# Shahid Ali: technical SEO, Google indexing, AI search visibility, and WordPress builds

> Technical SEO specialist. Google Search Console indexing diagnosis and fixes, technical SEO, AI search and answer engine optimization, WordPress design and custom plugin development, speed work, audits, and content. 740+ client sites, 727 completed orders, buyers in 62 countries, per-URL evidence for every job. Works across Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, and custom-built sites.

## Start here

- [Home](https://www.shahidali.co/): Overview of the diagnose, fix, prove process and the track record behind it.
- [About](https://www.shahidali.co/about/): Background, how Shahid Ali works, and what a job looks like.
- [Contact](https://www.shahidali.co/contact/): Free plain-English diagnosis via WhatsApp, email, or Fiverr.
- [Reviews](https://www.shahidali.co/reviews/): 413 of 415 Fiverr reviews reproduced in full, 4.9 average.
- [Indexing case studies](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/): Per-URL proof of indexing outcomes across 42 client sites.
- [Builds](https://www.shahidali.co/builds/): Sites designed and built here, not only optimized.
- [Privacy and access](https://www.shahidali.co/privacy/): What Search Console access shares, what it never shares, and how clients revoke it.

## Services (11 in three groups: find, build, operate)

- [Services overview](https://www.shahidali.co/services/): Every service, grouped by whether the job is getting found, getting built, or being kept running.
- [Google indexing service](https://www.shahidali.co/services/indexing/): Diagnose and fix Crawled or Discovered currently not indexed. One-time indexing from $25, monthly monitoring from $50.
- [Google Search Console specialist](https://www.shahidali.co/services/google-search-console-specialist/): Coverage errors, index drops, and canonical confusion, diagnosed and fixed. Free diagnosis first.
- [Technical SEO services, from the crawl up](https://www.shahidali.co/services/technical-seo/): Technical SEO services: crawling, indexing, canonicals, redirects, speed and structured data, fixed at the level Google actually reads.
- [Generative engine optimization services (GEO)](https://www.shahidali.co/services/ai-search-optimization/): Generative engine optimization services that get your site read, quoted and recommended by AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini.
- [On page SEO services, done page by page](https://www.shahidali.co/services/on-page-seo/): On page SEO services: titles, headings, internal links and schema, set so Google understands what each page is for.
- [WordPress website designers, without an agency](https://www.shahidali.co/services/website-development/): WordPress website designers who do the technical SEO too.
- [Custom WordPress plugin development services](https://www.shahidali.co/services/custom-plugin-development/): WordPress plugin development services: one plugin that does your job properly, instead of a stack of half-fitting ones.
- [Website speed optimization service, measured](https://www.shahidali.co/services/speed-optimization/): Website speed optimization service for WordPress: images, render blocking, plugin bloat and hosting.
- [SEO audit services for sites that stalled](https://www.shahidali.co/services/site-audits/): SEO audit services that name what is blocking your rankings and indexing, sorted by what to fix first.
- [SEO content writing services and plans](https://www.shahidali.co/services/content/): SEO content writing services that read like a person wrote them, plus a plan for what to publish and in what order.
- [WordPress maintenance services, done monthly](https://www.shahidali.co/services/maintenance/): WordPress maintenance services: updates, backups, publishing and monitoring, so your site stays fast, safe and indexed.

## Free tools

- [Tools index](https://www.shahidali.co/tools/): Every free tool, all browser-only, none requiring a signup.
- [Bulk Google index checker](https://www.shahidali.co/tools/bulk-url-inspection/): Index status for hundreds of URLs at once through the official URL Inspection API.
- [Sitemap index coverage checker](https://www.shahidali.co/tools/sitemap-index-coverage/): What share of an XML sitemap Google has actually indexed, broken down per child sitemap.
- [Sitemap health check](https://www.shahidali.co/tools/sitemap-health-check/): Checks a sitemap for the faults that quietly stop it being useful.
- [Google Search Console MCP server](https://www.shahidali.co/tools/gsc-mcp/): Open-source MCP server that gives an AI assistant real Search Console data.
- [SiteHelm](https://www.shahidali.co/sitehelm/): The WordPress plugin: 109 free operations and 51 pro ones across content, media, menus, Elementor, and custom fields.

