Ultimate SEO v3 (and v2.200) [Support Thread]

Chargin:

I also have just had the same problem that ndickerson and others have had.
I have deleted the file config.seo.install.php and the store is working again.
But what should i do to get this mod to work?
Remove the version you have installed (files, merges, and database entries) and download the latest from the forums here. Or become a part of the BETA test for the next release of USU (includes a new installation / upgrade script for USU on Zen Cart 1.3.9h).

This is on a fresh 1.39h with no other mods. Its not an upgrade. I used the 1.39h folder only, not the 1.5 folders. I downloaded the latest release.

Also I see some french text in the admin for the mod, is that meant to be there?
Questions:

1. Where did you download your copy of USU from? The current version downloaded from the plugins section on zen-cart.com only includes ENGLISH language files.
2. Are you 100% sure no files or database entries from an older version of USU, SSU, or similar were present? The french you posted could be coming from an OLD INSTALL of USU. Also I can state as a fact: With a clean install of USU (not an upgrade) NO SQL calls are made to TABLE_ADMIN_PAGES unless certain Zen Cart 1.5 only functions related to TABLE_ADMIN_PAGES are present.
3. As noted earlier, the upgrade code does make a single call to TABLE_ADMIN_PAGES under Zen Cart 1.3.9h (which has been fixed in upstream BETA releases). The upgrade code is only triggered when either the "seo_cache" table exists in the database or the USU_VERSION configuration entry exists in the database.
4. I will NOT release BETA code publicly here on the forums and one of the conditions placed upon BETA testers is no distribution or disclosure related to BETA versions. An updated version is currently in BETA testing and the test is open to anyone willing to adhere to the conditions and send me a PM to such effect.

Chargin:

I also have just had the same problem that ndickerson and others have had.
1146 Table 'database_name.TABLE_ADMIN_PAGES' doesn't exist etc etc
I have deleted the file config.seo.install.php and the store is working again.
But what should i do to get this mod to work?

This is on a fresh 1.39h with no other mods.
Its not an upgrade.
I used the 1.39h folder only, not the 1.5 folders.
I downloaded the latest release.

Also I see some french text in the admin for the mod, is that meant to be there?

Activar las direcciones SEO?
Filtrar palabras cortas
Categories as directories
Restablecer la caché para las direcciones SEO
Enable manufacturers cache?
Introduzca las páginas para permitir la reescritura

This isn't French, but Spanish :smartalec:

Quick reply, I downloaded it from the link at the top of the official download page.
Its definitely a fresh 1.39h, although the database is from an old site. That db could be the cause of some problems, I didnt build the old site so Im not sure what was in there, I will investigate and get back.

Ok, the old site did have this mod installed, I never realised.
It was a 1.39h site also.
Looking at the admin area for the mod the entire thing is in spanish... the rest of admin is english.

So what would you suggest I do here, should I find out what version of the mod was installed and download that version and overwrite all the files Ive uploaded? How do I find the mod version?

Thanks for your support.

Chargin:

Ok, the old site did have this mod installed, I never realised.
It was a 1.39h site also.
Looking at the admin area for the mod the entire thing is in spanish... the rest of admin is english.

So what would you suggest I do here, should I find out what version of the mod was installed and download that version and overwrite all the files Ive uploaded? How do I find the mod version?

Thanks for your support.
Finding the module version is not easy in the older versions... Usually they did include the version number at the top of the file "/includes/classes/seo.url.php". I'd guess version 2.106 - 2.110 based upon the language being Spanish.

As you have a partial upgrade, If you want the functionality of USU, the best way to fix things would be to remove the current version, then remove any leftovers from the old version, and finally install the latest version.

Disclaimer: This method of uninstalling should not be used on versions of USU > 2.150. This is only specific to instances where versions of USU < 2.150 are still installed, you attempt to install the newer version without first removing the old version, and things go wrong.

1. Backup your website and database. Always a good idea before making changes.
2. Follow the uninstall instructions for the current version (in the readme).
3. Remove all files from the current and previous versions. You can see what files were added by looking at the zip files from the current version and version 2.110.
4. Undo any merges made to files in "affected_files" folders (current version of USU) and "specific-files" folders (old version of USU).
5. Remove any leftover database entries from the old version of USU.

You can remove the old database entries using phpmyadmin with:

DELETE FROM `configuration_group` WHERE `configuration_group_title` LIKE '%SEO%';
DELETE FROM `configuration` WHERE `configuration_key` LIKE '%SEO%';
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS seo_cache;"

Note: if your tables have a prefix you need to add the prefix. Also note this will uninstall some of SSU's entries from the database (not an issue if you plan to install the latest version of USU afterwards).

