Administrative and Maintenance Tools - vBSEO Google/Yahoo Sitemap Generator

vBSEO Search Engine XML Sitemap 3.0
We are extremely pleased to inform the vBulletin.org community that a fully revamped version of the vBSEO Search Engine XML Sitemap (previously "vBSEO Google/Yahoo Sitemap Generator") v.3.0, is being released to all licensed vBulletin users effective immediately!

Note: The NEW vBSEO Search Engine XML Sitemap 3.0 replaces all previous versions of the "vBSEO Google/Yahoo Sitemap Generator", and includes support for all the new URL types in vBulletin 4.x.

New in the vBSEO Search Engine XML Sitemap v.3.0
The new sitemap alters the way data is structured in fundamental ways. Sitemap 3.0 segments different content areas into separate files, so you end up with a unique set of files per content type: forums, blogs, cms, groups, albums, members, tags, etc. In addition, the new sitemap has an extended priority feature that utilizes the built in 'weight' tool of the vBulletin XML sitemap generator for individual forums, CMS sections and articles to act as a multiplier.

We believe these changes are responsible for delivering increased returns for a number of forums from customers and testers we've been tracking. Please track your own progress via your Google Webmaster tools account, Google Analytics or Gravity Insights.

A Clean and Beautiful Interface
The new sitemap also features a clean and beautiful interface, built from the ground up. We believe it reflects the quality, precision and attention to detail placed into each aspect of this release. We are passionate about building software, and great software is beautiful inside, and out.

Overview
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The "vBSEO Search Engine XML Sitemap" plugin provides an easy to use solution that allows your forum to be indexed by all major search engines, including Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask, faster, more completely, more effectively, and with less bandwidth consumption.

The ultimate goal is to help you achieve more web traffic for your forum.

Originally Posted by Google's Description of GSM

https://services.google.com/inquiry/publishertools?hl=en_US
Google Sitemaps is an easy way for you to help improve your site?s representation in the Google index. It's a collaborative crawling system that enables you to communicate directly with Google. You get a smarter crawl because you can provide Google with specific information about all your web pages, such as when a page was last modified or how frequently it changes.

Note: This plugin is fully compliant with vBSEO 3.5.x versions. The current version is vBSEO 3.5.2. If you are running vBSEO, please upgrade to vBSEO 3.5.2 (or greater) before installing for optimal results.

Compatibility
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Fully compatible with:

• vBulletin 3.8.x, 4.0.x, 4.1.x
• vBulletin Blogs *Optional
• vBulletin CMS *Optional
• vBSEO 3.5.2 + higher *Optional

What does it do?
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• Auto-generates an XML sitemap for all of your specified forum URL types (including vBulletin Blog & CMS URLs).
• NEW! Groups forum areas into individual sitemaps grouped by section type for greater flexibility, for example:
  • sitemap_forum_X.xml.gz
  • sitemap_tags_X.xml.gz
  • sitemap_cms_X.xml.gz
• Auto-notifies Search Engines when a new sitemap is generated (optional)
• Automatically sends you a summary of the sitemap generation via email each time it is created (optional)
• Includes only publicly accessible forums and threads and includes the option of not including any specific public forums
• Allows Search Engines to find all of your forum URLs without having to spider the forum to find the links. Great for Deep Page linking!
• Allows Search Engines to find your forum URLs without having to account for query string and/or session ID information.
• Allows Search Engines to give precedence to crawling your higher priority forum pages.
• Allows Search Engines to give precedence to crawling your forum pages that change more frequently.
• Allows you to conserve bandwidth by more efficiently facilitating the crawling processes for GoogleBot, Yahoo Slurp, Ask's Teoma, Bing's msnbot, and other search engine bots.
• Is 100% compatible with the static CRUs (Content Relevant URLs) used by vBSEO-enabled forums.
• Is 100% compatible with the 'Friendly URLs' offered default with vb4.x.

How does it work?
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Whenever it is scheduled or invoked via the URL, this plugin will generate an XML formatted that search engines are able to read and parse. If you selected "Yes" to the Auto-notification setting, The 4 major search engines will be notified each time the sitemap is generated.

• Google Sitemap files are gzipped for space savings
• Forum and thread pages are listed with pagination (i.e. all pages for each forums/thread are included in the sitemap)
• Maximum Priority is set for Sticky threads.
• Optimization for sitemap generation on large forums.

Automated Reporting Tool
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The vBSEO Sitemap includes a report tool, allowing you to track your progress. To access your reports enter the following URL:

http://www.example.com/forums/vbseo_sitemap/

NOTE: Replace "http://www.example.com/forums/" with the full URL to your vB forum root.


You will be required to login by providing your "Sitemap Interface Access Password" from your vBSEO Sitemap settings in:

• vBulletin Admin CP -> vBSEO -> vBSEO Sitemap Settings
  

Once you successfully login, you will see a number of tabs. Here are the 4 main links:

Reports List
The 'Show Reports List' link will display a report of each time your vBSEO Sitemap generator executed, including the (1) date, (2) run time, (3) total URLs included, and (4) and change in # of URLs included from the last generation.

Each vBSEO Sitemap generation record will include a (1) "View details" and (2) "Remove record" link. The "View Details" link shows more detailed information about the sitemap generated. The "Remove record" will permanently delete the record from your reports.