## Guides (48 evergreen answers in 6 topics)

- [Getting indexed (7)](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/category/getting-indexed/): Why pages stay out of Google, how long it should take, and what actually moves them in.
- [Indexing statuses (7)](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/category/statuses/): What each Search Console status means in plain English, and what clears it.
- [Audits and technical SEO (5)](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/category/audits/): What a technical audit checks, what it costs, and what the findings look like written up.
- [Indexing tools (21)](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/category/tools/): Reviews and alternatives for the indexing and index-checking tools people ask me about.
- [Search Console setup (4)](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/category/search-console/): Adding and verifying properties, including the platforms that are not really websites.
- [AI search visibility (4)](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/category/ai-search/): Being read, quoted and recommended by AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini.

- [Every Search Console indexing status, explained](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/every-search-console-indexing-status/): Every status the Page indexing report and URL Inspection can show you, what each one actually means, whether it needs fixing, and the page that fixes it.
- [Why is my site not showing up on Google? 4 reasons](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/why-are-my-pages-not-showing-on-google/): The four reasons Google ignores pages that exist, how to tell which one is yours, and what actually fixes each of them.
- [Crawled, currently not indexed: what it means and the fix](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/crawled-currently-not-indexed/): Google fetched your page and decided not to store it.
- [Discovered, currently not indexed, explained](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/discovered-currently-not-indexed/): Google knows your page exists and has not crawled it yet.
- [How long does Google take to index a page or site?](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/how-long-does-google-take-to-index/): Honest indexing timelines from more than 8,500 tracked URLs: what is normal, what controls the speed, and when a long wait means something is wrong.
- [Does Request Indexing actually work?](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/does-request-indexing-work/): When Request Indexing works in hours, when it does nothing, and how to use the daily limit properly.
- [Shopify products not showing on Google?](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/get-shopify-products-indexed/): Why Shopify catalogues pile up unindexed, the store settings that quietly block Google, and how tracked client stores went from ignored to 88% indexed.
- [Location pages that actually get indexed](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/location-pages-that-index/): Google declines templated city pages in bulk.
- [Why Google dropped your pages from the index](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/pages-dropped-out-of-google-index/): Indexed pages do not leave loudly, so here is why they get dropped, the update-day regressions behind it, and how one store's losses became seven repeat orders.
- [Is the site: operator accurate?](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/is-the-site-operator-accurate/): Google says the site: operator does not necessarily return every indexed URL.
- [URL is unknown to Google: meaning and fix](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/url-is-unknown-to-google/): Search Console says URL is unknown to Google but your page is live.
- [Google indexing tools compared (2026)](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/google-indexing-tools-compared/): What SpeedyIndex, IndexMeNow, Omega Indexer, IndexPlease and the rest actually do, what they cost, where each is the right choice, and the one thing none of them can fix.
- [Google Indexing API: how to use it, limits, and risks](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/google-indexing-api-for-normal-pages/): Google's Indexing API covers job postings and live videos only.
- [SpeedyIndex alternatives, with real prices](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/speedyindex-alternatives/): Honest SpeedyIndex alternatives for backlinks, your own pages, and job posts, with real prices, and the one case where no indexer is the answer.
- [Tag Parrot alternatives now that it has closed](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/tagparrot-alternatives/): Tag Parrot shut down and refunded everyone, citing Google's changes.
- [IndexMeNow alternatives and review: the three timers](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/indexmenow-alternatives/): IndexMeNow lists 24/48h in its title, 80% in 72h in its copy, and a 10-day refund in its terms.
- [Giga Indexer alternatives: two price tables](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/giga-indexer-alternatives/): Giga Indexer's homepage lists one set of prices and its checkout charges another.
- [Omega Indexer alternatives and its refund clock](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/omega-indexer-alternatives/): Omega Indexer refunds links unindexed in 24 hours while drip-feeding over 30 days.
- [Foudroyer alternatives: which tool do you need?](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/foudroyer-alternatives/): Foudroyer is an AI SEO suite where auto-indexing is one bullet, not a link indexer.
- [SpeedyIndex review: what a token actually buys](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/speedyindex-review/): An honest SpeedyIndex review: the token system decoded into cost per link, the Yandex side nobody mentions, and who should not buy it.
- [IndexMeNow vs SpeedyIndex: ten times the price](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/indexmenow-vs-speedyindex/): IndexMeNow and SpeedyIndex sell near-identical promises at very different prices.
- ["URL is not on Google": find the real reason](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/url-is-not-on-google/): "URL is not on Google" is a verdict, not a diagnosis.
