`
You can disable automatic pings at **Rank Bix SEO Settings Sitemap Auto-pings
Google & Bing on publish**.
Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Microsoft Privacy Statement:
https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement
#### IndexNow
When the IndexNow feature is enabled and a post or page is published or updated,
Rank Bix SEO sends a single HTTP POST request to the IndexNow API endpoint to notify
participating search engines (Bing, Yandex, and others) of the updated URL.
* Endpoint: `https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow`
* Data sent: your site hostname, a plugin-generated verification key, the URL of
the verification key file, and the URL of the published/updated post or page.
No post content or user data is sent.
* When: only on post/page publish or update, and only if IndexNow is enabled in**
Rank Bix SEO Settings Tools IndexNow**.
IndexNow is an open protocol. The `api.indexnow.org` endpoint is operated by Microsoft.
Submitted URLs are shared with all IndexNow-participating search engines.
IndexNow Privacy Policy: https://www.indexnow.org/privacypolicy
Microsoft Privacy
Statement: https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement
#### Broken Link Checker
When the Broken Link Checker feature is enabled, Rank Bix SEO runs a background
cron job that sends HTTP HEAD requests to external URLs found in your post content
to check whether those links are still reachable.
* Data sent: a standard HTTP HEAD request to each external URL found in your published
post content. No post content, user data, or authentication credentials are included
in these requests. The requests appear as ordinary browser-like HEAD requests
to the destination server.
* When: only via a background WP-Cron job (runs twice daily, 5 posts per run).
The feature is **disabled by default** and must be explicitly enabled in **Rank
Bix SEO Settings Tools Broken Link Checker**.
* Destinations: any external URLs present in your own published post content. These
are third-party URLs you have already linked to; Rank Bix SEO does not choose
or control them.
No data from the broken link check is transmitted to Rank Bix SEO or any service
operated by the plugin developer. Results are stored only in your own WordPress
database.
## Skærmbilleder
* [[
* Rank Bix SEO dashboard with module status, quick actions, published content counts,
and site information.
* [[
* General SEO settings for homepage metadata, title separator, content analysis,
breadcrumbs, and title templates.
* [[
* Social settings for Open Graph and Twitter Cards with default social image and
Twitter card type.
* [[
* Sitemap status screen with active XML sitemap URL, Google Search Console action,
and included sitemap content.
* [[
* Advanced settings for webmaster verification tags, robots.txt rules, AI provider
API keys, and preferred AI models.
* [[
* Local Business schema settings for business name, type, phone, address, city,
and country code.
* [[
* Redirections manager with 301, 302, and 307 redirect support, notes, CSV import/
export, and redirect hit tracking.
* [[
* XML sitemap settings with sitemap format options, News sitemap link, and auto-
ping settings for Google and Bing.
* [[
* Bulk SEO Editor for editing SEO titles, meta descriptions, focus keywords, noindex
status, and SEO scores across posts.
* [[
* Duplicate Page settings for user roles, post types, clone link location, redirect
behavior, status, and copy options.
* [[
* Post editor SEO meta box with SEO title, meta description, canonical URL, focus
keyword, schema, AI meta tools, social preview, and readability tabs.
* [[
* Post listing with SEO Score column showing a colour-coded score badge for each
post — green for good (70+), orange for OK (40–69), red for poor, and grey when
no focus keyword is set.
* [[
* WordPress Plugin Check (PCP) results showing Rank Bix SEO passing all checks
across General, Plugin Repo, Security, Performance, and Accessibility categories
with no errors or warnings found.
## Installation
1. Upload the `rankbix-seo` folder to `/wp-content/plugins/`.
2. Activate the plugin through **Plugins Installed Plugins**.
3. Go to **Rank Bix SEO** in the WordPress admin menu.
4. Configure your settings under **Rank Bix SEO Settings**.
5. Edit any post or page to add SEO title, meta description, focus keyword, schema,
social image, and other SEO settings.
## FAQ
### Does Rank Bix SEO work with WooCommerce?
Yes. Rank Bix SEO supports WooCommerce products in the post editor meta box, bulk
SEO editor, sitemap, and schema features.
### Does Rank Bix SEO support custom post types?
Yes. Rank Bix SEO supports public custom post types with UI. They can be used in
the SEO meta box, sitemap, and bulk editor.
