Clarity SEO

Clarity SEO is the lightweight SEO plugin built for the AI search era. Get all the meta tags, Schema.org markup, XML sitemap, and 301 redirect tools you need to rank in Google — plus the AI-readiness features that prepare your site for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. All under 100KB, with zero frontend overhead. A clean alternative to other heavyweight SEO plugins: same professional features, none of the bloat or upsells inside your free plugin. No frontend JavaScript, no CSS injected, no external API calls on visitor requests. Your pages stay fast, your editor stays clean, and your search rankings keep climbing. Trusted by site owners who want a serious SEO toolkit without the slowdown. 🚀 Why Clarity SEO?

• Lightweight — under 100KB, zero frontend JS/CSS, faster Core Web Vitals
• AI-ready — built for the AI search era (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity)
• Complete free toolkit — meta tags, schema, sitemap, redirects, audit, GSC, image SEO, readability
• Honest pricing — feature-rich free version, optional Pro for AI superpowers
• Easy migration — one-click import of meta titles, descriptions, and focus keywords from your existing SEO plugin
• WooCommerce ready — SEO metabox on products, Product schema, sitemap inclusion

🎯 Core Features Per-Page Meta Tags & Open Graph Automatically generates meta title, description, keywords, and Open Graph tags from your content. Override any field manually in the Gutenberg sidebar metabox. Full Twitter Card support included. Schema.org JSON-LD Markup Rich structured data for WebPage, Article, BlogPosting, FAQPage, VideoObject, LocalBusiness, Product, and custom types. Supports multiple schema types per page. Organization schema with logo, contact, and social profiles. Dynamic XML Sitemap Automatically generated /sitemap.xml with proper priorities, change frequencies, image tags, video support, and Google News tags for blog posts. Includes all public post types and taxonomy terms. Noindexed pages are automatically excluded. Document Title Integration Clarity SEO integrates with WordPress document_title_parts to set your custom meta title as the actual browser tab title — no separate title tag plugin needed. Readability Analysis Real-time Flesch-Kincaid readability score in the editor. Aim for 60+ for optimal readability. Get actionable tips to improve your content. Focus Keywords & Density Set focus keywords per post and get real-time keyword density analysis. Optimal range indicator helps you avoid over- or under-optimization. Internal linking suggestions based on your focus keywords. SEO Score Visual 0-100 SEO score per post based on meta title, description, keywords, density, and readability. See at a glance which posts need attention. Color-coded SEO score column visible directly in your Posts and Pages list. Google SERP Preview See exactly how your page will appear in Google search results — right inside the editor. The preview updates live as you type your meta title and description. 🔧 Advanced Tools 301 Redirect Manager Create redirects with simple URL matching or regex patterns. Easily redirect old URLs to new ones. Built-in validation for regex patterns. Full management UI with add/delete in the Settings page. 404 Monitor Automatic logging of 404 errors with hit count, timestamps, referrer tracking, and user agent data. Uses a dedicated database table for zero performance impact on your options table. Expanded bot/scanner filtering to reduce noise. Export to CSV, paginated interface, and automatic cleanup of old logs. Image SEO Auto-generate alt text and titles from filenames on upload. Bulk find-and-replace tool for existing image alt text (processes up to 500 images per batch). Local Business SEO Add business address, geo coordinates, and contact information for LocalBusiness schema. Perfect for brick-and-mortar businesses. Google Search Console Integration Connect via OAuth2 access token to fetch top-performing pages and URL inspection status. Cached API calls to respect quotas. Keyword Position Tracking Track keyword rankings over time via GSC Search Analytics API. Weekly email reports with position, impressions, and click data. History automatically trimmed to 90 entries per keyword. SEO Audit Checklist 30-point automated health check covering HTTPS, permalinks, sitemap, robots.txt, meta tags, schema, alt tags, readability, content length, internal links, and more. Actionable fix links for every issue. Breadcrumbs Schema-enhanced breadcrumbs via [clarity_seo_breadcrumbs] shortcode. Supports page hierarchy, post categories, archives, and search results. Setup Wizard Quick onboarding wizard to configure your organization name, logo, social profiles, contact info, and global defaults in one step. Noindex / Nofollow Per-post control to exclude specific pages from search engine indexing. Noindexed pages are automatically excluded from the XML sitemap. Import from Yoast / Rank Math Import meta titles, descriptions, and focus keywords from Yoast SEO or Rank Math. Processes in batches of 100 for safe handling of large sites. Existing Clarity SEO data is never overwritten. Bulk Meta Generation One-click tool on the Dashboard to auto-generate missing meta titles and descriptions for all published content. Titles use your post title + site name pattern; descriptions are extracted from excerpts or content. Schema Toggles Enable or disable individual schema types (Organization, FAQ, Video, Multiple) directly from the Settings page. 🚀 Performance First