- [URL is not available to Google: causes and fixes](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/url-is-not-available-to-google/): This message comes from the live test, not the index, which is why an indexed page can show it.
- [Bulk index checker tools, compared by how they actually check](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/bulk-index-checker-tools-compared/): Index checkers split into two kinds that answer different questions, and which you need depends on whether you own the site.
- [Rapid Index Checker alternatives, chosen by what you own](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/rapid-index-checker-alternatives/): Honest Rapid Index Checker alternatives, split by whether you own the site you are checking.
- [Rapid URL Indexer alternatives, and when not to switch](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/rapid-url-indexer-alternatives/): Rapid URL Indexer has the fairest pricing in backlink indexing.
- [Indexceptional review, past the press releases](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/indexceptional-review/): An independent Indexceptional review.
- [IndexBolt alternatives, and the crawl-versus-index catch](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/indexbolt-alternatives/): Honest IndexBolt alternatives, with the distinction its pricing depends on: crawling is not indexing.
- [Indexification alternatives: what still works from 2013](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/indexification-alternatives/): Indexification sells unlimited submissions using methods Google spent a decade learning to discount.
- [Linkdexing review: what two weeks in the dark buys you](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/linkdexing-review/): An independent Linkdexing review: what two weeks of manual processing delivers, why the free trial complaints recur, and what an 80 percent claim hides.
- [Bulk URL inspection tools, and the quota nobody explains](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/bulk-url-inspection-tools/): Bulk URL inspection tools all read the same API and return the same answer.
- [Search Console platform properties: Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/search-console-platform-properties/): How to add Instagram, TikTok, X or YouTube to Google Search Console as a platform property, what the three reports show, what is missing, and how to read the numbers.
- [How to add Instagram to Google Search Console](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/add-instagram-to-google-search-console/): Step by step, with screenshots from a real account: adding an Instagram account to Google Search Console as a platform property, what the two consent screens ask for, and what the reports show once data arrives.
- [How to add TikTok to Google Search Console](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/add-tiktok-to-google-search-console/): Step by step, with screenshots from a real account: adding a TikTok account to Google Search Console as a platform property, what Google for Creators asks permission for, and what the reports show afterwards.
- [How to add YouTube to Google Search Console](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/add-youtube-to-google-search-console/): Step by step, with screenshots from a real account: adding a YouTube channel to Google Search Console as a platform property.
- [On-page SEO vs technical SEO: where the line is](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/on-page-seo-vs-technical-seo/): Technical SEO decides what Google can reach.
- [Technical SEO vs content SEO: which one you need](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/technical-seo-vs-content-seo/): Technical SEO has a ceiling.
- [Technical SEO audit checklist, ordered by what it costs](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/technical-seo-audit-checklist/): A technical SEO audit checklist in fix-first order, from blocking faults to cosmetics.
- [SEO audit cost: what drives the number you get quoted](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/seo-audit-cost/): What an SEO audit costs depends on five things, and page count is barely one of them.
- [SEO audit report sample, and the template behind it](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/seo-audit-report-sample/): What a real SEO audit report contains, section by section, with a worked finding written out in full and a template you can copy.
- [AI search visibility: what it is and how to measure it](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/ai-search-visibility/): Whether AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini mention and cite you.
- [How to track brand mentions in AI search, step by step](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/track-brand-mentions-in-ai-search/): A repeatable way to find out whether ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews and Perplexity name your brand: the prompt sheet, the run, what to record, and the tools.
- [How to improve brand visibility in AI search engines](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/improve-brand-visibility-in-ai-search/): The strategies that actually change whether AI search engines name and cite you, in the order worth doing them, and the popular ones that do nothing at all.
- [What generative engine optimization services actually do](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/generative-engine-optimization-services/): What a GEO or AEO engagement should deliver, what it cannot deliver, how to read a proposal, and the questions worth asking before anyone takes your money.
- [Ahrefs vs Semrush vs Moz: which suite to standardise on](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/ahrefs-vs-semrush-vs-moz/): Three suites that overlap more than they differ.
- [Ahrefs vs SpyFu vs Semrush for competitor research](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/ahrefs-vs-spyfu-vs-semrush/): Three tools pointed at the same job from different angles.
- [Ubersuggest vs Ahrefs: what going cheap costs you](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/ubersuggest-vs-ahrefs/): The budget tool against the premium one.
- [Ahrefs vs Moz: DR, DA and the index behind them](https://www.shahidali.co/guides/ahrefs-vs-moz/): Domain Rating against Domain Authority, and why the number matters less than the crawler under it.

