mcphub/wordpress-plugin/seo-api-bridge

SEO API Bridge - WordPress Plugin

Version: 1.3.0 Requires: WordPress 5.0+, PHP 7.4+ License: GPLv2 or later

Description

SEO API Bridge is a comprehensive WordPress plugin that exposes Rank Math SEO and Yoast SEO meta fields via dedicated REST API endpoints. This enables MCP servers, AI agents, and other applications to read and write SEO metadata programmatically for posts, pages, and WooCommerce products.

What's New in 1.3.0

✨ Full REST API Endpoints - GET and POST operations for all post types ✨ Product SEO Support - Complete WooCommerce product SEO management ✨ Simplified Integration - Direct API calls instead of meta field manipulation ✨ Better Error Handling - Proper validation and error responses

Features

• ✅ Rank Math SEO Support - Full access to all Rank Math meta fields
• ✅ Yoast SEO Support - Full access to all Yoast SEO meta fields
• ✅ WooCommerce Compatible - Works with product post types
• ✅ Secure - Requires proper authentication and edit_posts capability
• ✅ Auto-Detection - Automatically detects which SEO plugin is active
• ✅ Health Check Endpoint - NEW! Dedicated API endpoint for plugin detection
• ✅ Zero Configuration - Works out of the box after activation

Supported SEO Fields

Rank Math SEO

Core Fields

• rank_math_focus_keyword - Focus keyword
• rank_math_title - Meta title
• rank_math_description - Meta description
• rank_math_additional_keywords - Additional keywords

Advanced Fields

• rank_math_canonical_url - Canonical URL
• rank_math_robots - Robots meta directives
• rank_math_breadcrumb_title - Breadcrumb title

Open Graph (Facebook)

• rank_math_facebook_title - OG title
• rank_math_facebook_description - OG description
• rank_math_facebook_image - OG image URL
• rank_math_facebook_image_id - OG image ID

Twitter Card

• rank_math_twitter_title - Twitter title
• rank_math_twitter_description - Twitter description
• rank_math_twitter_image - Twitter image URL
• rank_math_twitter_image_id - Twitter image ID
• rank_math_twitter_card_type - Card type (summary, summary_large_image)

Yoast SEO

Core Fields

• _yoast_wpseo_focuskw - Focus keyword
• _yoast_wpseo_title - Meta title
• _yoast_wpseo_metadesc - Meta description

Advanced Fields

• _yoast_wpseo_canonical - Canonical URL
• _yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex - Noindex setting
• _yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow - Nofollow setting
• _yoast_wpseo_bctitle - Breadcrumb title

Open Graph

• _yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title - OG title
• _yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description - OG description
• _yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image - OG image URL
• _yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id - OG image ID

Twitter Card

• _yoast_wpseo_twitter-title - Twitter title
• _yoast_wpseo_twitter-description - Twitter description
• _yoast_wpseo_twitter-image - Twitter image URL
• _yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id - Twitter image ID

Installation

Method 1: Manual Upload via WordPress Admin

1. Download the plugin folder
2. Create a ZIP file: seo-api-bridge.zip
3. Go to WordPress Admin → Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
4. Upload the ZIP file and click "Install Now"
5. Click "Activate Plugin"

Method 2: FTP/SSH Upload

1. Upload the seo-api-bridge folder to /wp-content/plugins/
2. Go to WordPress Admin → Plugins
3. Find "SEO API Bridge" and click "Activate"

Method 3: WP-CLI

# Via SSH to your WordPress container
cd /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/
# Copy the plugin folder here
wp plugin activate seo-api-bridge

REST API Endpoints

Status Endpoint

GET /wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/status

Check plugin status and detected SEO plugins.

curl https://yoursite.com/wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/status

Post SEO Endpoints

GET /wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/posts/{id}/seo

Get SEO metadata for a post.

POST /wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/posts/{id}/seo

Update SEO metadata for a post.

curl -X POST https://yoursite.com/wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/posts/123/seo \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"focus_keyword": "wordpress", "seo_title": "My Title"}'

Page SEO Endpoints

GET /wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/pages/{id}/seo

POST /wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/pages/{id}/seo

Product SEO Endpoints (WooCommerce)

GET /wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/products/{id}/seo

Get SEO metadata for a WooCommerce product.

POST /wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/products/{id}/seo

Update SEO metadata for a WooCommerce product.

curl -X POST https://yoursite.com/wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/products/1217/seo \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"focus_keyword": "product keyword", "seo_title": "Product Title"}'

Usage with MCP Servers

// Get product SEO
const seo = await mcp.wordpress_get_product_seo({
  site: "yoursite",
  product_id: 1217
});

// Update product SEO
await mcp.wordpress_update_product_seo({
  site: "yoursite",
  product_id: 1217,
  focus_keyword: "keyword",
  seo_title: "Title",
  meta_description: "Description"
});

Benefits of this approach:

1. ✅ WordPress Best Practice - Uses recommended core REST API functionality
2. ✅ Zero Maintenance - Leverages WordPress built-in features
3. ✅ Universal Compatibility - Works with all WordPress REST API clients
4. ✅ Inherits Security - Uses WordPress authentication and permissions
5. ✅ Simpler Code - No custom endpoints to maintain

Standard Endpoints:

• Posts/Pages: /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id} or /wp-json/wp/v2/pages/{id}
• Products: /wp-json/wp/v2/products/{id} (WooCommerce custom post type)

SEO data is in the meta object:

{
  "id": 123,
  "title": {"rendered": "My Post"},
  "meta": {
    "rank_math_focus_keyword": "wordpress seo",
    "rank_math_title": "Complete SEO Guide",
    "rank_math_description": "Learn WordPress SEO best practices..."
  }
}