• Custom database table for 404 logs — no wp_options bloat
• Transient caching for GSC API calls
• Keyword history auto-trimmed to prevent unbounded option growth
• Minimal footprint: zero frontend JS/CSS, no external API calls
• No external API calls on frontend (everything is self-contained)
• Admin scripts only load on relevant pages

⭐ Clarity SEO Pro — Premium AI Included Want to take your SEO further? Clarity SEO Pro unlocks the AI-first features that keep your site competitive in the AI search era. No API keys needed — premium AI is included. ✨ Click and it works

• No OpenAI / Claude account needed. Pro subscription includes monthly AI credits. Click "Generate" — done.
• Powered by Claude Sonnet 4.6 (top-tier AI quality, not a budget model). Same engine the pros use.
• Need more? Buy 100, 500, or 2000 extra credits any time. Credits never expire.

Pro features

• AI Meta Suggestions — AI-written meta titles and descriptions, optimised for click-through. 1 credit per generation (3 titles + 3 descriptions).
• AI Visibility Tracker — see how your site appears in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity for your target queries, with weekly reports. 1 credit per query check.
• Advanced Schema Pack — Recipe, HowTo, Event, Course, Job, Software schema types.
• Multi-language SEO — hreflang automation and AI translation hints.
• WooCommerce SEO Pro — dynamic variables and variant-aware product schema.
• Bulk operations — AI-assisted bulk meta editing and bulk schema apply.
• Priority support — direct dev access, 24-hour response.

💎 Pro pricing — credits per month included

• Solo (1 site): €4.95/mo or €49/yr — 50 AI credits/mo
• Pro (5 sites): €9.95/mo or €99/yr — 200 AI credits/mo
• Agency (20 sites): €24.95/mo or €249/yr — 1000 AI credits/mo
• Lifetime tiers also available — pay once, use forever

Top-up packs: 100 credits €4.95 · 500 credits €19.95 · 2000 credits €69.95. 30-day money-back guarantee. See full pricing → 🤝 Companion product: SiteBirds Looking for an AI chatbot, lead capture, and bookings layer on top of your WordPress site? Try our companion product SiteBirds — a separate website growth layer that complements Clarity SEO without replacing it. 🤝 Compatibility

• WordPress 5.8+ through 6.9
• WooCommerce: metabox on products, schema support, sitemap inclusion
• Gutenberg: full block editor integration with sidebar metabox
• Classic Editor: works with the standard meta box interface
• Extend with filters: clarity_seo_metabox_post_types to add custom post types

1. Upload the clarity-seo folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or install directly from the WordPress Plugins screen.
2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
3. Go to Clarity SEO → Setup Wizard to configure your global settings (organization, social profiles, default OG image).
4. Go to Clarity SEO → Settings for advanced configuration (schema toggles, redirects, GSC integration, imports).
5. Edit any post or page — the Clarity SEO metabox appears in the sidebar with readability, focus keywords, SERP preview, and SEO score.
6. Want AI-powered features? Visit Clarity SEO → Upgrade to Pro to unlock AI Meta Suggestions, AI Visibility Tracker, and more.

Quick Start After activation, the plugin works out of the box with sensible defaults:

• Meta tags are auto-generated from your post titles and excerpts
• A dynamic sitemap is available at /sitemap.xml
• Virtual robots.txt is configured automatically
• Schema markup is added to all pages

Visit the Setup Wizard to fine-tune your organization details, then check the SEO Audit to see what else needs attention.