## Blog (82 dated field notes in 8 categories)

- [Blog index](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/): Every post, newest first.

### Search Console (13)

- [Search Console index](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/category/search-console/): Reports, coverage states, and the parts of Search Console that mislead people.
- [Core Web Vitals 'not enough data' in Search Console](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/core-web-vitals-not-enough-data/): Core Web Vitals showing no data available in Search Console?
- [How many URLs can you request indexing per day?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/search-console-request-indexing-limits/): The real daily limits on Request Indexing, URL Inspection and the two APIs, which numbers Google actually publishes, and how to work a big queue.
- [URL Inspection tool vs Page indexing report: why they disagree and which to trust](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/url-inspection-tool-vs-page-indexing-report/): URL Inspection tool vs Page indexing report: why the two disagree, which one Google says to trust for a single page, and what I do when they conflict.
- [Redirect error in Search Console: the four causes and how I find them](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/redirect-error-search-console/): Redirect error in Search Console means Google gave up mid-redirect: a loop, a chain past 10 hops, or a bad target URL.
- [Couldn't fetch sitemap in Search Console: how to fix it](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/couldnt-fetch-sitemap-search-console/): Couldn't fetch means Google could not retrieve the sitemap file at all.
- [Page with redirect in Search Console: is it a problem?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/page-with-redirect-in-search-console/): Page with redirect is usually Search Console telling you a redirect worked.
- [Search Console new owner added emails: bug or breach](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/search-console-new-owner-added-email/): On 24 August 2026 Search Console emailed owners about new owners who were already owners.
- [Why is Search Console data delayed? The 2 to 3 day lag](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/search-console-data-delayed/): Search Console data is usually 2 to 3 days behind and the newest days are preliminary.
- [Search Console crawl stats missing two days of data](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/search-console-crawl-stats-missing-data/): Crawl stats is missing 15 and 16 August 2026 for many sites.
- [Validation started in Search Console: what it means](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/search-console-validation-started/): Validation started means Google queued the URLs it knew about for a recheck.
- [URL is not in property: switch properties and inspect it](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/url-is-not-in-property/): Search Console asks you to inspect a URL in the currently selected property or switch properties.
- [Impressions but no clicks: how I fixed 9 pages](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/impressions-but-no-clicks/): Nine guides had impressions but no clicks in Search Console.
- [4 GSC statuses that mean Google is ignoring you](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/4-gsc-statuses-google-is-ignoring-you/): The four Search Console statuses that mean Google has seen your pages and declined them so far, what causes each one, and which fix actually applies.

### Indexing (11)

- [Indexing index](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/category/indexing/): Why pages do not get indexed, and what actually moves them into the index.
- [Are location pages doorway pages? Where the line actually is](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/are-location-pages-doorway-pages/): Google renamed the policy to doorway abuse in August 2026.
- [Sitemap submitted but not indexed: what Success actually means](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/sitemap-submitted-but-not-indexed/): Sitemap submitted but not indexed?
- [Discovered vs crawled, currently not indexed: the difference and the fix](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/discovered-vs-crawled-currently-not-indexed/): Discovered vs crawled, currently not indexed: what each means, the Search Console field that separates them, and why each needs a different fix.
- [Blocked due to unauthorized request (401): what Search Console means](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/blocked-due-to-unauthorized-request-401/): Blocked due to unauthorized request (401) means Googlebot hit a login wall.
- [Blocked due to access forbidden (403) in Search Console](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/blocked-due-to-access-forbidden-403/): Blocked due to access forbidden (403) means your server refused Googlebot outright.
- [Server error (5xx) in Search Console: what it does to your indexing](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/server-error-5xx/): Server error (5xx) in Search Console means Googlebot got a 500-level response.
- [Soft 404 in Search Console: what it means and how to fix it](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/soft-404-in-search-console/): A soft 404 is a page that says not found and answers 200.
- [Not found (404) in Search Console: when to fix it](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/not-found-404-search-console/): Not found (404) in the Page indexing report is usually normal.
- [90+ local pages: the math behind service areas](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/90-local-pages-service-area-math/): Why service area builds land on 90 plus town pages, why waves beat bulk publishing, and what per URL ledgers from real local rollouts actually show.
- [Why I gave away the index checker I use on client work](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/why-i-gave-away-my-index-checker/): Where the free bulk index checker came from, the bug in my own code that reshaped it, why it runs in your browser and not on my server, and its real limits.
- [Anatomy of a 118-day indexing job](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/anatomy-of-a-118-day-indexing-job/): What 1,006 manual submissions actually look like day to day: the routine behind one store's catalogue, and why the owner has now ordered seven times.

