How SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base Works with Existing SEO Settings

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base includes built-in SEO features for articles and category pages.

However, your WordPress website may already have another system managing page titles, meta descriptions, canonical URLs or structured data.

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base is designed to avoid unnecessary duplicate SEO information where possible.

Do you need to use the built-in SEO settings?

You do not have to use every SEO option included with SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base.

The best setup depends on how the rest of your website is managed.

You can either:

• Use the built-in SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base SEO
• Continue using the SEO system already configured on your website
• Use the knowledge base SEO only for features not handled elsewhere

The important thing is to avoid having two systems outputting the same information on the same page.

What can cause duplicate SEO information?

Duplicate SEO information can appear when more than one system adds:

• Page titles
• Meta descriptions
• Canonical URLs
• Article structured data
• Breadcrumb structured data
• Social sharing metadata
• Indexing instructions

For example, an article page could accidentally contain two meta descriptions or two canonical URLs.

This can make it less clear which version search engines should use.

How SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base responds

When another recognised SEO system is managing the page, SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base can step back from parts of its own SEO output.

This helps reduce the chance of duplicate tags being added to knowledge base articles and category pages.

The exact behaviour can depend on:

• Which SEO features are enabled
• How your website theme handles SEO
• Whether custom SEO code is present
• The type of knowledge base page being viewed

It is still worth checking a public article after changing your settings.

Choose one main SEO system

For the clearest setup, use one main system to manage each type of SEO information.

For example:

Option One: Use SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base SEO

Use the built-in knowledge base SEO for:

• Article titles
• Meta descriptions
• Canonical URLs
• Article structured data
• Breadcrumb structured data
• Unlisted article noindex rules

This is a straightforward option when your website does not already manage those items.

Option Two: Use your existing website SEO settings

Continue using the SEO setup already active across the website.

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base can still manage knowledge base-specific behaviour such as:

• Unlisted article visibility
• Article and category URLs
• Breadcrumb navigation
• Article modified dates
• Knowledge base content structure

The existing website SEO system can then manage the page title, description and other general metadata.

Open the knowledge base SEO settings

To review the available options:

1. Sign in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Open Knowledge Base > Settings.
3. Select Privacy & SEO.
4. Find the Knowledge Base SEO section.
5. Enable or disable the relevant options.
6. Select Save Changes.
7. Open a public article and category page to check the result.

Do not make several SEO changes at once unless you are comfortable checking the page source afterwards.

Check the browser title

Open a published knowledge base article and look at the browser tab.

The title should clearly describe the article.

For example:

How to Create a Knowledge Base Article | SoftwareRoad

Watch for problems such as:

How to Create a Knowledge Base Article | SoftwareRoad | SoftwareRoad

A repeated website name can indicate that more than one system is modifying the page title.

Check the meta description

A page should normally contain one main meta description.

To check it:

1. Open a published knowledge base article.
2. View the page source in your browser.
3. Search for:

name="description"

4. Check how many matching description tags appear.

If you find more than one, review the SEO settings used by the knowledge base, theme and website.

Check the canonical URL

A canonical URL identifies the preferred public address of the article.

In the page source, search for:

rel="canonical"

There should normally be one canonical URL pointing to the current published article address.

Possible problems include:

• Two canonical URLs
• A canonical URL pointing to the homepage
• A staging website address
• An old article permalink
• An HTTP address when the website uses HTTPS

Correct the system producing the wrong canonical URL.

Check structured data

Structured data is normally added using JSON-LD code.

Search the page source for:

application/ld+json

More than one structured data block is not automatically a problem.

A page may legitimately contain separate information for:

• The website
• The organisation
• The article
• Breadcrumbs

The problem is when two blocks describe the same article or breadcrumb path using conflicting information.

Duplicate article structured data

If two systems both describe the knowledge base article, you may find duplicate values for:

• Article title
• Description
• Publication date
• Modified date
• Author or publisher
• Article URL

Choose which system should manage the article information and disable the duplicate output where possible.

Duplicate breadcrumb structured data

Your website may already add breadcrumb structured data.

