=== Local SEO Assistant ===
Contributors: emaxhotelmarketing
Author: eMax Hotel Marketing
Author URI: https://emaxhotelmarketing.com/
Tags: seo, local seo, schema, sitemap, hotel
Requires at least: 5.8
Tested up to: 6.5
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Rule-based on-site SEO for local and hospitality businesses. No AI, no external services, no data leaves your site.

== Description ==

Local SEO Assistant is a traditional, rule-based SEO plugin built for local and hospitality businesses. It focuses on the on-site fundamentals: SEO titles and meta descriptions, canonical URLs, robots directives, Open Graph and Twitter/X cards, JSON-LD schema (including Organization, LocalBusiness, and Hotel/LodgingBusiness where relevant), an XML sitemap, and a plain-language SEO Health report.

Everything runs locally on your own WordPress site. The plugin makes no external API calls, requires no license or subscription, and sends no data to third parties. Its analysis and recommendations are rule-based checks — not artificial intelligence.

Key features:

* SEO title and meta description fields for posts, pages, and public custom post types, with an approximate search preview.
* Rule-based content checks (title and description length guidance, focus keyphrase placement, content length, links, images and alt text, subheadings) and optional readability checks.
* Canonical URL and per-content robots (index/follow) controls, plus site-wide defaults.
* Open Graph and Twitter/X card output with sensible image fallbacks.
* JSON-LD schema for your organization or local business, with hotel and lodging fields when applicable, plus WebPage, Article, Breadcrumb, ImageObject, and FAQ schema.
* FAQ schema that is only output when the FAQ is actually visible on the page, via the [local_seo_faq_list] and [local_seo_faq] shortcodes.
* A self-hosted XML sitemap with a sitemap index for larger sites, advertised in robots.txt.
* An SEO Health page that scans published content and flags common issues.
* Conflict-aware: if another SEO plugin is detected, front-end meta output is paused to avoid duplicate tags, and your settings are preserved.

== Installation ==

1. Download the plugin ZIP file.
2. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
3. Choose the ZIP file and click Install Now, then Activate.
4. Go to Local SEO Assistant → Settings and complete your business details.
5. Edit any page or post and fill in the SEO fields in the Local SEO Assistant panel.
6. Visit /local-seo-sitemap.xml to confirm your sitemap is available. If it does not load, open Settings → Permalinks and click Save to refresh rewrite rules.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Does this plugin use AI? =

No. Local SEO Assistant uses traditional, rule-based checks only. It does not use artificial intelligence, and it does not send your content to any external service.

= Will this plugin guarantee higher rankings? =

No. No plugin can guarantee search rankings. Local SEO Assistant helps you follow well-established on-site SEO best practices, but search engines rank pages based on many factors outside any plugin's control.

= Can I use this alongside Yoast, Rank Math, or another SEO plugin? =

It is not recommended. Running two SEO plugins at once usually produces duplicate meta tags and conflicting schema. If another SEO plugin is detected, Local SEO Assistant automatically pauses its front-end output to avoid conflicts. For best results, use only one SEO plugin at a time.

= Does it support hotels and hospitality businesses? =

Yes. In addition to standard local business options, the plugin includes hotel and lodging fields (check-in and check-out times, number of rooms, amenities, booking URL, and more) that feed Hotel and LodgingBusiness schema when your business type is set accordingly.

= Does this replace a professional SEO service or a premium SEO plugin? =

No. Local SEO Assistant covers on-site technical SEO fundamentals. It is not a substitute for professional SEO strategy, content work, or the full feature set of premium SEO products. Recommendations are informational and should be reviewed by the website owner or an SEO professional where appropriate.

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial release.
* SEO title, meta description, focus keyphrase, canonical, and robots controls for posts, pages, and public custom post types.
* Rule-based content analysis and optional readability checks.
* Open Graph and Twitter/X card output.
* JSON-LD schema: Organization, LocalBusiness, Hotel/LodgingBusiness, WebPage, Article, Breadcrumb, ImageObject, and FAQ.
* Self-hosted XML sitemap with sitemap index and robots.txt reference.
* SEO Health scanner with filters and pagination.
* Conflict detection with other SEO plugins.
* Plain-language help and disclaimers.

== Disclaimer ==

Local SEO Assistant provides technical SEO tools and rule-based recommendations. It does not guarantee search rankings, search engine inclusion, traffic increases, sales, bookings, legal compliance, accessibility compliance, privacy compliance, or advertising performance. Search engines use many factors outside the control of this plugin, including content quality, competition, website authority, technical hosting conditions, user behavior, backlinks, and algorithm updates.

Recommendations provided by this plugin are informational and should be reviewed by the website owner, marketing team, SEO professional, or legal/compliance advisor where applicable. eMax Hotel Marketing is not responsible for business losses, ranking changes, search engine penalties, indexing decisions, or third-party platform behavior resulting from use or misuse of this plugin.