### Crawling and robots.txt (12)

- [Crawling and robots.txt index](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/category/crawling/): Crawl budget, robots.txt, noindex, and everything that decides what Google reaches.
- [What is crawl budget, and which pages actually waste it?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/crawl-budget-search-console/): Google moved its crawl budget guide and now says do not use noindex to save crawling.
- [No information is available for this page: what Google means](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/no-information-is-available-for-this-page/): Google shows this instead of a snippet when it indexed a URL it was never allowed to crawl.
- [Robots noarchive: Google ignores it, Bing uses it for AI](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/robots-noarchive/): Google retired the noarchive rule with the cached link.
- [Blocked by robots.txt in Search Console: fix it or leave it alone?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/blocked-by-robots-txt/): Blocked by robots.txt in Search Console is often your own rule working correctly.
- [Excluded by 'noindex' tag in Search Console: where the tag is hiding](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/excluded-by-noindex-tag/): Excluded by noindex tag, now shown as URL marked noindex, means Google obeyed a directive you may not know you set.
- [X-Robots-Tag noindex: how to keep PDFs and images out of Google](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/x-robots-tag-noindex/): How the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header applies noindex to PDFs, images and other non-HTML files, why robots.txt cannot, and how to test it.
- [Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt: what it means](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/indexed-though-blocked-by-robots-txt/): Google indexed a URL it was never allowed to fetch.
- [Does Google use lastmod in a sitemap?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/does-google-use-lastmod-in-sitemap/): Google ignores priority and changefreq outright, and uses lastmod only when it is consistently and verifiably accurate.
- [Googlebot does not parse JSON: what that changes](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/googlebot-does-not-parse-json/): Gary Illyes confirmed Google's crawlers only download JSON, JSON-LD included.
- [Failed: robots.txt unreachable in Search Console](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/failed-robots-txt-unreachable/): What failed: robots.txt unreachable means, the 12 hour and 30 day clock Google runs behind it, and the fix order that gets crawling back the same day.
- [How many URLs can a sitemap have?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/how-many-urls-can-a-sitemap-have/): A sitemap can hold 50,000 URLs or 50MB uncompressed, whichever comes first.
- [Noindex vs robots.txt: which one removes a page](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/noindex-vs-robots-txt/): Noindex removes a page from Google, robots.txt only stops crawling, and combining them breaks both.

### Canonicals and duplicates (6)

- [Canonicals and duplicates index](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/category/canonicals/): Canonical tags, duplicate URLs, hreflang, and the mess of near-identical pages.
- [Hreflang errors: why your country versions are not indexed (and how to fix them)](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/hreflang-errors/): Hreflang errors that make Google ignore your country versions, where Search Console reports them now International Targeting is gone, and the fix.
- [Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user: what it means and when to act](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/duplicate-google-chose-different-canonical/): What the Search Console status Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user means, why your tag was overruled, and when to fix it.
- [301 vs 308 redirect: does the difference matter for SEO?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/301-vs-308-redirect/): Google treats 301 and 308 redirects identically: both are permanent, strong canonical signals.
- [Do trailing slashes matter for SEO?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/trailing-slash-seo/): Google treats /page and /page/ as two separate URLs.
- [Alternate page with proper canonical tag: what it means](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/alternate-page-with-proper-canonical-tag/): The one Search Console status that tells you nothing is wrong.
- [Duplicate without user-selected canonical: what it means](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/duplicate-without-user-selected-canonical/): Google found a duplicate and picked the canonical for you because you never picked one.

