# SEO and search

> Configure SEO settings in docs.json including site description, search engine indexing, meta tags, search bar placeholder, and page timestamps.

Use these settings in your `docs.json` file to control how search engines index your documentation and what metadata appears in search results. You can also control how the search bar behaves and whether pages display a last-modified timestamp.

## Settings

### `description`

**Type:** `string`

A description of your documentation site for SEO and AI indexing. It appears in search engine results. AI tools use it to understand your site's purpose.

```json docs.json theme={null}
"description": "Documentation for Example Co.'s API and developer platform."
```

***

### `seo`

**Type:** `object`

Search engine indexing and metadata settings.

- `seo.indexing` ("navigable" | "all") — Specifies which pages search engines should index.

* `navigable`: Index only pages included in your `docs.json` navigation. Defaults to this value.
* `all`: Index every page in your project, including pages not in the navigation.

- `seo.metatags` (object) — Custom meta tags added to every page. Provide as key-value pairs where each key is a meta tag name and the value is its content.

See [common meta tags reference](/guides/optimize-seo#common-meta-tags-reference) for available options.

```json theme={null}
"metatags": {
  "og:site_name": "Example Co. Docs",
  "twitter:card": "summary_large_image"
}
```

- `seo.paths` (array) — Meta tags scoped to a folder. Use this to apply different tags to a subset of pages, such as versioned docs or a specific product area, without repeating them in page frontmatter.

Each entry has:

- `path`: Folder path relative to the docs root, like `guides/v2`, with no leading or trailing slash. Applies to every page under that folder. Each path can appear only once.
- `metatags`: Meta tags added to every page under `path`, as key-value pairs. Values must be non-empty strings.

Precedence, from lowest to highest: `seo.metatags`, then matching `seo.paths` entries (longer paths override shorter ones when a page is under multiple), then page frontmatter.

Paths match page URLs, so translated pages in a language folder need their own entries. For example, `guides/v1` doesn't apply to `es/guides/v1`.

Mintlify ignores a `canonical` key in `seo.paths` entries. Set a site-wide canonical in `seo.metatags` or a per-page canonical in frontmatter.

```json theme={null}
"paths": [
  {
    "path": "guides/v1",
    "metatags": {
      "robots": "noindex"
    }
  },
  {
    "path": "guides/v2",
    "metatags": {
      "og:image": "https://example.com/og/v2.png"
    }
  }
]
```

- `seo.organization` (object) — The organization used as the publisher entity in the [structured data](/guides/optimize-seo#structured-data) emitted on every page. All fields are optional. If you omit this object, Mintlify derives the organization from your site name, docs logo, and site URL.

* `id`: Stable `@id` URL identifying your organization across pages, for example `https://example.com/#organization`. Defaults to `<site origin>/#organization`.
* `name`: Organization name. Defaults to the site name.
* `legalName`: Registered legal name.
* `url`: Canonical organization homepage URL.
* `logo`: Canonical logo URL used in structured data. Defaults to the docs logo.
* `sameAs`: Array of URLs for official profiles, such as X, LinkedIn, or GitHub.

```json theme={null}
"organization": {
  "id": "https://example.com/#organization",
  "legalName": "Example Co. Inc.",
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "logo": "https://example.com/images/logo.png",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://x.com/example",
    "https://github.com/example"
  ]
}
```

```json docs.json theme={null}
"seo": {
  "indexing": "navigable",
  "metatags": {
    "og:site_name": "Example Co. Docs"
  }
}
```

***

### `search`

**Type:** `object`

Search bar display settings.

- `search.prompt` (string) — Placeholder text displayed in the search bar when it is empty.

```json docs.json theme={null}
"search": {
  "prompt": "Search the docs..."
}
```

***

### `metadata`

**Type:** `object`

Page-level metadata settings applied globally across all pages.

- `metadata.timestamp` (boolean) — Display a last-modified date on all pages. When enabled, each page shows the date its content was last modified. The default is `false`.

You can override this setting for individual pages using the `timestamp` frontmatter field. See [Pages](/guides/organize-pages#last-modified-timestamp) for details.

```json docs.json theme={null}
"metadata": {
  "timestamp": true
}
```

## Example

```json docs.json theme={null}
{
  "description": "Documentation for Example Co.'s API and developer platform.",
  "seo": {
    "indexing": "navigable",
    "metatags": {
      "og:site_name": "Example Co. Docs",
      "twitter:card": "summary_large_image"
    }
  },
  "search": {
    "prompt": "Search the docs..."
  },
  "metadata": {
    "timestamp": true
  }
}
```

## Related topics

- [React components](/docs/customize/react-components.md)
- [Migrate from another platform](/docs/migration/manual.md)
- [Migrate from Fern](/docs/migration/fern.md)

## Related pages

- [Ai](./ai-index.md)
- [Analytics overview](./analytics-index.md)
- [Api](./api-index.md)
- [Api playground](./api-playground-index.md)
- [Assistant](./assistant-index.md)
- [Automations overview](./automations-index.md)
- [Components overview](./components-index.md)
- [Create](./create-index.md)
- [Customize](./customize-index.md)
- [Dashboard](./dashboard-index.md)

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