2.9.2 — 20 May 2026

• Hotfix: Fixed PHP Fatal Error in rank-tracker.php — isset() was incorrectly wrapping a sanitize_text_field() call (not allowed in PHP). Replaced with a clean $raw_kws variable check. This crash affected the rank-keyword save form on PHP 7.4+.

2.9.1 — 20 May 2026

• Review prompt now actually fires. Lowered the activation gate from 7 days + 3 engaged posts to 3 days + 1 engaged post OR 3+ admin page views. Existing users will see the prompt within 3 days of activation.
• Real success-event triggers wired up. The clarity_seo_user_won action now fires automatically after Setup Wizard completion, first SEO Audit run, GSC connection, first Clarity meta save on any post, and on the 7th distinct admin page view (heavy explorers).
• In-plugin email opt-in. A one-time, dismissible admin notice on Clarity pages invites users to receive the free AI SEO checklist and product updates. Pre-fills with the WP admin email. Posts to PluginJoy.com with full opt-out, no third-party scripts.
• Polished review notice. New PluginJoy purple gradient with ★ illustration, friendlier copy ("Is Clarity SEO helping?"), three clear actions (Leave 5-star review / I already reviewed / Maybe later).
• Daily-bucketed admin pageview counter. Counts at most one view per user per calendar day to avoid hot-reload inflation.
• Tested up to WordPress 6.9.4.

2.9.0

• NEW — Live Google Search Console dashboard via Site Kit: real keyword positions, impressions, clicks and CTR live inside Clarity. Detects Google's free Site Kit plugin and pulls data automatically — no API keys, no OAuth setup.
• NEW — Search performance chart with date ranges: dual-line SVG chart of clicks + impressions over 7d / 28d / 3m / 6m / 12m / 16m, with ↑/↓ % deltas vs the previous period on every stat card.
• NEW — Free Rank Tracker: track 5 keywords daily. 30-day position history with sparkline per keyword. Reads from your Search Console connection automatically.
• NEW — Top Keywords / Pages / Countries tables inside the Search Console settings tab, all live data, cached 6h.
• NEW — Dual scoring system in every Gutenberg/Classic metabox — live SEO Score + AI Search Score (both 0-100) with checklist showing exactly what to fix.
• NEW — Live SERP preview: see your meta title and description rendered as a Google result while you type. Desktop / mobile toggle. Character counter goes green / orange / red.
• NEW — Closed-loop SEO audit: 30+ checks now scan your whole site (not just 10 recent posts). Every "Fix this" button filters the post list to exactly the posts that need work, with an explainer notice and a link back to the audit. Edit a post → save → re-audit shows the improvement.
• NEW — AI Search Score grades each post for ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini / Perplexity citation readiness — first SEO plugin on WordPress.org to do this.
• NEW — Conflict detector: warns you if Yoast / Rank Math / AIOSEO / SEOPress / Slim SEO / The SEO Framework / Squirrly is also active, so you don't accidentally double up meta tags.
• Redesigned admin UI — every Clarity page now uses one unified hero, Clarity logo wings icon in the sidebar, indigo brand color throughout.
• Settings page now uses tabs — General · Schema & Local · Search Console · Redirects · 404 Monitor · Tools — same UX as the Pro section.
• Setup Wizard rewritten with a 3-step structure, Apple-clear form fields, and clear next-step CTAs on completion.
• Improved: Dashboard smart-status now reads "X of 6 things set up" with a live donut. Stat cards link directly into the right Settings tab.
• Fix: meta coverage no longer reports >100% on sites with revisions / autosaves; full-site stats are cached 1h and invalidate automatically when you save a post.
• Fix: Setup Wizard "complete" state was never recognised due to an option-name mismatch — banner now disappears after you finish the wizard.
• Performance: full plugin ships under 160KB zipped. No external JS libraries — every chart and widget is pure inline SVG.

