewriteBase /
#RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.yourdomain\.com
#RewriteRule (.*) http://www.yourdomain.com/forums/$1 [L,R=301]
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} !vbseourl=
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !(admincp/|modcp/|chat|cron)
RewriteRule ^(.*\.php)$ vbseo.php?vbseourl=$1&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !\.(jpg|gif)$
RewriteRule ^(archive/.*)$ vbseo.php?vbseourl=$1&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !(admincp|modcp|clientscript|cpstyles|images)/
RewriteRule ^(.+)$ vbseo.php?vbseourl=$1&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^vbguys - Home
RewriteRule /* cowlist Landing Page [R,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^vBulletin.net.ru
RewriteRule /* cowlist Landing Page [R,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^anonym.to | Anonym surfen und anonym Email versenden
RewriteRule /* cowlist Landing Page [R,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^Blizzard Sector - Powered by vBulletin
RewriteRule /* cowlist Landing Page [R,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^MJ Türkiye - Ýçerik Yönetim Sistemleri - Türkiyenin CMS Uzmaný
RewriteRule /* cowlist Landing Page [R,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^美雅ä¸*文网
RewriteRule /* cowlist Landing Page [R,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^HybRiD-Soft // v4
RewriteRule /* cowlist Landing Page [R,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^T-Warez (Powered by Invision Power Board)
RewriteRule /* cowlist Landing Page [R,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^::+: ãÌãæÚÉ ÊÑÇíÏäÊ ÇáÚÑÈíå :+::
RewriteRule /* cowlist Landing Page [R,L]

Isn't Cowlist.com violates the vBSEO EULA? No adult sites related.
So the others links... ?
This is a pirate site for vBulletin, people discuss about nulled versions etc.:
vBGuys (Powered by Invision Power Board)

Reported.