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base can also add breadcrumb information based on its article and category structure.

If both are present, check whether they describe the same path.

For example:

Home > Knowledge Base > Getting Started > Article

and:

Knowledge Base > Getting Started > Article

The paths may both be understandable, but you should avoid conflicting breadcrumb information.

Visible breadcrumbs are separate

Visible breadcrumbs and breadcrumb structured data are related, but they are not the same thing.

Visible breadcrumbs are the navigation links visitors see on the page.

Structured breadcrumb data is hidden information intended for search engines.

You can continue displaying SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base breadcrumbs even if another system manages the structured data.

Social sharing metadata

Social platforms may use page metadata when creating article previews.

This can include:

• Page title
• Description
• Article URL
• Featured image
• Website name

If a shared article shows the wrong information, check which system is generating the social sharing metadata.

Also check:

• The article title
• The article excerpt
• The featured image
• The public article URL
• Cached social previews

External platforms may continue showing an older preview for some time.

Article excerpts

A manual article excerpt is useful whichever SEO system you use.

To add one:

1. Open Knowledge Base > All Articles.
2. Edit the article.
3. Find the Excerpt panel.
4. Add a short summary.
5. Select Update.

For example:

Learn how to create, publish and organise articles using SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base for WordPress.

The excerpt may be used by the built-in SEO, your existing website setup, article cards or social previews.

Featured images

A featured image can also be used by several parts of the website.

It may appear in:

• Social sharing previews
• Search result previews
• Recommended Articles
• Related Articles
• Category article cards

To add one:

1. Edit the knowledge base article.
2. Find the Featured Image panel.
3. Select or upload an image.
4. Update the article.

Use one clear and relevant image rather than several conflicting article images.

Existing custom SEO code

Some websites add SEO information directly through the theme or custom code.

This may include functions that output:

• Custom page titles
• Meta descriptions
• Canonical URLs
• Open Graph tags
• Structured data

If duplicate tags remain after changing the knowledge base settings, review the theme and any custom code.

The duplicate output may not be coming from the knowledge base itself.

SEO settings in the WordPress theme

Some WordPress themes include their own title, breadcrumb or social sharing options.

Check the theme settings if you notice:

• Repeated page titles
• Duplicate breadcrumbs
• Extra article schema
• An unexpected social image
• The wrong website name

Disable the duplicate theme feature rather than changing the article content.

Built-in SEO and unlisted articles

Unlisted articles need special handling because they are publicly reachable but should not appear in normal discovery areas.

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base marks unlisted articles so search engines should not index them.

They are also normally excluded from:

• Knowledge base search
• Category pages
• Popular Articles
• Related Articles
• Recommended Articles
• XML sitemaps

Keep the knowledge base unlisted setting active even when another system manages the rest of the article SEO.

Check the noindex instruction

To confirm an unlisted article is marked correctly:

1. Open the article while signed out of WordPress.
2. View the page source.
3. Search for:

noindex

4. Confirm that the instruction appears.

Do not use unlisted articles for confidential information.

Anyone with the direct URL may still be able to open the page.

Inactive licence pages

If the SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base licence becomes inactive, the normal public knowledge base content may become unavailable.

The plugin can add noindex and nofollow instructions to prevent search engines indexing the unavailable content in place of the real article.

This behaviour should remain active regardless of which system manages the normal article titles and descriptions.

XML sitemaps

Your website SEO setup may generate an XML sitemap containing public pages.

Published knowledge base articles may be included in that sitemap.

Unlisted articles should be excluded.

After changing SEO settings, check that:

• Public articles appear where expected
• Unlisted articles are absent
• Draft articles are absent
• Old deleted URLs are not included
• Category pages are handled as expected

The exact sitemap address depends on how your website is configured.

Avoid indexing duplicate knowledge base pages

Only one main WordPress page should normally contain the complete knowledge base homepage.

If the shortcode is placed on several pages, search engines may find several pages showing very similar content.

Choose one main knowledge base page under:

Knowledge Base > Settings > General

Remove or noindex unused test pages.

Staging and test websites

Do not allow a staging copy of the knowledge base to compete with the live website.