### WordPress (13)

- [WordPress index](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/category/wordpress/): WordPress-specific SEO faults, from sitemaps and feeds to plugin defaults.
- [Why WooCommerce cart and checkout pages show up in Google](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/woocommerce-cart-and-checkout-pages-in-google/): WooCommerce has noindexed cart, checkout and my account since version 3.2.
- [Default robots.txt for WordPress: what core actually serves](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/default-robots-txt-for-wordpress/): The three lines WordPress core outputs, where the Sitemap line comes from, and why a physical robots.txt file silently switches all of it off.
- [WordPress search result pages in Google: why ?s= URLs show up](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/wordpress-search-results-pages-indexed/): WordPress noindexes ?s= search pages by default since 5.7.
- [Should WordPress /page/2/ be indexed? What Google does with archives](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/wordpress-paginated-pages-page-2-seo/): Should WordPress /page/2/ be indexed?
- [WordPress redirect loop: how to fix it, and what it costs you in Google](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/wordpress-redirect-loop/): A WordPress redirect loop is usually two rules disagreeing about www or https.
- [WordPress Core Security Initiative: what it is and why it matters for SEO](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/wordpress-core-security-initiative/): WordPress announced a Core Security Initiative on 28 August: three pillars, driven by AI-assisted reports.
- [Rank Math's support agent creates an admin application password: I read the code](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/rank-math-support-agent-application-password/): Rank Math 1.0.277 provisions an application password for its new support agent.
- [What is wp-sitemap.xml? The WordPress core sitemap](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/what-is-wp-sitemap-xml/): WordPress has shipped its own sitemap at /wp-sitemap.xml since 5.5.
- [Why WordPress /feed/ URLs show as crawled, not indexed](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/wordpress-feed-urls-not-indexed/): Every WordPress install publishes a stack of RSS feeds you never made.
- [Should you noindex WordPress category and tag pages?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/wordpress-category-and-tag-pages-in-google/): WordPress creates an archive for every category and tag whether you use it or not.
- [WordPress robots.txt: where it is, what it contains, how to edit it](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/where-is-robots-txt-in-wordpress/): WordPress has no robots.txt file on disk.
- [WordPress attachment pages are still on your site](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/wordpress-attachment-pages-indexed/): WordPress 6.4 turned attachment pages off, but only for brand new installs.
- [Discourage search engines from indexing this site: what it does](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/discourage-search-engines-from-indexing-this-site/): The WordPress checkbox does not edit robots.txt any more.

### AI search (13)

- [AI search index](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/category/ai-search/): AI Overviews, AI Mode, llms.txt, and the crawlers behind ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.
- [Why ChatGPT cannot see my website, and how I check each step](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/why-chatgpt-cannot-see-my-website/): OpenAI runs four crawlers and only one decides whether you appear in ChatGPT search.
- [Does schema markup help with AI search? What the docs say](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/does-schema-markup-help-with-ai-search/): No primary source from Google, OpenAI or Perplexity says schema improves AI citation.
- [How to track AI Overview traffic in GA4 (and why you cannot)](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/track-ai-overview-traffic-in-ga4/): GA4 cannot separate AI Overview visits from ordinary Google clicks, and Google says so in its own docs.
- [Google AI Overviews now auto-expand: what it changes in Search Console](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/ai-overviews-auto-expand/): Google now auto-expands AI Overviews on some queries, pushing blue links down.
- [How to keep your content out of AI Overviews and AI Mode](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/keep-content-out-of-ai-overviews/): A Search Console setting now removes your site from AI Overviews and AI Mode without touching your rankings.
- [Does robots.txt block Claude? ClaudeBot, Claude-User and Claude-SearchBot](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/does-robots-txt-block-claude/): Anthropic runs three crawlers with three jobs.
- [Does robots.txt block Perplexity? PerplexityBot vs Perplexity-User](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/does-robots-txt-block-perplexity/): Perplexity runs two fetchers with different rules.
- [Google-Extended in robots.txt: what blocking it does](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/google-extended-in-robots-txt/): Google-Extended controls Gemini training and grounding, not Search.
- [Can you see AI Mode traffic in Search Console?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/ai-mode-traffic-in-search-console/): AI Overviews and AI Mode data is in Search Console, mixed into Web search type with no filter.
- [What is WebMCP, and does it affect SEO?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/what-is-webmcp-and-does-it-affect-seo/): ChatGPT's browser now reads tools that websites declare in JavaScript.
- [llms.txt v2: what changed, and does it help SEO?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/llms-txt-v2-what-changed/): The llms.txt proposal was revised on 10 August 2026.
- [Do I need to optimize for AI Overviews?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/do-i-need-to-optimize-for-ai-overviews/): Google says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.
- [Does robots.txt block ChatGPT? Not the way you think](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/does-robots-txt-block-chatgpt/): OpenAI runs four crawlers and they do different jobs.