2.8.7

• AI-search-era unlock: auto-generated /llms.txt endpoint (llmstxt.org standard) — your site is now discoverable by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity without them having to crawl every page.
• AI crawler welcome: robots.txt now explicitly allows GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended and 7 more — filterable via clarity_seo_allow_ai_crawlers.
• Fix: duplicate canonical tag on every page — Clarity now properly removes WP core canonical so only one canonical URL is emitted (Google webmaster guideline compliance).
• Fix: duplicate sitemap conflict — disables WordPress 5.5+ core /wp-sitemap.xml when Clarity is active, so /sitemap.xml is canonical.
• Fix: meta keywords no longer leaks the page slug ("home") when no explicit keywords are set — only outputs when there's actual SEO value.

2.8.6

• Readme metadata cleanup — fix contributors order; optimized search tags for AI search era.

2.8.5

• New: v3 review prompt — usage-based trigger (3+ posts with Clarity meta) instead of pure timer.
• New: Subtle review prompt inside the post editor — most users live in Gutenberg, not on Clarity admin pages.
• New: clarity_seo_user_won action — fires the review prompt right after a real success event (e.g. AI generate).
• New: Backfill of activation_time for older installs that never recorded one — they now see the prompt.
• Improved: Direct 5-star review URL pre-selects the rating on WordPress.org, lowering friction.
• Improved: Review prompt now also shows on the post-edit screen, not only on Clarity SEO admin pages.

2.8.4

• Spanish (es_ES) translation added — full plugin UI translated.
• Plugin now properly loads text domain for translation files.

2.8.3

• New: Updated Pro upsell — Clarity SEO Pro now includes premium AI (Claude Sonnet 4.6) with monthly credits, no API keys needed
• Improved: Marketing messaging — "click and it works" sales line for non-technical users
• Improved: Dashboard upgrade card now highlights included AI credits

2.8.2

• New: When Pro license is active, the "Upgrade to Pro" submenu and dashboard CTAs disappear automatically
• New: Dashboard shows a "Pro Active" badge with shortcuts to AI Visibility Tracker and License page when Pro is unlocked
• Improved: Cleaner experience for users with Pro — no more upgrade prompts after activation
• New: clarity_seo_is_pro_active() helper for theme/plugin developers to detect Pro state

2.8.1

• Fixed: Plugin title and description no longer use "WordPress" as a primary identifier (per WordPress.org plugin guidelines)
• Improved: Reworded plugin description for cleaner positioning

2.8.0

• New: AI-first positioning — Clarity SEO is now built for the AI search era (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity)
• New: "Upgrade to Pro" page in wp-admin with clear Free vs Pro comparison
• New: Tracked upgrade links to Clarity SEO Pro on PluginJoy with referrer context
• Improved: Plugin description rewritten for sharper positioning and improved discoverability
• Improved: Dashboard upgrade card now points to Clarity SEO Pro instead of SiteBirds (SiteBirds remains as small companion product link)
• Improved: Submenu renamed "Clarity + SiteBirds" → "Upgrade to Pro" with clearer call-to-action
• Improved: Tags refreshed to better reflect plugin positioning
• WordPress 6.9 compatibility verified

2.7.0

• New: Added the Clarity + SiteBirds companion page inside wp-admin
• New: SiteBirds wizard link now opens with your current website URL, site name, admin email, locale, theme, and plugin count prepared
• New: Local SiteBirds scan summary detects overlapping plugin groups and estimated savings opportunities
• Improved: Dashboard messaging now presents Clarity SEO and SiteBirds as complementary products for any website
• Improved: Added sitebirds.com references in the readme and plugin flow

