SE AI SEO — User Guide

Version 2.0.1 | For Joomla 5 and Joomla 6

Installation
License Activation
Initial Setup
Dashboard
Site Audit
Article Analysis
Schema Generator
Nuclear Option
Action Log
Settings
The System Plugin
Joomla Updates
Troubleshooting

1. Installation

Download the package file pkg_seaiseo_vX.X.X_gplv2.zip from your purchase confirmation email or your account at seaiseo.com.

In your Joomla administrator panel, go to System → Install → Extensions. Upload the package zip file. Joomla will install both the component (com_seaiseo) and the system plugin (plg_system_seaiseo) automatically. The system plugin is enabled by default.

After installation you will find SE AI SEO in the Components menu with its own sidebar navigation.

2. License Activation

Your license key is provided in your purchase confirmation email in the format SS-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.

Activating via Options

Open Components → SE AI SEO → Dashboard
Click the Options button in the toolbar (top right)
You will see the License tab (the first tab)
The License Server URL is pre-filled — do not change this unless instructed
Enter your license key in the License Key field
Click Save
After saving, click the Activate License button that appears below the key field

If activation succeeds, a green status bar will confirm your license is active and show the expiry date.

Activating via the Dashboard

If you have already entered your license key in Options, the Dashboard will show a red "License Not Activated" bar with an Activate License button. Click it to activate without opening Options again.

How Licensing Works

SE AI SEO uses an activate-once model. Once activated, the extension works indefinitely — even if your license expires. An active license is only required to download future updates. If your license expires, the extension continues to function normally; you simply won't receive update notifications until you renew.

Checking or Renewing

After renewing your license, go to the Dashboard and click Check License. This re-validates with the licensing server and updates your expiry date.

3. Initial Setup

Before using SE AI SEO, you need to configure at least one AI provider.

Go to Components → SE AI SEO → Settings
Under AI Configuration, select your preferred provider from the dropdown: Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), or Google Gemini. You can also select "None" for local analysis only, but AI-powered features will be unavailable.
Enter your API key for the selected provider. API keys are obtained from:
- Anthropic: console.anthropic.com
- OpenAI: platform.openai.com
- Google Gemini: aistudio.google.com
Select a model or leave the default
Click Test Connection to verify the API key works
Scroll down to configure any additional settings (site name, meta length limits, OpenGraph preferences)
Click Save

You can configure all three providers simultaneously and switch between them at any time. Each provider retains its own API key and model selection.

4. Dashboard

The Dashboard is your SEO command centre. It displays at a glance:

KPI Cards across the top showing your average SEO score, total articles, meta description coverage percentage, and active schema count.

Last Audit panel with a visual score ring and breakdown of critical, warning, and informational issues from your most recent site audit. Click Run New Audit to start a fresh one.

Quick Actions panel with shortcuts to run an audit, analyse articles, generate schemas, or open settings.

Needs Attention table listing your lowest-scoring articles with direct links to analyse each one.

Recent Analyses table showing articles you have recently worked on.

Missing Meta Alert — if any published articles lack meta descriptions, a warning bar shows the count with a link to fix them.

Detected Extensions panel — if SE AI SEO finds supported third-party extensions (SP Page Builder, HikaShop, VirtueMart, etc.), they appear here with an Audit All Extensions button to scan them all at once.

Backup Warning

The first time you visit the Dashboard in each browser session, a warning reminds you to back up your site before making changes. Click the close button to dismiss it; it will reappear in your next session as a safety reminder.

5. Site Audit

Go to Components → SE AI SEO → Site Audit.

Click Run Audit Now to start a comprehensive SEO analysis of your entire site. The audit examines all published articles, categories, and menu structure. A progress bar shows while the audit runs.

When complete, the results display:

An overall SEO score out of 100
Categorised findings: Critical (must fix), Warnings (should fix), and Info (nice to have)
Each finding includes a description and the affected content item
A prioritised action plan

Audit History is stored below the audit panel. Previous audits are listed with their date and score so you can track improvement over time.

6. Article Analysis

Go to Components → SE AI SEO → Article Analysis.

Analysing an Article

Select an article from the dropdown (articles show their category and existing score if previously analysed)
Click Analyse for a detailed SEO breakdown
The analysis covers content quality, keyword usage, readability, heading structure, meta tag effectiveness, and more

AI Actions

Click the AI Actions button (purple gradient) to access AI-powered improvements:

Generate Meta — produces an optimised meta title and description based on the article's actual content, following Google's guidelines (title ≤ 60 characters, description ≤ 155 characters)
Content Rewrite — suggests improvements to the article text for better SEO performance
Content Expand — identifies thin content and suggests expansions

All generated content is shown as a preview before you apply it. Changes are only written to your database when you explicitly confirm. Every applied change is logged in the Action Log.

7. Schema Generator

Go to Components → SE AI SEO → Schema Generator.

