This guide walks you through the key SEO settings in ShowOff that help Google and AI tools (like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) understand and rank your event website.
It focuses on what to fill out in the CMS - not keyword research or writing page copy.
What you’ll improve by following this guide
Clearer URLs and page structure for search engines
Stronger search snippets (meta titles and descriptions)
Better indexing (making sure the right pages can be found)
More discoverable speaker, exhibitor and other profile pages
Correct event schema (structured data) to help search engines understand your event
Safe handling of URL changes using redirects
1) Page SEO - the essentials
A. URL (the first thing Google sees)
Every page has a URL - and it matters.
Best practice
Keep URLs short and descriptive (example:
/agenda,/speakers,/contact-us)Avoid putting the year in URLs (example:
/agenda-2025)If you change it later (to
/agenda-2026) you can lose SEO value because Google treats it as a different page
In ShowOff
Go to the page and open Page options
Edit the URL
Use the padlock to lock the URL so it does not change if you rename the page
B. Page title (meta title)
This is the blue clickable headline shown in Google results.
Best practice
Include what the page is about (and if helpful, your event name)
Keep it under about 60 characters so it doesn’t get cut off
Write it for humans - it’s basically a tiny advert
In ShowOff
Page options - SEO settings - Meta title / page title
C. Meta description
This is the short summary text shown under the title in Google.
Best practice
Aim for a maximum of about 155 characters
Summarise the value of the page
Add a simple call-to-action (example: “Register now”, “View the agenda”)
Update it through the year as your CTA changes (example: sponsorship phase vs registration phase)
In ShowOff
Page options - SEO settings - Meta description
D. Headings on the page (H1 and H2s)
Headings help users skim and help search engines understand the page.
The page title is your H1 (main heading)
Section titles are your H2s (subheadings)
Best practice
Make headings clear and relevant (don’t leave them generic)
Use one clear H1, then logical H2s underneath
E. Active vs inactive pages
Search engines can only index pages that are live.
Important
If a page is inactive, Google cannot see it
If a page is temporarily not ready, keep it live and add holding text (example: “Details coming soon - sign up for updates”)
You can also deactivate specific sections instead of disabling the whole page
2) Library and module SEO - where big gains can happen
Libraries and modules can generate lots of URLs - sometimes hundreds - so the settings here can seriously impact SEO.
A. Use Direct pages - not Modal pop-ups
For modules like Speakers and Exhibitors, you’ll often see two display options:
Modal - opens a pop-up, the URL doesn’t change
Direct - opens a unique page for each profile (best for SEO)
Why Direct matters
Search engines rely heavily on unique URLs. With modal pop-ups, Google may struggle to crawl and rank individual profiles.
In ShowOff
Go to the module (example: Speakers)
Open Options
Set display type to Direct
Save
B. Show enough profiles per listing page
If Google lands on your Speakers page, it needs to find links to the individual speaker pages.
Best practice
Display a decent number of entries per page (example: around 50)
Don’t overdo it - too many can slow the page down, especially if there are lots of images
C. Add SEO titles and descriptions on key module landing pages
Modules like Speakers and Exhibitors have their own meta title and description - just like normal pages.
Tip
Don’t leave these as generic defaults. Example:
“Speakers - [Event Name]” is fine, but you can be more specific if it helps search demand.
3) When to use No Index (and when not to)
No Index stops pages from appearing in Google (and AI tools that rely on search indexing).
Use No Index when pages are genuinely low-value for search
Examples from the session:
Sponsor pages that only contain a logo and no text
Video pages with minimal written context
Product pages that are copied and pasted from elsewhere (not unique content)
Why this helps
Google has limited crawl time on your site. If it spends that time on pages with little or duplicate content, it may discover and prioritise important pages less effectively.
Use with care
Setting No Index at library level can apply to every profile in that library.
Golden rule
If you are unsure - it’s safer to leave indexing on than to hide valuable pages.
In ShowOff
Library options - SEO - Index / No Index
4) Event schema - a must-do in ShowOff
Event schema is structured data that helps search engines understand:
that your site is an event
who the organiser is
where it is
when it is
attendance type
associated social profiles
This is especially helpful for AI discovery, because it removes ambiguity.
In ShowOff
Go to SEO settings
Complete Event schema
What to fill out
Description - about a paragraph (unique and specific)
Tip: you can draft this quickly in ChatGPT and paste it in
Event type (trade show, conference, consumer show, etc)
Organisation name (the organiser business, not the event name)
Organiser URL
Logo
Organisation social profiles
Event status (usually Scheduled)
Attendance type (Offline, Online, or Mixed)
Event social profiles
Venue (select from list, or add if missing)
Approx visitor and exhibitor numbers
When saved, this should clear the schema warning shown on the dashboard.
5) Redirects - how to handle URL changes safely
Redirects send users (and Google) from an old URL to a new one.
Use redirects when:
you have changed a URL (example:
/agenda-2025to/agenda)you have removed a page but need traffic to go somewhere relevant
In ShowOff
SEO settings - Redirects
Add:
Old path (the URL people still visit)
New path (where it should go)
Tip
Redirects are best for permanent changes. If the page will come back later, it’s usually better to keep it live with holding text rather than redirecting - because you’ll need to remember to remove the redirect later.
6) Sitemap - making your site easier to crawl
ShowOff automatically generates your XML sitemap.
A. XML sitemap
You can view it by adding:/sitemap.xml
If you use Google Search Console, you can submit it there to help Google discover pages faster.
B. Optional - create a sitemap page on your website
This can help both users and search engines find key pages.
How to create it
Create a new page called Sitemap
Add a content section
Add a widget - Sitemap
Save
Link to it in your footer
Quick checklist
If you do nothing else, do these:
Lock clean, year-free page URLs
Write meta titles (under ~60 chars) for key pages
Write meta descriptions (under ~155 chars) with a CTA
Keep pages active - use holding text if needed
Set Speakers and Exhibitors to Direct (not modal)
Fill out Event schema
Add redirects for any URL changes
Check low-value libraries before indexing them
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