Once done, you should be able to install the latest version. Once you have everything working, I would strongly suggest another backup of the files and database. Always good to have "known good" backups!

As per the readme: If you are running a version of this plugin prior to version 2.150 it is recommended you uninstall the old version of the plugin including all database entries prior to installing newer versions.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer.

Ok so my database has things in it from an old version then?
Because all the zencart files are fresh 1.39h with no mods.
But the database was copied from an old site.

lhungil:

Go to "Zen Cart admin" > "Configuration" > "Ultimate SEO". Adjust the settings as follows to match the "original" version of "Ultimate SEO URLs".

Rewritten URLs end with: .html
Format of rewritten URLs: original
Categories as directories: off

You will not lose any incoming traffic unless you change the product / category / ez-page IDs in the database. Ultimate SEO URLs will still accept URLs coming in with the old format and show the correct page based upon the ID. So as long as the IDs stay the same during your upgrade things should work.

Additionally, Zen Cart 1.5 (and the newer Ultimate SEO URLs) automatically handles adding what is known as a canonical link to the HTML head of your pages. This lets Search Engines know two pages are the same (does not treat them as duplicate content). You can read more about this here.

You can also set "Enable automatic redirects?" to true. This will handle automatically issuing a 301 redirect to let Search Engines know the new URL (and update the index link quickly). I'd recommend enabling this option if you change the URL format or sometimes change a product, category, or ez-page title. This will quickly let Search Engines and browsers know the URL has changed. I'd probably just keep the old URL scheme on a well established site rather than take the 1-2% link juice drop caused by a 301 redirect, but still enable this option if you ever update product, category, or ez-page titles.

Thanks very much lhungil!

**helpppp!!!!!!:no::no:

i got these error on both admin and catalog pages after installed ultimate seo:

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access / on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

Server at https://www.carousel301.com Port 80

then i tried to uninstalled but still found these error...can anyone can help me as i can't login to admin and my page just can't run...

thanks in advance.**

carousel1:

**helpppp!!!!!!:no::no:

i got these error on both admin and catalog pages after installed ultimate seo:

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access / on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

Server at https://www.carousel301.com Port 80

then i tried to uninstalled but still found these error...can anyone can help me as i can't login to admin and my page just can't run...

thanks in advance.**

oh fixed it finally...thank you

carousel1:

i got these error on both admin and catalog pages after installed ultimate seo:

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access / on this server.
A 403 Forbidden is your web server telling you you tried to access something you do not have permission to access... Typical causes include: request to access a protected resource, server misconfiguration of access lists, or specifying the wrong RewriteBase in your .htaccess.

carousel1:

oh fixed it finally...thank you
Good to hear.

lhungil:

A 403 Forbidden is your web server telling you you tried to access something you do not have permission to access... Typical causes include: request to access a protected resource, server misconfiguration of access lists, or specifying the wrong RewriteBase in your .htaccess.

Good to hear.

thanks for the reply. actually i followed advise renamed to "RewriteBase/" in the .htaccess file which caused the problem. is this wrong?

carousel1:

thanks for the reply. actually i followed advise renamed to "RewriteBase/" in the .htaccess file which caused the problem. is this wrong?
If your Zen Cart store is "http://somedomain.com/" then you can either set "RewriteBase /" (note the space) or comment out the RewriteBase line (as it is not needed).

If your Zen Cart store is "http://somedomain.com/zencart" then you would set "RewriteBase /zencart/" (note the trailing / for a directory).

If you are doing something out of the ordinary, you will need to adjust the mod_rewrite directives accordingly. The above assumes a standard web hosting configuration where the relative path for physical files is the same as the relative path in the URL (and HTTP / HTTPS are served from the same location and relative web path). 95% of modern web hosting configurations are done this way (when you have a SSL certificate for your domain).

lhungil:

If your Zen Cart store is "http://somedomain.com/" then you can either set "RewriteBase /" (note the space) or comment out the RewriteBase line (as it is not needed).

If your Zen Cart store is "http://somedomain.com/zencart" then you would set "RewriteBase /zencart/" (note the trailing / for a directory).

If you are doing something out of the ordinary, you will need to adjust the mod_rewrite directives accordingly. The above assumes a standard web hosting configuration where the relative path for physical files is the same as the relative path in the URL (and HTTP / HTTPS are served from the same location and relative web path). 95% of modern web hosting configurations are done this way (when you have a SSL certificate for your domain).

thanks for the explain...

Hello every one,
Thanks for having this plugin.
I will greatly appreciate if someone can help me installing it on my site, i wouldn't mind paying for it.
I cannot seem to figure it out myself.
shopping.migiroff.com

Thanks Eugene

emigiroff:

Hello every one,
Thanks for having this plugin.
I will greatly appreciate if someone can help me installing it on my site, i wouldn't mind paying for it.
I cannot seem to figure it out myself.
shopping.migiroff.com

Thanks Eugene

What is the reason you want to install this mod?