### Can I import SEO data from Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All in One SEO?
Yes. Go to **Rank Bix SEO Import SEO** and choose your source plugin. Rank Bix
SEO can import SEO titles, meta descriptions, focus keywords, canonical URLs, and
noindex settings.
### Will Rank Bix SEO slow down my website?
No. Rank Bix SEO is designed for performance. The XML sitemap is cached, AI model
lists are loaded only when needed, and redirects use a dedicated database table
with a fast lookup process.
### Do I need an API key for AI features?
Yes. You need at least one API key from a supported AI provider. AI features do
nothing if no key is configured.
### Is any data sent to AI providers automatically?
No. Data is only sent when you configure an AI provider API key and manually click
an AI generation button in the post editor.
### What data is sent to AI providers?
When you click an AI generation button, Rank Bix SEO sends the post title and optionally
a plain-text excerpt of the post content to the selected provider. You can disable
sending post content in **Settings Advanced AI Keys Allow sending post content**.
When disabled, only the post title is sent.
### Can I stop the plugin from pinging search engines?
Yes. Go to **Rank Bix SEO Settings Sitemap** and uncheck **Auto-pings Google &
Bing on publish**.
### How do I add breadcrumbs to my theme?
Add this function to your theme template:
```
```
Alternatively, use the shortcode:
```
[rankbix_seo_breadcrumbs]
```
### How do I display an HTML sitemap?
Use this shortcode on any page:
```
[rankbix_seo_sitemap]
```
Optional shortcode attributes include `show_tags="0"`, `columns="3"`, and `orderby
="date"`.
### Where is the redirect debug tool?
Visit any redirected URL and append `?rankbix_seo_debug_redirect=1`. Logged-in administrators
can see redirect match details instead of being redirected.
### Can I use Rank Bix SEO only for basic SEO?
Yes. You can use only the features you need, such as meta titles, descriptions,
Open Graph, sitemap, schema, redirects, or breadcrumbs.
## Anmeldelser
### [Helpful Tool for Better Website SEO](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/helpful-tool-for-better-website-performance/)
[Marar Rithika](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rithika3/) 7. juni, 2026
Very smooth and easy to use with lots of useful features in one place. It saves
time, improves website SEO, and works great for both beginners and experienced users.
### [Excellent SEO Plugin – Easy & Powerful](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/excellent-seo-plugin-easy-powerful-3/)
[Dilip Modhavadiya](https://profiles.wordpress.org/dilip2615/) 6. juni, 2026 1
svar
Rank Bix SEO is a very easy-to-use and user-friendly plugin. Even beginners can
quickly understand and start optimising their website.It’s simple, powerful, and
highly usable for real projects. All essential SEO features are well organised and
work smoothly. Highly recommended.
### [A really clean and easy-to-use SEO plugin](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-really-clean-and-easy-to-use-seo-plugin/)
[danwpextended](https://profiles.wordpress.org/danwpextended/) 6. juni, 2026 1
svar
A really clean and easy-to-use SEO plugin. Rank Bix feels simple without being limited,
and everything is straightforward to understand. It’s working really well so far
and looks like a great option for managing WordPress SEO.
### [Simple, Reliable, and Easy to Use](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/simple-reliable-and-easy-to-use-2/)
[Rabin Kumar Pal](https://profiles.wordpress.org/robinpal/) 6. juni, 2026 1 svar
Simple, easy to use, and works great. It runs smoothly without any problems and
makes SEO management straightforward. It has worked well for my clients’ websites
too. Definitely deserves a 5-star rating!
### [Simple, light & clean](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/simple-light-clean/)
[Lawrence](https://profiles.wordpress.org/lozmatic/) 5. juni, 2026 1 svar
Great to see a new SEO plugin keeping it simple and light on the system. Sometimes
you don’t want to install a plugin that is like running and application within an
application.It’s pretty feature complete too. I like how they have implemented the
404 Monitor and the Broken Link Checker is useful too.
[ Læs alle 5 anmeldelser ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/rankbix-seo/reviews/)
## Bidragsydere & udviklere
“Rank Bix SEO” er open source-software. Følgende personer har bidraget til dette
plugin.
Bidragsydere
* [ Sumit Singh ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sumitsingh/)
“Rank Bix SEO” er blevet oversat til 1 sprog. Tak til [oversætterne](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/rankbix-seo/contributors)
for deres bidrag.
