smart search and router dont like each other

[nzyeehaa]

I have a menu item setup as search so search can be accessed by menu or by module.
and therefore all searches should show with a sef url https://website.com/search/...
modules>smart search > set itemID = search

when you search for an item, the url is https://website.com/search?q=motor

and click the link on a search result - its url and itemid is shown as the home page - $itemid=101 = homepage
<?php echo $itemid; ?> 101
https://website.com/?view=article&id=600:title&catid=100

• not a good move

this means if I have 600 items, with smart search enabled - I also have 600+ home pages

at bare minimum it should be ...https://website.com/search?view=article&id=600:title&catid=100
and $itemid =109= search

note to self - remember to add
search = noindex nofollow

[brianteeman]

I cannot replicate this.

With the sample data installed I search for "module" using the module on the home page

The results are displayed on /search?q=module

I click on the result and the page that is loaded is correctly
/blog/your-modules

If I turn off sef urls so I can check the itemid and repeat the same test

The results are displayed on /index.php?q=module&option=com_finder&view=search&Itemid=115

I click on the result and the page that is loaded is correctly
index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5:your-modules&catid=8&Itemid=102

[nzyeehaa]

@brianteeman thanks for taking the time to check it out
your results worked as there was a menu item /blog/your-modules

heres some results from a clean install (but only J 4.1.2)

clean install
no sample data
.htaccess
config > SEF urls = yes
config > use URL rewriting = yes
added...

menu = "finder = smartsearch"
menu = "two" = single article
modules > smart search > set itemID = "finder" & opensearch off
categories > cattwo
content > add 1 article (uncategorised and feature on home page)
content > added articles with "test" words included - put into cattwo
content > one article called "two", also in cattwo, link to menu "two"

module > search "test"

1st result http://j41.ld/?view=article&id=1:test&catid=2 (is ok - could be better - page is uncategorised and featured on home page)

• breadcrumbs = You are here: [Home](http://j41.ld/) [Uncategorised](http://j41.ld/?view=category&id=2) test

2nd result http://j41.ld/two (looks good - page two, linked to menu two = SEF works with articles listed in a menu )

• breadcrumbs = You are here: [Home](http://j41.ld/)two (looks good)

3rd result http://j41.ld/?view=article&id=8:published-art&catid=8 _**(not so good - page is not featured on home page )

• breadcrumbs = [Home](http://j41.ld/) [cattwo](http://j41.ld/?view=category&id=8)published art
  [ should be finder?view=category&id=8 or finder?cattwo&published art ]

** extend the test **
menu > category list "list cattwo"
3rd result now shows http://j41.ld/list-cattwo/published-art

• breadcrumbs = [Home](http://j41.ld/) [list cattwo](http://j41.ld/list-cattwo) published art

[brianteeman]

I have a menu item setup as search so search can be accessed by menu or by module.
and therefore all searches should show with a sef url https://website.com/search/...
modules>smart search > set itemID = search

That is for the itemid to be used for the search results page. NOT for the links to the items in the search results.

Joomla will always use the itemid of the article. This could be a direct menu link or a category menu link etc.

If there is no suitable itemid then joomla will always use the itemid of the home item

[nzyeehaa]

in result one above...
breadcrumbs show [Home][Uncategorised]test
search URL shows ?view=article&id=1:test&catid=2
neither of these would be correct for SEO as the article is on the home page so should show base domain/ and page content is accessible by different URL's

in result three above...
breadcrumbs show [Home][cattwo]published art
search URL shows ?view=article&id=8:published-art&catid=8

in extended test above...
menu URL /list-cattwo/published-art
breadcrumb URL [Home] [list cattwo] published art
search URL /list-cattwo/published-art

Moral of that story, if you need to improve SEO in Joomla and reduce duplicate content...
**The menu is what drives your SEF URL's**
setup a new "spare menu" with links to each category, then to each category/subcategory to replicate your category tree
dont add a module for the spare menu (it is only used for SEO)

Now the breadcrumbs, search URL and links will all line up as per your category structure
If you list a category on your main menu, you may need to remove it from your spare menu first

PS: it doesn't fix the home page featured problem, maybe a redirect from uncategorised to home/? - it will depend on how you organise your site

[nzyeehaa]

also seems to be other router issues happening here #38118

[Hackwar]

This is a bug in your sites configuration, not from Joomla. For support questions like this, please go to forum.joomla.org