Getting Started with the SEOvault AI WordPress Plugin

SEOvault AI is a full WordPress SEO plugin that handles meta tags, schema markup, sitemaps, social sharing tags, AI visibility, 404 monitoring, redirects, and more. It works on its own without any external service, and optionally connects to the SEOvault AI web app for AI-assisted content workflows.

This guide covers what the plugin does, how to get it running, and where to go next.

What SEOvault AI does

Once activated, the plugin takes over WordPress SEO output:

SEO titles and meta descriptions – automatic generation or manual control per post
Schema markup – JSON-LD structured data with schema health checks
XML sitemaps – integrates with WordPress core sitemaps, noindex-aware
Open Graph and Twitter/X Cards – social sharing metadata
llms.txt – publish an AI visibility file for crawlers and answer engines
Robots.txt controls – policy-based robots management
404 monitoring and redirects – track missing URLs and create 301/302 redirects
Image SEO – automatic ALT and title attributes
Breadcrumbs – shortcode and theme integration
Local SEO – business information and local schema
WooCommerce SEO – product SEO and product schema
SEO Analyzer – site-wide SEO analysis from the admin dashboard
IndexNow – instant indexing notifications to Bing and other search engines
Web app connection – secure REST API connection to the SEOvault AI web app

The plugin runs entirely on your WordPress site. Connecting to the web app is optional and adds AI-powered content tools, bulk actions, and advanced reports.

Three products, one ecosystem

SEOvault AI ships as three separate products. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right setup:

SEOvault AI WordPress Plugin (this one) – a full SEO plugin installed on your WordPress site. Handles all on-site SEO output. Works standalone.
Chrome Extension – a side panel for in-editor WordPress work. Does not require the plugin. Good for solo writers who want AI assistance inside the block editor.
Web App – a centralized publishing workspace for multi-site management, team collaboration, and advanced content workflows. Uses a separate lightweight connector plugin for communication. The full SEO plugin can also connect to the web app using its built-in REST API.

You can use the plugin alone, the extension alone, the web app alone, or any combination.

Install the plugin

Requirements

WordPress 5.9 or higher
PHP 7.4 or higher
Administrator access to your WordPress site

Installation

Download the SEOvault AI plugin ZIP file.
Log in to your WordPress admin area.
Go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
Click Upload Plugin and select the ZIP file.
Click Install Now, then Activate Plugin.

After activation, WordPress redirects you to the onboarding wizard automatically.

For detailed installation steps, see Install and Activate the SEOvault AI SEO Plugin.

Complete the onboarding wizard

The onboarding wizard runs automatically on first activation. It walks you through seven steps:

Welcome – introduction and schema overview
SEO Mode – choose Automatic or Manual mode
Site Identity – set your site type, publisher identity (Organization or Person), name, logo, and default social image
SEO Settings – confirm homepage title, meta description, output mode, social templates, and robots defaults
Import – import SEO data from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, Slim SEO, or The SEO Framework if detected
Connect – optionally connect to the SEOvault AI web app using your site key
Finish – summary of your configuration

You can skip the wizard at any time and configure everything later from the plugin settings. Skipping marks onboarding as complete and takes you to the dashboard.

To re-run the wizard later, go to SEOvault AI > Onboarding in the admin sidebar.

Understand the admin interface

SEOvault AI adds a top-level menu to your WordPress admin sidebar with the following submenus:

Dashboard

The main dashboard shows a status strip with three key signals:

Connection – whether the web app is connected (Connected or Waiting)
Output Mode – current mode (Autopilot, Manual, or Disabled)
llms.txt – whether AI visibility file publishing is enabled

Below the status strip, you will find:

Content Overview – post count with SEO meta, detected SEO plugin conflicts, and plugin version
Site Key – your site key for web app connection, with copy and reveal controls
Quick Links – shortcuts to General Settings, llms.txt, Schema, Import/Export, Status, SEO Analyzer, and Sitemap

If another SEO plugin (Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO) is active, a warning banner appears at the top advising you to deactivate it or switch SEOvault AI to Disabled mode to avoid duplicate meta tags.

General Settings

The General Settings page is a tabbed interface with vertical tabs on the left. The tabs are:

Connection – web app connection status and site key
Security – rate limiting, CORS, audit logs, scoped API keys
Output Mode – Automatic, Manual, or Disabled
Robots – robots.txt policy controls
llms.txt – AI visibility file content and publishing
Homepage – homepage SEO title and description
Templates – title and description templates with replace variables
Schema – global schema settings and schema templates
Social – Open Graph and Twitter/X Card defaults
Breadcrumbs – breadcrumb settings and shortcode
404 Monitor – 404 log table and fallback behavior settings
Redirects – redirect manager for 301 and 302 rules
Image SEO – automatic ALT and title attribute settings
Local SEO – business information and local schema
Frontend Score – SEO score badge display and shortcode
WooCommerce – product SEO settings (visible when WooCommerce is active)
Analytics – tracking code injection (Google Analytics, etc.)
IndexNow – instant indexing notification settings
Sitemap – sitemap integration settings
Tools – import, export, and maintenance actions

SEO Analyzer

A site-wide SEO analysis tool that scans your content and reports issues. Access it at SEOvault AI > SEO Analyzer.

Status

A status page showing connection details, output mode, and site health signals. Access it at SEOvault AI > Status.

Choose your SEO mode

SEOvault AI offers three output modes that control how the plugin manages SEO output:

Automatic (Autopilot) – the plugin generates and manages SEO titles, meta descriptions, schema, and other output automatically. Best for most sites. You can still override any field manually per post.
Manual – the plugin outputs only the title tag by default. You control everything else manually per post. Best for users who want hands-on control of every field.
Disabled – the plugin does not output any SEO meta tags. Use this when another SEO plugin or custom code handles output. The plugin still provides the admin UI for managing SEO data, but does not print tags to the frontend.

You can change the output mode at any time from General Settings > Output Mode.

For a detailed explanation, see Automatic, Manual, and Disabled Modes Explained.

Import from another SEO plugin

If you are switching from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, Slim SEO, or The SEO Framework, the onboarding wizard detects the active plugin and offers to import your SEO data. You can also run the import later from General Settings > Tools.

The import brings in global settings (homepage title, description) and per-post SEO metadata (titles, descriptions, focus keywords, canonical URLs, robots directives).

For step-by-step instructions, see Import SEO Data from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, Slim SEO, or The SEO Framework.

Connect to the web app (optional)

The plugin works standalone. Connecting to the SEOvault AI web app adds:

AI-powered content suggestions
Bulk title and description updates
Advanced analytics and reports
Multi-site management from one dashboard

To connect, copy your site key from the dashboard or General Settings > Connection, then enter it in the web app when adding a new site. The connection uses the WordPress REST API at seovaultai/v1 with site key authentication.

For detailed instructions, see Connect the Plugin to the SEOvault AI Web App.

Where to go next

After completing onboarding, the most useful next steps are:

Edit SEO on a post – open any post in the WordPress editor and find the SEOvault AI meta box below the content. Set a focus keyword, write a meta description, and preview the SERP snippet.
Review schema settings – go to General Settings > Schema to configure global schema output and verify your organization identity is set.
Check your sitemap – visit yoursite.com/sitemap.xml to confirm the sitemap is generating.
Enable llms.txt – go to General Settings > llms.txt to publish an AI visibility file for crawlers and answer engines.
Run the SEO Analyzer – go to SEOvault AI > SEO Analyzer to run a site-wide scan and identify issues.