[Oversæt “Rank Bix SEO” til dit eget sprog.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/rankbix-seo)
### Interesseret i udvikling?
[Gennemse koden](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/rankbix-seo/), tjek
[SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/rankbix-seo/), eller abonner
på [udviklerloggen](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/rankbix-seo/) via [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/rankbix-seo/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Ændringslog
#### 1.1.4
**Improvements**
* Added SEO health alerts to the WordPress toolbar. When a critical SEO issue is
detected, a red badge appears in the admin bar — visible across all admin screens
and on the front end for administrators — with a one-click link to the relevant
fix. No configuration needed; alerts appear automatically and disappear once
the issue is resolved. Props Rabin Kumar Pal (@@robinpal) for the report.
* Toolbar now warns when the WordPress “Discourage search engines” setting is enabled(`
Settings Reading`), preventing your site from being silently invisible to Google.
* Toolbar now warns when the permalink structure is set to Plain (`?p=123`), which
produces non-descriptive URLs that hurt crawlability and rankings. Links directly
to `Settings Permalinks`.
* Toolbar now warns when a conflicting SEO plugin (Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All
in One SEO) is active alongside Rank Bix SEO. Running two SEO plugins simultaneously
causes duplicate meta tags and competing sitemaps. Links to the Plugins screen.
* Toolbar now warns when the homepage SEO title is not set in Rank Bix SEO settings,
ensuring Google always receives a meaningful title for your home page. Links
directly to the General settings tab.
* Toolbar now warns when the XML sitemap is disabled, so search engines cannot
discover all your pages. Links to the Sitemap settings page.
* Updated the admin sidebar menu icon with a refined SVG for sharper rendering
at small sizes across all screen densities.
#### 1.1.3
**Bug Fixes**
* Fixed title and description template settings (e.g. `%post_title% %sep% %site_name%`)
going blank after saving. Template options for all post types and taxonomy archives
were registered outside of `admin_init`, so WordPress’s Settings API did not
recognise them and silently discarded the values on every save. Props @lozmatic
for the report.
#### 1.1.2
**Improvements**
* Settings page now remembers the active tab across saves. Clicking the Tools tab,
saving, and returning used to always land back on the General tab. The active
tab is now stored in `sessionStorage` and restored after the `options.php` redirect,
so you land on the tab you were working on.
* Settings tabs now support direct URL linking via hash — e.g. `admin.php?page=
rankbix-seo-settings#advanced` opens the Advanced tab directly. Hash takes priority
over the saved tab; useful for linking from documentation or support replies.
* SEO score in the post listing column now uses the same 11-check formula as the
meta box live analysis, so both show the same number for the same content. Previously
the listing used a different weighted system with different criteria, causing
scores to diverge.
* SEO score badge in the post listing now shows a tooltip on hover listing all
11 checks with ✓ / ✗ per check — keyword in title, description, content, first
paragraph, URL, internal links, images alt text, featured image, content length,
title length, and description length.
* Dashboard stats row now includes a 404 Errors count (clickable, links to the
404 Monitor log) and a Broken Links count when each feature is enabled. Both
turn orange when the count is above zero to draw attention.
* Added Documentation, Support, and Rate Plugin links to the plugin row in the
Plugins list page, following standard WordPress.org plugin conventions.
* LLMs.txt card in Settings Tools now shows a live file status indicator — green
✓ File exists or red ✗ File not found (with a prompt to save settings to generate
it).
* Broken Link Checker “Run Scan Now” button is now hidden when the feature is disabled,
replaced with a short note to enable it first. Previously the button was always
visible but would schedule a scan even when the checker was off.
* Added `load_plugin_textdomain()` so translation files in the `/languages` folder
are correctly loaded for all string translations.
**Bug Fixes**
* Fixed Google PageSpeed Insights toolbar link opening the PageSpeed homepage instead
of running an analysis. URL corrected from `pagespeed.web.dev/?url=` to `pagespeed.
web.dev/analysis?url=`.
* Fixed uninstall routine not removing the `rankbix_seo_onboarding_dismissed` and`
rankbix_seo_version` options added in v1.1.1. Fixed physical `llms.txt` file
at the WordPress root not being deleted on plugin uninstall.
#### 1.1.1
**Improvements**
* Improved Tools settings UI — IndexNow, LLMs.txt, 404 Monitor, and Broken Link
Checker settings are now grouped with clearer labels, toggle descriptions, and
inline status indicators showing whether each feature is active.