Please be aware that it has NO INFLUENCE ON, or ADVANTAGE TO any "SEO" you may be hoping for.

If you want to re-write URL's then be aware of the risks involved.

There is no advantage at all to re-written URL's - but a load of potential problems.

Naturally the choice is yours. In over 10 years of working with eCommerce, our team has NEVER used url re-write, and our clients' sites all do exceptionally well on search engine indexing and results pages.

fairestcape:

If you want to re-write URL's then be aware of the risks involved.

There is no advantage at all to re-written URL's - but a load of potential problems.
You mean the risk of installing this module incorrectly and the site not working?? You mean the site owner not quite understanding how to rectify the install issue because he's not familiar with how the code in the .htaccess files works?? Hmmmmm..

Well..

The same can be said of ANY module.. Folks muck up module installs and (as a result), their sites ALL THE TIME.. They ask for help with these issues on this forum DAILY.. Otherwise ALL the other support threads would be really quiet..

These "SEO URL" modules do, however, garner the most enquiries and views. Collectively, the views and posts on "SEO URL" exceed three quarters of a million - indicating that there are a lot of people having issues / problems. Other modules also present issues - I agree - but for the most part they are modules with a useful function. These modules have no useful function - and are amongst the more "fragile" add-ons, and which are most certainly "challenging" to install and to understand. Novices should avoid them for these two reasons. 1. They do nothing to improve the site. 2. They are easy to install badly and incorrectly - and when that happens a lot of other things fall over. I will continue to advise newbies NOT to install these modules - er... its my First Amendment Right, not so? :D :P

There is no advantage at all to re-written URL's - but a load of potential problems.
... Other modules also present issues - I agree - but for the most part they are modules with a useful function. These modules have no useful function ...
So basically you are stating you see no useful function to human readable URLs or adding keywords to a URI. This is your opinion and you are entitled to your opinion. However there are business reasons other than SEO for altering the URIs.

These have been discussed both on and off the Zen Cart forums. But a support thread is not the appropriate place to start arguments about the value of a plugin. Hijacking support threads for various plugins and harassing those looking for help (or providing help) to continually push an opinion and / or agenda is disrespectful and unprofessional.

These modules ... are amongst the more "fragile" add-ons, and which are most certainly "challenging" to install and to understand. ...
I will again disagree. With the upgrades to support Zen Cart 1.5, efforts have been made to improve the installation and upgrade experience of this plugin. Yes there are places people can make mistakes, but this is true of any Zen Cart module or plugin. Constructive criticism on this process and how to improve this process is welcome.

Some of the many things to improve the installation experience with newer versions
Only a minimal number of changes are made to core files and a fallback to the Zen Cart default behavior is provided in the case this module is disabled. This module includes proposed changes to fix some bugs present in Zen Cart 1.5 (and are included in the Zen Cart 1.6 pre-release code). To help improve QA, new versions of this module also go through a BETA test cycle where experienced community members test the new versions prior to a public release (being posted to the plugins section). This module also includes fairly detailed installation instructions in the README to aid less experienced users (constructive suggestions for improvements are welcome).

The installation script (step 4) includes additional checks: to see if new uploaded files exist, to remove obsolete files from previous versions, to install and upgrade any needed database changes, to fix / upgrade configuration settings, and install configuration pages. If any step or one of these checks done by the installation script fails an error is reported and the module is not enabled.

Newer versions include a simplified ".htaccess" file for Apache web servers. When the hosting environment uses the Apache web server, in most cases only ONE change is needed to this file before uploading the file to a hosting provider - to specify the name of the folder under the document root where Zen Cart is installed. The next version will probably include some examples.

The configuration pages provide not only a short description of what each option does, but in many cases also provide examples of the effects of the settings. Where possible, when a setting is changed an extra check occurs to verify settings do not conflict (and notifies the user if there is an issue). This helps make configuration easier for new users (and existing users).

Hello,

I recently downloaded the latest release and the folder that is supposed to contain the .htacess file is empty. I spent some time reading this entire thread and I don't think I am going to try this install until I know everything is good first. If you someone could help I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

newtozc32:

Hello,

I recently downloaded the latest release and the folder that is supposed to contain the .htacess file is empty. I spent some time reading this entire thread and I don't think I am going to try this install until I know everything is good first. If you someone could help I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
what kind of help are you looking for?? I just downloaded the latest version and there is indeed an .htaccess file in the folder the readme says it's supposed to be in..