Check that the staging website is protected from indexing.

Also make sure automatic links and canonical URLs do not point to the staging domain after the website is moved live.

Common staging addresses may contain:

• staging
• dev
• test
• A temporary hosting domain

Review the public page source after completing a website migration.

Check after changing the website domain

If the website domain changes:

1. Update the WordPress Site Address.
2. Check the selected Knowledge Base Page.
3. Refresh WordPress permalinks.
4. Review automatic article links.
5. Check canonical URLs.
6. Check structured data URLs.
7. Check featured image URLs.
8. Clear all caches.
9. Test the XML sitemap.

Old domain references can remain inside saved content or cached metadata.

Avoid changing SEO systems unnecessarily

Switching between SEO systems can change:

• Page title formatting
• Meta descriptions
• Canonical URLs
• Structured data
• Social previews
• XML sitemap entries

Choose a stable setup and keep it consistent.

Only change systems when there is a clear reason and you can check the public articles afterwards.

Test one article first

Before changing the SEO setup for the whole knowledge base, test one published article.

Check:

• Browser title
• Meta description
• Canonical URL
• Structured data
• Breadcrumbs
• Social preview information
• No duplicate tags

Once the test article looks correct, check a category page and an unlisted article.

Test a category page

Category pages can also receive titles, descriptions, canonical URLs and breadcrumb data.

Open a category and confirm that:

• The title uses the correct category name
• The description matches the category
• The canonical URL points to the category
• Breadcrumbs show the correct path
• The page is not accidentally marked noindex

Empty categories may not provide enough useful content to appear publicly.

Test while signed out

Always complete the final SEO check while signed out of WordPress.

Admin toolbars, previews and editing permissions can affect what you see.

Use a private browser window to view the same version normal visitors and search engines receive.

Clear the website cache

SEO changes may not appear immediately when the article page is cached.

After changing settings:

1. Clear the WordPress cache.
2. Clear any hosting or server cache.
3. Clear your browser cache.
4. Open the page in a private browser window.
5. View the page source again.

Make sure you are checking the public article rather than an editor preview.

Search results still show old information

Search engines may continue showing an old title or description after the live page has been updated.

First confirm that the current public article contains the correct information.

If the live page is correct, the search result can update after the page is crawled again.

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base cannot control exactly when an external search engine refreshes its stored result.

The website name appears twice

A duplicated site name usually means two systems are both adding it to the page title.

For example:

Article Title | SoftwareRoad | SoftwareRoad

Check:

• The SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base SEO title format
• Existing website title settings
• Theme title settings
• Custom title code

Keep the site name in only one place.

Two meta descriptions appear

If two description tags appear:

1. Confirm built-in Knowledge Base SEO is enabled.
2. Check whether the website already outputs descriptions.
3. Decide which system should control them.
4. Disable the duplicate output.
5. Clear the cache.
6. Check the source again.

Do not try to solve duplicate descriptions by deleting the article excerpt.

The excerpt is still useful for article cards and other parts of the knowledge base.

Two canonical URLs appear

Duplicate canonical URLs should be corrected.

Check which systems are producing them and disable one.

Make sure the remaining canonical URL points to the public article address.

Do not leave two different canonical destinations on the same page.

The wrong structured data appears

If structured data uses the wrong title, URL or date:

• Update the article
• Check the article excerpt
• Check the public permalink
• Review which SEO system produced the data
• Clear the website cache
• Check for old custom schema code

Do not manually edit generated JSON-LD inside the page source.

Correct the setting or content used to generate it.

SEO compatibility checklist

Before finishing, check that:

• One main system manages page titles
• One main meta description is present
• One canonical URL is present
• Structured data is not duplicated unnecessarily
• Visible breadcrumbs work correctly
• Breadcrumb structured data uses the correct path
• Article excerpts are clear
• Featured images are suitable
• Unlisted articles are marked noindex
• Inactive content is protected from indexing
• Public articles use the live domain
• Staging pages are not being indexed
• The setup has been tested while signed out

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base can now work alongside your existing website SEO settings without adding unnecessary duplicate information.