Once you have set up your directory and imported your data, it’s time to begin adding content and replacement variables to your templates.
Each page type in a directory has its own template control panel (“cp”) page. You will find a link to each template page below the appropriate column on the Directories admin page. So, for example, click on “cp” under the Home column to edit the directory’s main page templates. Or, click on the “cp” link in the Listing column to edit the listing page templates.
At the top of each template control panel, you will find navigation links to make finding template areas easier. You will also find various functions. One useful function is “Initialize Templates” which brings in sample template HTML for you. In most cases, this is the easiest way to get up and running quickly. All you need to do is click the initialize link, then click “Save Templates”.
IMPORTANT: Note that location pages (e.g., state, city, etc.) and listing pages will not display any content until you use the “Randomize P1-P9” function. This function randomly chooses version 1, 2, or 3 for each of the 9 paragraph templates and records the sequence in the database.
Page Meta
The Page Meta template block allows you to define the HTML page title, meta page description, and meta keywords. You can use replacement variables in each of the three fields to create unique page titles and descriptions.
Page Template
The Page Template block is a control template for all other templates. You can use both template names and replacement variables in Page Template. Its purpose is to make page design flexible and easy to manage.
Above each template block, you will find a variable name for the template. For example, {breadcrumb} is the variable for the Breadcrumb Template block. When you include {breadcrumb} in the Page Template block, the breadcrumb HTML will be added to the output for the page.
Breadcrumb Template
All pages in a directory should have navigation breadcrumbs. They help users understand where they are and assist in navigating to pages above their current page. Breadcrumbs also help search engines understand the structure of your directory.
The template import feature imports a breadcrumb structure that’s compatible with the rich snippet capability of all major search engines.
Page Title Template
The Page Title Template is used to create the visible page title (your H1 tag) vs. the meta title in the head code of the document. Use replacement variables to make your page titles unique. Be sure to wrap the title in an H1 tag.
Published Template
The Published Template can be used to output the date the content on the page was last updated. When you use the date format imported by the “Initialize Templates” function, search engines will recognize the date as the date the page was last updated and update their index accordingly. The date should be set each time the template is randomized.
Paragraph Templates
Paragraph Templates include 9 sets of paragraphs and paragraph headings. Each set has 3 versions. The randomization function randomized the headings and paragraphs for every listing or location to create highly unique pages.
To properly use the Paragraph Templates, with three variations of each heading and paragraph. In other words, the meaning of each variation of a heading and paragraph should have the exact same meaning, you’re simply saying it a different way.
You can use replacement variables in headings and paragraphs.
Metadata If-Else Template
If you need to test a particular piece of metadata for a value so you can output a text snippet, or even some HTML or JavaScript, use the Metadata If-Else templates. Up to 9 If-Else blocks are supported. It’s very simple true-false logic.
Metadata List Match Template
The Metadata List Match template is similar to If-Else, but it matches from a list of values. You can have up to 3 metadata list matches.
Ad Slots Templates
If you are displaying ads on your pages, you can use the Ad Slots Templates for your ad code (HTML or JavaScript). There are three ad slots and each slot can have an A version and a B version for A/B testing. A/B testing is turned on and off using the global options page. Replacement variables are supported.
Widget Area Template
The Widget Area Template controls the contents of the directory’s sidebar. This allows you to have different content in your sidebar at every directory level. This template supports A/B testing, but it does not support replacement variables.