2.6.0

• New: Google SERP preview in metabox — see how your page looks in search results as you type
• New: SEO Score column in Posts/Pages list — color-coded 0-100 score visible at a glance
• New: Quick Optimize tool on Dashboard — one-click bulk generation of missing meta titles and descriptions
• New: Review prompt after 7 days — dismissible, only on Clarity SEO pages, respects user choice
• New: Document title integration — meta titles now set as the browser tab title via document_title_parts filter
• New: Schema toggle controls on Settings page — enable/disable Organization, FAQ, Video, and Multiple schema types
• New: Import section on Settings page with Yoast/Rank Math source selector
• New: Redirect Manager UI on Settings page — view, add, and delete 301 redirects inline
• Improved: Import from Yoast now includes descriptions and focus keywords (was title-only)
• Improved: Import from Rank Math fully implemented (titles, descriptions, focus keywords)
• Improved: Import processes in batches of 100 for safe handling of large sites
• Improved: Import never overwrites existing Clarity SEO data
• Improved: Sitemap now excludes noindexed posts automatically
• Improved: News sitemap language uses site locale instead of hardcoded 'en'
• Improved: Image SEO auto-alt now correctly triggers on upload (was blocked by existing title check)
• Improved: Keyword history auto-trimmed to 90 entries per keyword to prevent unbounded growth
• Improved: 404 logger expanded skip patterns — filters .php, .sql, .bak, .zip, wp-config, wp-cron, .DS_Store, favicon.ico
• Improved: 404 Monitor page uses centralized count function instead of raw SQL
• Improved: Settings page version badge uses dynamic constant instead of hardcoded string
• Security: Settings page now verifies current_user_can('manage_options') before saving
• Fixed: Unused $wpdb variable removed from 404 Monitor page
• WordPress 6.9 compatibility verified

2.4.0

• New: Noindex / Nofollow option per post — exclude pages from search engines
• New: Settings link on Plugins page for quick access
• New: og:type, og:site_name, og:locale meta tags for better social sharing
• New: Twitter title and description meta tags
• New: Author meta tag uses actual post author (not site name)
• New: Content length check in SEO Audit (warns for posts under 300 words)
• New: Character count indicators for meta title and description in metabox
• New: Filter clarity_seo_metabox_post_types to extend supported post types
• Improved: Breadcrumbs now support post categories, archives, and search results
• Improved: Breadcrumbs include proper Schema.org BreadcrumbList markup
• Improved: Schema Article types now include author, datePublished, dateModified, and publisher
• Improved: Multiple schema types now correctly skip the primary type (fixed comparison bug)
• Improved: LocalBusiness schema uses wp_json_encode for proper escaping
• Improved: 404 logger skips common bot/junk requests (.env, .git, xmlrpc, etc.)
• Improved: Database uses SHA-256 hash for URL uniqueness (supports longer URLs)
• Improved: Admin scripts only load on post editor screens (not tools/settings pages)
• Improved: All files use consistent Unix line endings
• Improved: SEO Audit no longer makes slow HTTP requests for broken link checking
• Improved: SEO Audit links now point to correct admin menu pages
• Fixed: Broken rel_canonical() check in SEO Audit (function outputs, doesn't return)
• Fixed: Duplicate bulk image replace handler removed (was running twice)
• Fixed: Schema extra types comparison bug — was comparing against full comma string
• Fixed: Admin JS dependencies — removed tools.php from script loading (missing deps)
• Fixed: Google Trends iframe replaced with reliable direct link
• Security: Improved nonce verification in CSV export
• Performance: Activation time set once during activation (not on settings page load)
• Readme.txt rewritten with comprehensive documentation
• WordPress 6.9 compatibility verified

2.3.0

• Custom database table for 404 logs (no more wp_options bloat)
• Improved settings storage with batched updates
• Enhanced redirect security with regex validation
• Better 404 monitor with pagination, count tracking, and bulk actions
• Automatic migration from old 404 logs format
• Code cleanup and optimization throughout
• Added activation/deactivation hooks for proper setup

2.2.4

• Fixed Google Search Console endpoints (correct v3 searchanalytics + v1 inspection)
• Added transient caching to GSC API calls
• Improved bulk image alt replace with 500-image limit and feedback notices

2.2.3

• Updated readme.txt

2.2

• Expanded features: more schema types, advanced tools, integrations

2.1

• Added SEO Audit dashboard (30+ point checklist)
• Basic GSC integration (fetch errors/index status)
• Expanded schema to 16+ types via metabox
• Internal linking suggestions

2.0

• Added readability analysis (Flesch-Kincaid)
• Focus keywords with density tips
• New redirect manager (301/404)
• WooCommerce support

1.3

• Global organization settings
• Improved FAQ schema parsing
• Text domain for translations
• Enhanced sitemap

1.2

• Fixed Gutenberg JS dependencies
• Better OG image fallbacks

1.1

• Initial release