* Added manual broken link scan button — administrators can now trigger an immediate
scan from the Tools settings page instead of waiting for the twice-daily cron
job. Useful after publishing new content or adding external links.
* Improved importer result messages — the SEO importer now reports exactly how
many titles, descriptions, focus keywords, canonical URLs, and noindex values
were transferred, with a clear count of skipped and failed records.
* Improved onboarding for new users — the dashboard now shows a setup checklist
on first activation, highlighting key steps such as setting a homepage title,
configuring the sitemap, and enabling IndexNow. Checklist auto-hides once all
steps are complete.
* Added success notice when applying an AI-generated title or description — a green
confirmation message appears briefly after clicking “Use This Title” or “Use
This Description”.
**AI Meta Generator**
* Fixed “Generate Title + Description” returning only the title. A dynamic Gemini`
responseSchema` now enforces both `title` and `description` keys at the API level,
and the prompt explicitly states both fields are required.
* Fixed Gemini 404 errors caused by the model list returning names prefixed with`
models/`, which doubled the path in the generate URL (`.../models/models/gemini-
2.0-flash:generateContent`). Prefix is now stripped correctly.
* Updated default Gemini model from deprecated `gemini-1.5-flash` to `gemini-2.0-
flash`. Updated meta box quick-select options to `gemini-2.0-flash` and `gemini-
2.5-flash`.
* Added `responseMimeType: application/json` and `responseSchema` to Gemini requests—
forces clean JSON output with no markdown code fences or explanation text, eliminating
the most common parse failure.
* Updated default Claude model to `claude-haiku-4-5-20251001` (fully versioned
ID for production stability).
* Updated default Groq model from deprecated `llama3-8b-8192` to `llama-3.1-8b-
instant`. Added Groq to the live model list fetch so the retry fallback has real
model options.
* Upgraded Cohere from the deprecated v1 `/v1/chat` API (using `message` + `preamble`
fields) to the current v2 `/v2/chat` API (using `messages` array). Updated response
extraction to match the v2 response structure.
* Improved AI prompt rules — title and description character limit instructions
are now only shown for the relevant field type. Added explicit “MUST contain
BOTH keys” instruction for the combined title + description request.
* Improved JSON response parsing — strips UTF-8 BOM before decoding, falls back
to field-level regex extraction when `json_decode` fails due to unescaped characters,
and shows the full raw response in the error message for easier debugging.
* Increased `maxOutputTokens` from 400 to 800 across all providers to prevent response
truncation mid-JSON.
**Table of Contents**
* Fixed auto-insert TOC not appearing on the front end. The stylesheet was being
enqueued inside the `the_content` filter which fires after `wp_head()`, so the
CSS never loaded. Moved enqueueing to the `wp` action hook so styles are always
included in the page ``.
* Fixed auto-insert not working with Gutenberg content. Gutenberg renders paragraphs
with class attributes (``). The previous check
for a bare `
` missed these, causing the TOC to be prepended outside of the
content flow. Now uses offset-based `substr` insertion that matches any opening
paragraph tag.
* Redesigned TOC styling — replaced admin-only CSS variable (`--wp-rankbix-seo-
color`) with self-contained CSS variables defined inside `.rankbix-seo-toc`,
added card shadow, title separator, `display: block` layout with `max-width:
480px`, `lower-alpha` sub-list style, link hover transition, smooth scroll via`
html:has(.rankbix-seo-toc)`, and full-width mobile handling.
**Bug Fixes**
* Fixed Google PageSpeed Insights toolbar link using the wrong URL path (`?url=`
instead of `/analysis?url=`), which opened the PageSpeed homepage rather than
running an analysis on the current page.
* Fixed AI generate buttons (“Generate Title + Description”, “Title Only”, “Description
Only”) remaining disabled after selecting a provider and reloading the page.
The model dropdown was pre-selecting a saved model but never calling `rmsOnProviderChange()`
to update button state. Fixed by calling `rmsOnProviderChange()` immediately
after the dropdown is populated.
* Fixed layout overflow on the Bulk SEO Editor table on narrow admin screens.
* Fixed Tools settings toggles not saving correctly when multiple options were
changed at the same time.
* Improved compatibility with caching plugins by ensuring the LLMs.txt physical
file is refreshed when settings change rather than relying solely on the transient.