### Google updates (9)

- [Google updates index](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/category/google-updates/): Algorithm updates, policy changes, and what they mean for real sites.
- [Is programmatic SEO bad? What John Mueller actually said](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/is-programmatic-seo-bad/): Mueller called programmatic SEO a play that often leads to spam on 7 September 2026.
- [Google's site reputation policy update: what changed](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/google-site-reputation-policy-update/): Google splits site reputation manual actions by region from 30 August.
- [How long do Google updates take to roll out?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/how-long-do-google-updates-take-to-roll-out/): Ten rollouts from Google's status dashboard, timed.
- [What is google.com/goto in Google's search results?](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/google-com-goto-in-search-results/): Google confirmed it is routing search result links through a google.com/goto redirect.
- [Google changed JSON-LD escaping: what to check on your site](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/google-json-ld-escaping-change/): Googlebot now applies one pass of HTML unescaping to JSON-LD.
- [Site name not showing in Google Search: how to fix it](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/site-name-not-showing-in-google/): Google picks your site name automatically from the home page.
- [Favicons disappearing from Google Search: what happened](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/favicons-disappearing-from-google-search/): Sites lost their favicons in Google Search from about 17 August 2026.
- [What to do during a Google update: my checklist](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/what-to-do-during-a-google-update/): A Google update is rolling out.
- [August 2026 spam update: what Google said and what to check](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/august-2026-spam-update/): Google's third spam update of 2026 began 18 August.

### Ecommerce (5)

- [Ecommerce index](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/category/ecommerce/): Product pages, Merchant Center, faceted URLs, and shop-specific indexing.
- [Out of stock products and SEO: delete, redirect, or leave it live](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/out-of-stock-products-seo/): Out of stock products and SEO: when to delete, redirect or keep the page, and which Search Console indexing status each choice actually produces.
- [Shopify duplicate content: the /collections/ product URL problem](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/shopify-duplicate-content-collections/): Every Shopify product has two live URLs.
- [Faceted navigation SEO: stop filter URLs flooding Google (WooCommerce and Shopify)](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/faceted-navigation-seo/): Faceted navigation SEO for WooCommerce and Shopify: which filter URLs to block, why canonical alone does not stop crawling, and what the report shows.
- [Google Merchant Center image size: the new 500 x 500 minimum](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/merchant-center-product-image-size-500x500/): From 31 January 2027 product images under 500 x 500 pixels stop being approved.
- [The same store, seven empty indexes](https://www.shahidali.co/blog/same-store-seven-empty-indexes/): One skincare brand, seven country storefronts on Shopify, and the indexing lesson that repeats at every launch: Google does not transfer trust between domains.

