Course SEO, sharing, and discovery

Overview

A public course only helps if people can find it. StretchCode gives each course SEO fields, feeds a machine-readable sitemap, and generates share previews so your catalog is discoverable in search engines and looks good when shared. This article covers what to set and how discovery works.

Per-course SEO fields

Each course has dedicated search fields you should fill in:

• SEO title — the title search engines and browser tabs use. If left blank, the course title (or a sensible fallback) is used.
• SEO description — the meta description shown in search results. If blank, the summary is used.
• Public headline and public subheadline — marketing copy for the course page.
• Overview body — longer public-facing description used on the course page.

Complete these deliberately: a specific SEO title and a benefit-led SEO description directly affect click-through from search.

The sitemap

StretchCode publishes an XML sitemap listing every public, published course and learning path so search engines can discover your full catalog. The sitemap updates as you publish and change courses, and it includes each course's last-updated time so crawlers know what's fresh. You don't build the sitemap manually — keeping courses published and public is what includes them.

Share previews

When a course link is shared (in chat, social, or email), StretchCode emits rich link-preview metadata — a title, description, and a branded preview image — so the link renders as an attractive card rather than a bare URL. Per-course previews pull the live course title and level.

Structured data

Course pages emit structured course data (name, description, level, topics, and learning outcomes) so search engines can understand and richly display them. This describes the course truthfully from your content; it does not fabricate ratings or review counts.

Make a course discoverable — checklist

1. Set a clear SEO title and a compelling SEO description.
2. Write a strong public headline, subheadline, and overview body.
3. Add a cover/hero image so share previews and cards look complete.
4. Fill in topic tags and a meaningful subject for on-site search and filtering.
5. Ensure the course is published and public so it enters the catalog and sitemap.

A realistic example

For Intro to Bookkeeping, an author sets the SEO title to "Intro to Bookkeeping — Free Online Course" and the SEO description to a one-sentence benefit statement. They add a hero image and tags (accounting, small-business). After publishing, the course enters the sitemap, appears in the catalog, and — when the author shares the link in a newsletter — renders as a branded card with the title and image.

Tips

• Write SEO descriptions as a promise of value in under ~155 characters; they're your search-result pitch.
• Always set a cover/hero image — it's what appears in share cards.
• Keep internal courses internal; they're deliberately excluded from the sitemap and public catalog.
• Display fields like a course's shown rating or enrollment count are optional social-proof labels you set, not automatically computed review scores — use them honestly.

FAQ

Do I have to submit the sitemap anywhere? The sitemap is generated automatically from your public, published courses and paths. You can submit its URL to search consoles, but you don't build it by hand.

Why isn't my course in search results yet? New pages take time to be crawled and indexed. Confirm the course is published and public, fill in the SEO fields, and be patient — indexing isn't instant.

Are shown ratings real reviews? Displayed rating and enrollment figures are optional presentation fields you set for social proof, not aggregated learner reviews.