Reading SEO Data

Get Post with SEO Fields:

GET /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id}

Response includes:

{
  "id": 123,
  "title": {"rendered": "My Post"},
  "meta": {
    "rank_math_focus_keyword": "wordpress seo",
    "rank_math_title": "Complete WordPress SEO Guide",
    "rank_math_description": "Learn how to optimize your WordPress site...",
    "rank_math_facebook_title": "SEO Guide for Facebook",
    "rank_math_twitter_card_type": "summary_large_image"
  }
}

Writing SEO Data

Update Post SEO Fields:

POST /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id}
Authorization: Basic [base64(username:application_password)]
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "meta": {
    "rank_math_focus_keyword": "wordpress optimization",
    "rank_math_title": "WordPress Optimization Tips",
    "rank_math_description": "Discover the best practices for WordPress optimization"
  }
}

WooCommerce Products

Get Product with SEO:

GET /wp-json/wp/v2/products/{id}

Update Product SEO:

POST /wp-json/wp/v2/products/{id}
{
  "meta": {
    "rank_math_focus_keyword": "premium widget",
    "rank_math_description": "Buy the best premium widget online"
  }
}

Usage with MCP Server

This plugin is designed to work with the MCP Hub.

Example MCP Tool Usage

# Get post SEO data
result = await mcp.call_tool(
    "wordpress_site1_get_post_seo",
    {"post_id": 123}
)

# Update post SEO
result = await mcp.call_tool(
    "wordpress_site1_update_post_seo",
    {
        "post_id": 123,
        "focus_keyword": "wordpress seo",
        "seo_title": "Complete SEO Guide",
        "meta_description": "Learn WordPress SEO..."
    }
)

# Update WooCommerce product SEO
result = await mcp.call_tool(
    "wordpress_site1_update_product_seo",
    {
        "product_id": 456,
        "focus_keyword": "premium widget",
        "meta_description": "Buy the best widget"
    }
)

Verification

Check if Plugin is Working

1. Admin Notice: After activation, you should see a success notice indicating which SEO plugin was detected

2. Health Check Endpoint (v1.1.0+):

# Check plugin status directly
curl -X GET "https://your-site.com/wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/status" \
  -u "username:application_password"

Response:

{
  "plugin": "SEO API Bridge",
  "version": "1.1.0",
  "active": true,
  "seo_plugins": {
    "rank_math": {
      "active": true,
      "version": "1.0.257"
    },
    "yoast": {
      "active": false,
      "version": null
    }
  },
  "supported_post_types": ["post", "page", "product"],
  "message": "SEO API Bridge is active and working with Rank Math SEO."
}

3. REST API Test:

# Get any post and check if meta fields are present
curl -X GET "https://your-site.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/1" \
  -u "username:application_password"

4. MCP Health Check: The MCP server will automatically detect the plugin using the new endpoint

Security

• ✅ All meta fields require authentication via Application Passwords
• ✅ Write access requires edit_posts capability
• ✅ Read access follows WordPress post visibility rules
• ✅ No sensitive data exposed without proper permissions

Troubleshooting

MCP Server Cannot Detect Plugin

Issue: MCP reports "SEO API Bridge plugin not detected" even though plugin is active

Solution for v1.1.0+:

1. Upgrade to v1.1.0 - This version adds a dedicated health check endpoint
2. Restart MCP server - New detection logic will be used
3. Test endpoint directly:

   curl "https://your-site.com/wp-json/seo-api-bridge/v1/status" -u "user:pass"
   

Solution for v1.0.0 (legacy):

1. Create at least one post or product with SEO metadata set
2. The old detection requires checking actual content meta fields
3. Upgrade to v1.1.0 to avoid this requirement

SEO Plugin Not Detected

Issue: Admin notice says "Neither Rank Math SEO nor Yoast SEO is detected"

Solution:

1. Verify Rank Math or Yoast SEO is installed and activated
2. Try deactivating and reactivating SEO API Bridge
3. Check PHP error logs for any warnings

Meta Fields Not Appearing in REST API

Issue: /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{id} doesn't show meta object

Solution:

1. Ensure you're authenticated (use Application Password)
2. Check that you have edit_posts permission
3. Verify the post type is supported (post, page, product)

Fields Are Read-Only

Issue: Can read SEO fields but cannot update them

Solution:

1. Verify authentication credentials
2. Check user has edit_posts capability
3. Ensure you're using POST/PUT request, not GET

Compatibility

• ✅ WordPress 5.0+
• ✅ PHP 7.4+
• ✅ Rank Math SEO 1.0+
• ✅ Yoast SEO 14.0+
• ✅ WooCommerce 5.0+ (for product support)
• ✅ Classic Editor & Gutenberg
• ✅ Multisite compatible

Support

For issues related to:

• This plugin: GitHub Issues
• MCP Server: MCP Server Documentation
• Rank Math SEO: Rank Math Support
• Yoast SEO: Yoast Support

Changelog

1.1.0 (2025-01-10)

• 🎉 NEW: Health check REST API endpoint /seo-api-bridge/v1/status
• 🎉 NEW: Direct plugin detection without requiring posts/products
• 🎉 IMPROVEMENT: Better compatibility with sites that have no content
• 🎉 IMPROVEMENT: Returns SEO plugin versions in status endpoint
• 🎉 FIX: MCP server can now detect plugin even with zero posts

1.0.0 (2025-01-10)

• Initial release
• Rank Math SEO support (15 meta fields)
• Yoast SEO support (15 meta fields)
• WooCommerce product support
• Auto-detection of active SEO plugins
• Admin notices for status

License

GPLv2 or later - See LICENSE for details

Credits

Developed for use with MCP Hub to enable AI-powered SEO content management.