XenSeo/vBSEO

[Bram]

The only thing that is keeping my back from purchasing xenforo is that we no longer can use our beloved vbseo.

It really added so much to our site that i am scared to give it up as migrating will most likely kill our backlinks we've build in the last years.

Will xenforo have a url system that equals vbseo?

 

[SneakyDave]

It appears most, if not all, of it is built in. I don't know if xenForo provides a sitemap generator though.

I don't think it would take much to change your rewrites for xenForo to match vbSEO's, but vbSEO's other functions might not be available (content rewriting, etc. )

Of course, just looking at the URL's xenForo uses now, maybe it would take a bigger effort.

 

[Blandt]

Hmmm that really depends on how you setup Vbseo (default or you changed the settings) , We need to see how XF will rewrite URLs, and if it's customizable so you can match your old rewriting rules with the new ones.

I'm sure a solution will be out soon enough though

 

[SneakyDave]

Yes, by default, I don't think vBSEO includes the thread number in the URL, but xenForo does, at least that's what I see in my URL. There was some talk about customizing the URL structure for xenForo a while back, but I can't find the thread at the moment.

 

[RickM]

vbSEO is so much more than a simple URL rewrite. If you've never used it - you cant comment until you see what I mean.

For us, not having the ability to continue using our custom URL's IS a huge problem. I know I've spoken with some others here who will also not be able to move until they can be sure they can keep the EXACT URL's.

It's all well and good saying "xf has custom URL's built in" - but if we cant customize them, it'll be a big problem for anyone who cares about their site's ranking.

 

[mrGTB]

XenForo should not require any vBSEO add-on now or in the future. Not only does it cost extra money "on-top of purchasing XenForo" to use that 3rd party SEO product, along with an extra yearly renewal fee to pay. But seeing as XenForo is modern new community software, it should have all the SEO requirements out the box to match today's expected SEO standards, added during it's development right now.

 

[SneakyDave]

I think the question was regarding the fact that people have invested money in vbSEO, and if xenForo can duplicate the functions it does. I suspect that other than simple URL rewriting, that's the extent of xenForo. vbSEO provides more features, the value of those features and how they affect the site's SEO are left to the owners (myself included) to decide.

 

[xfseo.de]

XenForo should not require any vBSEO add-on now or in the future. Not only does it cost extra money "on-top of purchasing XenForo" to use that 3rd party SEO product, along with an extra yearly renewal fee to pay. But seeing as XenForo is modern new community software, it should have all the SEO requirements out the box to match today's expected SEO standards, added during it's development right now.

It should, yes. But if I look around xenfero, there are a lot of chances to optimize.... Lets see...

 

[lazer]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - without the ability to change the XF URL's to match our existing vBSEO URL's, there's no way we're going to convert our 500,000+ post forum, sadly The SERPS hit would be just too huge.

 

[Shamil]

It should, yes. But if I look around xenfero, there are a lot of chances to optimize.... Lets see...

What can be optimised?

 

[xfseo.de]

A lot of things in my opinion. But lets wait, till we see it " in action"....

 

[Philip Morton]

It's "in action" here, no? Surely you can run checks on its output based on this forum?

 

[dutchbb]

The only thing that is keeping my back from purchasing xenforo is that we no longer can use our beloved vbseo.

It really added so much to our site that i am scared to give it up as migrating will most likely kill our backlinks we've build in the last years.

Will xenforo have a url system that equals vbseo?

Some vbseo features are taken over by XF, so partly you do not need vbseo anymore. Unless you want to keep your old URL structure, then you would need custom coding in XF. Otherwise you can uninstall vbseo, start using the original vB URL's, and convert to the new XF URL's after that. After that your old indexed URLs need a 301 redirect to the new format.

 

[RickM]

Some vbseo features are taken over by XF, so partly you do not need vbseo anymore. Unless you want to keep your old URL structure, then you would need custom coding in XF. Otherwise you can uninstall vbseo, start using the original vB URL's, and convert to the new XF URL's after that. After that your old indexed URLs need a 301 redirect to the new format.

As much as I do appreciate that its not Kier/Mikes job to ensure our custom URL structures stay the same, it would be silly to assume people can just change them. It has a MONUMENTAL effect. If XenForo cant redirect custom URL's by ID, then thats a huge problem for anyone using vBseo.

The whole point of vbSEO is that:

A) you can have custom URL rewrite rules
B) If anyone goes to a wrong URL, it works out where the actual place they are looking for is supposed to be, and sends a 301 redirect - this is crucial!
C) Does a huge number of extra tweaks and changes to vB to make it more 'SEO Friendly' such as description positioning, alt tags on all images, titles, etc. -- out of the box vB is the least SEO friendly product around.



I'll state this again: (this isn't directed at one person btw)
If you've never used vbSEO in a live site, you can not comment saying "we don't need it because XF has rewritten url's" - it is so much more than URL rewriting.

 

[dutchbb]

Trust me I know exactly what you're saying, I'm using vbseo for years on three forums. I think my point was pretty clear. I'll say it again: XF has taken over some vbseo features. So partly you do not need vbseo for those features in XF.

It is actually possible to redirect the URL's, but a tutorial on how to do this will be needed.

I would rather have seen custom rewrites in the XF ACP, but unfortunately they aren't there. So we'll have to deal with that. Either vbseo helps out, or someone makes an add-on for XF for custom rewriting.

Now about point C) XF already has a lot of SEO optimized code, so some of the tweaks will not be needed anymore

 

[RickM]

Trust me I know exactly what you're saying, I'm using vbseo for years on three forums. I think my point was pretty clear. I'll say it again: XF has taken over some vbseo features. So partly you do not need vbseo for those features in XF.

It is actually possible to redirect the URL's, but a tutorial on how to do this will be needed.

I would rather have seen custom rewrites in the XF ACP, but unfortunately they aren't there. So we'll have to deal with that. Either vbseo helps out, or someone makes an add-on for XF for custom rewriting.

Now about point C) XF already has a lot of SEO optimized code, so some of the tweaks will not be needed anymore

Really hope you're right Its the only thing holding me back!

 

[lazer]

Really hope you're right Its the only thing holding me back!

TBH, apart from a few smallish mods, it's the same for us.

 

[Mike]

As much as I do appreciate that its not Kier/Mikes job to ensure our custom URL structures stay the same, it would be silly to assume people can just change them. It has a MONUMENTAL effect. If XenForo cant redirect custom URL's by ID, then thats a huge problem for anyone using vBseo.

Just to interject here, "I need the old URLs to work" and "I need identical URLs" are actually very different comments.

301 redirecting the old URLs isn't generally a problem (particularly for threads). vBSEO just has (many) different URL formats possible, so it's not trivial yet. We will be helping people redirect the URLs though, as far as possible. (If I can do a script to generate the rewrite rules from your vBSEO config, I will.)

Keeping the URLs identical is a problem. Significantly, the IDs are going to change on an import. Actually, if you try to keep the URLs identical, it's going to be hard to redirect them as you won't know what's an old link and what's a new link.

 

[lazer]

We will be helping people redirect the URLs though, as far as possible. (If I can do a script to generate the rewrite rules from your vBSEO config, I will.)

Thank you, then this should suffice in terms of SERPS and continuity of old URL's from external links - after conversion, shouldn't it?

 

[Chromaniac]

(If I can do a script to generate the rewrite rules from your vBSEO config, I will.)

this would be golden.