## Case studies (42 client sites, per-URL indexing outcomes)

- [Case studies index](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/): The full list, grouped by sector.
- [International skincare brand](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/skincare-brand/): UK, US, Australia, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand and EU stores.
- [Baby products store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/baby-products-store/): A baby products store whose catalogue keeps slipping out of Google's index.
- [Junk removal company](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/junk-removal-company/): Full site re-index plus technical fixes for a junk removal company.
- [London hypnotherapy practice](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/hypnotherapy-practice/): Full site audit, indexing fixes and a per-URL cleanup for a hypnotherapy practice.
- [US real estate investor site](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/real-estate-audit/): A live-verified technical audit of 159 URLs with a scorecard the owner could act on: strong content, missing schema, slow mobile pages, ranked by fix order.
- [Three UK locksmith businesses](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/locksmiths/): Programmatic location pages for three locksmith businesses: built in WordPress, indexed and tracked URL by URL.
- [Crypto news publisher](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/crypto-news-publisher/): A high-volume crypto news publisher whose archive Google was barely touching.
- [Vietnamese spa brand](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/vietnam-spa-brand/): A Vietnamese spa site stuck with unresolved 404s and redirects.
- [US and Canada safety compliance publisher](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/safety-compliance-publisher/): A workplace safety and OSHA compliance publisher running separate US and Canadian sites.
- [Outdoor living e-commerce store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/outdoor-living-store/): An outdoor living and BBQ store on Shopify with a very large product catalogue.
- [Home sauna and wellness store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/home-sauna-store/): A wellness store selling home saunas and recovery equipment.
- [Indian market e-commerce store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/india-ecommerce-store/): A Shopify store selling into the Indian market.
- [UK games room retailer](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/games-room-retailer/): A UK retailer selling pool tables, air hockey and table football.
- [Photography backdrop store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/photography-backdrop-store/): An e-commerce store selling themed photography backdrops.
- [German B2B consulting firm](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/german-consulting-firm/): A German-language B2B consulting firm with articles, lead funnels and landing pages.
- [UK K-beauty retailer](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/kbeauty-retailer/): A UK retailer of Korean skincare brands.
- [Health and supplement review site](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/health-review-publisher/): A health and supplement review publisher with hundreds of product review and category pages.
- [Mobile notary and fingerprinting service](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/mobile-notary-service/): A mobile notary, live scan fingerprinting and apostille service across California.
- [Device repair shop, DFW](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/device-repair-locations/): A device repair business with programmatic location pages across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro.
- [Pet products e-commerce store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/pet-products-store/): A pet products store with a full catalogue of products and collections.
- [Creative and design agency](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/design-agency-site/): A creative and design agency site with services, portfolio and articles.
- [Multilingual feng shui and spiritual store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/multilingual-spiritual-store/): A feng shui and spiritual products store running Chinese and English versions of the site.
- [UK gifts and homeware store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/gifts-homeware-store/): A UK gifts and homeware store selling mugs, coasters and tumblers.
- [Multilingual dietitian practice](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/dietitian-practice/): A dietitian practice with online booking, running English, French and Ukrainian versions.
- [Singapore aircon servicing company](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/aircon-servicing-singapore/): An air conditioning servicing company in Singapore with area pages, service pages and a blog.
- [Motorcycle gear store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/motorcycle-gear-store/): A motorcycle apparel and gear store selling boots, suits, helmets and protection.
- [Local sports media and podcast](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/sports-media-podcast/): A local sports news and podcast site covering match reports and college games.
- [UK health and safety training provider](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/safety-training-provider/): A workplace health and safety training provider with a catalogue of online courses.
- [College and dorm lifestyle store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/college-dorm-store/): A college and dorm lifestyle brand with advice content and products.
- [Piano and instrument retailer](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/piano-retailer/): A piano and musical instrument retailer with a large product catalogue.
- [CBT therapy center](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/cbt-therapy-center/): A cognitive behavioral therapy center with service pages and a large article library.
- [Plumbing service company](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/plumbing-service/): A plumbing company with service pages, area pages and a blog.
- [Construction and building company](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/construction-company/): A construction and building company with hundreds of service, project and article pages.
- [Australian fitness studio](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/fitness-studio-australia/): A fitness studio in Australia with class, training and timetable pages.
- [Toronto painting company](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/painting-company-toronto/): A painting and decorating company in Toronto with service pages, area pages and a portfolio.
- [Private medical practice](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/medical-practice-site/): A private medical practice with service, condition and treatment pages.
- [Dog food brand](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/dog-food-brand/): A dog food brand with product, recipe and breed-guide pages.
- [UK skincare and beauty store](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/uk-skincare-store/): A UK beauty and skincare store with product, collection and ingredient pages.
- [Relationship coaching practice](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/relationship-coaching-site/): A relationship coaching practice with programs, resources and a large article library.
- [Hyperlocal news site, Surrey UK](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/redhill-extra/): Redhill Extra covers Redhill, Reigate and Horley.
- [Australian fishing forum](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/fishing-forum-australia/): A large Australian fishing forum whose every sitemap read Couldn't fetch after a platform upgrade.
- [UK news publisher](https://www.shahidali.co/indexing-work/news-publisher-seo-audit/): A five-month-old news site with clean technical foundations and one URL in Google's index.

## Profiles

- Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/mrshahidseo
- GitHub: https://github.com/Mrshahidali420
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mrshahidseo
- X: https://x.com/MrShahidSEO
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrshahidseo
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrshahidseo
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahidaliseo

The exhaustive machine-readable list of every URL is at https://www.shahidali.co/sitemap-index.xml.