Generating Schemas

Select a schema type from the dropdown (Article, Product, Organisation, Event, FAQ, etc.)
The AI generates valid JSON-LD structured data based on your content
Review the generated schema in the preview panel
Click Save to store it

Auto-Generation from Products

If SE AI SEO detects an e-commerce extension (HikaShop, VirtueMart, EasyStore), a special panel appears at the top of the Schema page. Click Generate All Schemas to bulk-create Product schemas for your entire catalogue.

Saved Schemas

All saved schemas are listed below the generator. You can view, edit, or delete them. The system plugin automatically injects saved schemas into the appropriate pages as JSON-LD in the <head>.

8. Nuclear Option

Go to Components → SE AI SEO → Nuclear Option.

The Nuclear Option is for sites that need SEO attention at scale. It scans your entire site and presents a snapshot of all issues.

Site Snapshot

Six cards show your site's SEO gaps at a glance:

Missing Meta Desc — articles with no meta description at all
Short Meta Desc — articles where the meta description is too brief to be effective
Thin Content — articles that are too short to rank well
No Schema — content items without structured data
Weak Categories — categories with poor SEO metadata
Extensions — detected third-party extensions that can be processed

Running the Nuclear Option

Review the snapshot to understand the scale of work
Use the action checklist to select which tasks to run (generate missing meta, improve short meta, expand thin content, generate schemas, etc.)
Click Preview — the AI processes everything and shows you exactly what it will change
Review the preview carefully
Click Apply to write all changes to your database

Every single change is recorded in the Action Log with the original values, so nothing is lost.

9. Action Log

Go to Components → SE AI SEO → Action Log.

The Action Log records every change SE AI SEO makes to your website. Each entry shows:

Date and time of the change
Action type (Meta Title, Meta Description, Content Rewrite, Content Expand, Schema Save, Schema Delete, Alt Text, Audit Run)
Target — which article or content item was affected
Before and after values — what was there before and what was written

Use the Action Log to audit what SE AI SEO has done and as a reference if you ever need to revert a change.

10. Settings

Go to Components → SE AI SEO → Settings.

AI Configuration

The top section lets you select your active AI provider and configure API keys and models for each:

Anthropic (Claude) — enter your API key from console.anthropic.com and select a Claude model
OpenAI (GPT) — enter your API key from platform.openai.com and select a GPT model
Google Gemini — enter your API key from aistudio.google.com and select a Gemini model
None — disables AI features; only local analysis tools will work

Click Test Connection at any time to verify your API key is valid and the provider is reachable.

General Settings

Site Name — used in meta title generation
Meta Title Max Length — default 60 characters (Google's recommended limit)
Meta Description Max Length — default 155 characters
Auto Meta Generation — toggle automatic meta generation when articles are saved

Schema Settings

Default Schema.org — enable or disable automatic schema injection

Social / OpenGraph Settings

Enable OG Tags — toggle OpenGraph meta tags
Enable Twitter Cards — toggle Twitter Card meta tags
Default OG Image — fallback image for social sharing when an article has no image

11. The System Plugin

The system plugin (plg_system_seaiseo) runs automatically on every page load. It reads your saved schemas and injects them into the HTML <head> as JSON-LD <script> tags. It also handles OpenGraph and Twitter Card meta tag injection based on your settings.

You do not need to edit any template files. The plugin handles everything.

The plugin can be managed at System → Manage → Plugins — search for "SE AI SEO". It should be enabled (it is enabled by default on installation). There are no plugin-level configuration options; all settings are controlled from the component's Settings page.

12. Joomla Updates

SE AI SEO is delivered through Joomla's built-in update system. When a new version is available, you will see a notification in System → Update → Extensions just like any other Joomla extension.

Your license key is automatically synced to Joomla's update system when you activate your license. You do not need to manually enter a download key in System → Update Sites.

If you are not seeing updates, check the following:

Your license is activated (Dashboard shows green status bar)
Your license has not expired (expired licenses cannot download updates)
Go to System → Update → Update Sites, find "SE AI SEO Updates", and click the refresh icon

13. Troubleshooting

"Form::loadForm could not load file" when opening Options

This means config.xml was not installed correctly. Reinstall the package — the installer will repair it.

AI features return errors

Go to Settings and click Test Connection to check your API key
Ensure your server can make outbound HTTPS requests (some hosting providers block external API calls)
Check that your API key has sufficient credit/quota with the provider

License won't activate

Check that the License Server URL in Options is https://se24media.co.uk
Ensure your license key is entered exactly as provided (format: SS-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)
Check that your server can reach external URLs (try the Test Connection button in Settings as a quick check)

Updates not appearing

Verify your license is active and not expired
Go to System → Update → Update Sites and check that "SE AI SEO Updates" exists
Click the refresh icon on the update site entry
If the URL looks wrong, uninstall and reinstall the package — Joomla caches update site URLs

Schemas not appearing on the front end

Check that the system plugin is enabled: System → Manage → Plugins → SE AI SEO
Verify you have saved schemas in Components → SE AI SEO → Schema Generator
Check the page source (View Source in your browser) and search for application/ld+json to confirm injection

Need further help?

Visit seaiseo.com for documentation, FAQs, and support contact details.