Downloads Log
The 'Show Sitemap Downloads Log' link will display a report of each time your vBSEO Sitemap was downloaded by either a search engine (Identified by the Bot's name) or by another user agent (i.e. Web browser, etc.).

The report includes the (1) date, (2) name of sitemap file downloaded, (3) Bot, (4) IP address of the downloader, and the (5) User-agent.

Each vBSEO Sitemap download record will include a "Remove record" link which will permanently delete the record from your reports.

Search Engine Bots Activity Log
Use it to track Search engine activity on your sitemaps. This area displays how often, and what volume of pages search engines visit your site on a daily basis.

Run Generator
The 'Run Sitemap Generator' link will automatically regenerate your vBSEO Search Engine XML Site sitemaps.

Additional Links
Additional links to various other related Search Engine/SEO resources are also included.

Click "Install"
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Please click "Mark as Installed" to show your support for this script.

Installation, Upgrade, & Configuration
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Follow the installation/upgrade instructions provided in the docs/readme.html file.

Webmaster Accounts
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It is NOT required for you to have a Webmaster account on the search engines' websites to run the plugin, however, we recommend everyone set one up for tracking purposes.

• Google Webmaster Central. Get data about crawling, indexing and search traffic. Increase traffic to your site.
• Bing Toolbox
• https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/

Copyright & Licensing
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• vBSEO Search Engine XML Sitemap plugin is copyright protected by Crawlability Inc.
• You are free to download and install this plugin on any vBulletin forum for which you hold a valid vB license.
• Unauthorized distribution of any code and/or documentation, whole or in part, included here is strictly prohibited.
• In addition, the following copyright notice must be maintained.

vBSEO(TM) ? 2010 Crawlability, Inc.

Revision History
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11/11/2010 - Version 3.0 Released
Compatible with vB3.7.x+ and vB4.x+
NEW FEATURE: All CMS URLs are supported
NEW FEATURE: Sitemap Groups by content type
NEW FEATURE: Enhanced layout and design of the Sitemap Generator Control Panel
NEW FEATURE: XSL Style sheet of the xml files for easier human reading
NEW FEATURE: Extended Priority. Utilizes the built in 'weight' tool of the vBulletin XML generator for all content areas (Forums, Blogs, CMS, Albums, etc.) to act as a multiplier. (vb4 Suite only)

Other vBSEO Plugins
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• vBSEO - vBulletin Search Engine Optimization

vBSEO Affiliate Program
============================
We welcome you to join the vBSEO Affiliate Program.

[Chase]

Thank you

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by Chase

Is the mod version 3.0 (from here) the latest version or is there something newer at vbseo.com?

vBSEO Search Engine XML Sitemap 3.0 PL1 is the latest version.

Originally Posted by Brandon Sheley

3.0 is the latest
http://www.vbseo.com/f5/vbseo-search...eleased-46425/
last time I checked, even if you went to the vbseo downloads, it was redirected to the vb.org thread. :up:

No. It downloads from the vBSEO Downloads page for anyone with an active vBSEO license.

[Brandon Sheley]

Originally Posted by djbaxter

No. It downloads from the vBSEO Downloads page for anyone with an active vBSEO license.

ah, they must have finally changed that
good to know

[xlguy]

So is the .htaccess file in this plugin wrong? I just installed it and I can see the sitemaps have been created in my /data folder, but I noticed the instructions/options page states:

By default the vBSEO Sitemap files will be located in your forum root. Use this field to specify a different location, for example, your site root: http://www.yourdomain.com

This isn't true though. Also, I think there must be something wrong with the .htaccess file that they provide you, because Google Webmaster Tools gives a 404 error as it's trying to access the forum root.

What file exactly are you meant to submit in to the Sitemap box on Google Webmaster tools?

[xlguy]

Ok updated advice:

Do a check to see if your rewrite is working properly, so in .htaccess add:

RewriteRule ^/rwtest http://www.google.com [R]

Then go to www.yourdomain.com/rwtest and it should redirect you to Google. If it doesn't then it might be that your host hasn't setup .htaccess properly and you might need to add the rewrite stuff to your httpd.conf file or get them to enable .htaccess.

Once you get test running then this worked for me:

RewriteRule ^/((urllist|sitemap).*\.(xml|txt)(\.gz)?)$ http://www.yourdomain.com/vbseo_sitemap/vbseo_getsitemap.php?sitemap=$1 [L]

Then at Google, for the Sitemap, enter:

http://www.yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml.gz

And test it, should work now.

[dany_danay]

If i have VBseo license is this necesary or this is in vbseo??

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by dany_danay

If i have VBseo license is this necesary or this is in vbseo??

If you have an active vBSEO license, I believe you can download a later version from vBSEO. It is not part of the standard vBSEO installation.

[bada_bing]

We are noticing that the cron job to execute the sitemap is failing and we are receiving this database error, anyone seen this before?

[SECTION START] tags [10,725.2Kb mem used] [1,364,872,495s (+1,364,872,495s)]
	Database error
The Our Site database has encountered a problem.
Please try the following:
Load the page again by clicking the Refresh button in your web browser.
Open the www.michiganreefers.com home page, then try to open another page.
Click the Back button to try another link.
The www.oursite.com forum technical staff have been notified of the error, though you may contact them if the problem persists.
 
We apologise for any inconvenience.

[Alfa1]

It seems vbSEO has been abandoned.
Meanwhile the search engine landscape is radically changing.

[Black Tiger]

Really a pity. Search engines aren't notified anymore either.