#### 1.1.0
**New Features**
* Added IndexNow — automatically notifies Bing, Yandex, and all IndexNow-participating
search engines when a post or page is published or updated. Auto-generates and
serves the required key verification file.
* Added LLMs.txt — serves /llms.txt describing your site to AI systems. Includes
a customisable content editor and an opt-in setting to block common AI crawlers(
GPTBot, Claude-Web, CCBot, Bytespider, PerplexityBot, and others) via robots.
txt.
* Added 404 Monitor — logs all 404 errors to a dedicated database table (up to
500 entries, auto-pruned). Admin page shows URL, referrer, hit count, and last
seen date. Clicking “+ Redirect” opens the redirections form with the URL pre-
filled.
* Added Broken Link Checker — background WP-Cron job (twice daily, 5 posts per
run) checks external links in published post content using HTTP HEAD requests.
Stores up to 50 broken links. Disabled by default; opt-in in Settings Tools.
* Added Tools settings tab — centralised settings for IndexNow, LLMs.txt, 404 Monitor,
and Broken Link Checker.
* Added WordPress toolbar (admin bar) menu with quick links to Dashboard, Settings,
Redirections, Sitemap, Bulk SEO, and 404 Monitor.
* Added External Tools submenu in the toolbar with one-click links to Google PageSpeed
Insights, Google Rich Results Test, Google Search Console, Facebook Sharing Debugger,
and Schema Markup Validator — pre-filled with the current page URL where applicable.
**Security Fixes**
* Fixed Gemini API key being sent as a URL query parameter (`?key=`). Key is now
sent via the `X-Goog-Api-Key` header, keeping it out of server logs and browser
history.
* Fixed inverted condition in `fill_missing_alt()` and `fix_img_tag()` that would
silently overwrite intentionally set alt text on images.
* Fixed `rmsImportStatus()` using `innerHTML` with partially controlled content.
Replaced with `textContent` and `createElement` to prevent potential XSS.
* Fixed internal link suggestion results injecting unescaped `s.url` into `href`
and `onclick` attributes. All URL values are now handled via `createElement`
and `addEventListener`.
* Fixed `sanitize_text_field()` being applied to `$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']` before
URL parsing, which stripped valid percent-encoded characters and caused redirect
matching to fail for encoded URLs.
* Added rate limiting (20 requests per user per hour) to the AI meta generation
AJAX handler to prevent API quota exhaustion.
* Added explicit `current_user_can('manage_options')` capability check to `render_duplicate_page()`.
* Fixed `suppress_all_notices()` calling `remove_all_actions('admin_notices')`,
which silently removed security alerts from other plugins (Wordfence, Jetpack,
etc.) on RankBix SEO admin pages.
**Bug Fixes**
* Fixed Duplicate Page title prefix and suffix settings never taking effect. Activation
wrote `rankbix_seo_duplicate_prefix` but the class read `rankbix_seo_duplicate_title_prefix`.
* Fixed Google News sitemap always pinging Google regardless of the auto-ping setting.
* Fixed date archive canonical URL returning an empty string. Now uses `get_year_link()`,`
get_month_link()`, and `get_day_link()`.
* Fixed HTML sitemap `the_content` filter replacing all post content on the virtual
sitemap page instead of only the sitemap post.
* Fixed duplicate Sitemap entry in robots.txt caused by both `RankBixSEO_Robots`
and `RankBixSEO_Sitemap` independently appending the sitemap URL.
**Performance**
* XML sitemap output is now cached in a one-hour transient and automatically invalidated
on `save_post` and `delete_post`.
* AI provider model list is no longer fetched on every post editor page load. Now
loaded lazily via AJAX only when the AI tab is opened, removing up to four blocking
external HTTP requests per edit screen load.
**Code Quality**
* Removed all `// phpcs:ignoreFile` blanket suppressions from `class-rankbix-seo-
admin.php`, `uninstall.php`, and `class-rankbix-seo-importer.php`. Replaced with
targeted inline suppression comments where genuinely needed.
* AIOSEO importer now processes records in batches of 100 instead of loading the
entire table into memory.
* `RankBixSEO_Admin::header()` and `footer()` made `public static`. `RankBixSEO_BulkEditor`
now uses the shared header and footer, eliminating a duplicate nav implementation
that was missing the 404 Monitor tab.
* Removed orphaned nonce field emitted outside the `