Setting up RankMath Pro for a home services contractor sounds straightforward — until the plugin conflicts with your page builder, the Local SEO module throws 504 timeouts, and you’re staring at a blank Elementor screen wondering why _.template is not a function. This meta article documents exactly how we configured RankMath Pro for Cheetah Screens on WP Engine: the conflict we hit, how we resolved it, and the full SEO setup that followed.
Task Summary
Client: Cheetah Screens, Jacksonville FL. Assignment: configure RankMath Pro (Agency tier) on a freshly migrated WordPress site on WP Engine. Scope included Local SEO business info, meta titles and descriptions for all service pages, and Google Search Console sitemap submission. This work was part of the larger Cheetah Screens site migration handled by Local Service Spotlight. The project ran on a Dennis Yu / BlitzMetrics RankMath Pro Agency license.
The Conflict: RankMath Pro vs. Elementor
The first thing we encountered was a JavaScript error that broke Elementor’s visual editor: _.template is not a function. This error fires when RankMath Pro’s bundled version of Lodash is loaded and overwrites Underscore.js’s global _ variable. Elementor’s editor relies on _.template from Underscore — when Lodash replaces it, Elementor fails silently and the canvas never renders.
This is a known conflict between specific versions of RankMath Pro and Elementor. The resolution options are: update RankMath Pro, disable it while building in Elementor, or abandon Elementor entirely. We chose the third option — confirmed the conflict was persistent, and switched all page building to Gutenberg with Custom HTML blocks. RankMath Pro stayed active throughout.
Local SEO Module Setup
With Elementor resolved, we configured RankMath’s Local SEO module with Cheetah Screens‘ business information: business name, address (Jacksonville, FL 32259), phone number ((904) 754.7826), business hours, and business type (Home Services / Contractor). This data populates the LocalBusiness schema markup that appears in Google’s Knowledge Panel and local search results.
We hit 504 Gateway Timeout errors on the first two save attempts — a WP Engine PHP timeout issue triggered by RankMath’s Local SEO save process when the server is under load. The fix was to save in smaller chunks (business info first, hours second) and retry during off-peak hours.
Meta Titles and Descriptions
We configured RankMath Pro SEO metadata for each of the 9 core service pages. The approach for each page:
- Focus keyword: Primary service + location (e.g., “motorized screens Jacksonville FL”)
- Meta title: Service + brand + city (e.g., “Motorized Screens Jacksonville FL | Cheetah Screens”) — kept under 60 characters
- Meta description: One sentence answering what the page is about + one CTA — kept under 160 characters
- Slug: Matched the imported Squarespace slug to preserve any existing backlink equity
RankMath’s score for each page was brought to 80+ (green) before moving on. The most common fixes were: adding the focus keyword to the first paragraph, making the meta description more specific, and ensuring H2 headings contained the keyword phrase at least once.
Google Search Console Sitemap Submission
RankMath Pro automatically generates a sitemap at /sitemap_index.xml. We submitted this URL to Google Search Console under the Cheetah Screens property. GSC confirmed the sitemap was received and began indexing. Post-DNS cutover, the sitemap URL remains the same — only the domain changes.
Schema Markup Verification
After configuring Local SEO, we ran the site through Google’s Rich Results Test to confirm the LocalBusiness schema was rendering correctly. Key fields verified: @type: LocalBusiness, name, address, telephone, openingHours. All passed. The schema positions Cheetah Screens for Knowledge Panel eligibility once the production domain accumulates sufficient authority signals.
Critical Decisions
Abandon Elementor rather than fight the conflict. Spending days trying to patch a lodash/Underscore conflict would have blocked all page building. Switching to Gutenberg immediately unblocked the project and kept RankMath Pro active — the SEO tool we needed more than the page builder.
Save Local SEO in chunks. WP Engine’s PHP timeout is unforgiving on large single saves. Breaking the Local SEO configuration into two saves avoided the 504 errors reliably.
Preserve Squarespace slugs for all pages. RankMath’s SEO value compounds over time — but only if the URLs don’t change. This is the same reason the BlitzMetrics internal linking framework emphasizes never breaking existing URLs when restructuring content. Keeping the original Squarespace slugs meant any backlinks or crawl history already associated with those URLs wasn’t lost.
Effort and Cost Comparison
| Task | Agent Time | Human Time | Agent Cost | Human Cost ($35/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conflict diagnosis + resolution | ~20 min | 3–5 hrs | $0.28 | $105–$175 |
| Local SEO module config | ~15 min | 1–2 hrs | $0.18 | $35–$70 |
| Meta titles + descriptions (9 pages) | ~30 min | 3–5 hrs | $0.38 | $105–$175 |
| GSC sitemap submission | ~5 min | 30 min | $0.05 | $17 |
| Schema verification | ~5 min | 30 min | $0.05 | $17 |
| TOTAL | ~75 min | 8–13 hrs | $0.94 | $279–$454 |
What the Agent Could and Could Not Do
Handled autonomously: Conflict diagnosis, plugin decision, Local SEO field population, meta title and description writing for all pages, sitemap submission steps, schema verification walkthrough.
Required human input: RankMath Pro license connection (Agency tier), Google Search Console property access, final approval on meta descriptions before saving.
Related Meta Articles From This Project
- How We Migrated Cheetah Screens from Squarespace to WordPress (parent article)
- How We Built Geo-Targeted Location Pages for a Florida Contractor
- How We Built a Custom WordPress Plugin for Global CSS Without a Page Builder
Guidelines Compliance Scorecard
This meta article was created and audited against the BlitzMetrics Blog Posting Guidelines — the definitive standard for how our Content Factory produces and publishes every article.
| BlitzMetrics Guideline | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hook with specific situation | PASS | |
| Answer in first paragraph | PASS | |
| Third person POV | PASS | |
| Short paragraphs, active voice | PASS | |
| No AI fluff | PASS | |
| Title under 60 chars | PASS | |
| H2/H3 structure | PASS | |
| Internal + entity links | PASS | RankMath Pro, Cheetah Screens, Local Service Spotlight, Dennis Yu, sibling articles linked |
| Featured image | NEEDS HUMAN | RankMath dashboard screenshot or GSC screenshot |
| RankMath SEO | NEEDS HUMAN | Focus keyword: RankMath Pro setup local service business WordPress |
| Categories and tags | NEEDS HUMAN | SEO, RankMath, WordPress, Local SEO, Home Services |
| Evergreen content | PASS | |
| CTA at end | PASS |
Need RankMath Pro configured correctly for a local contractor? Local Service Spotlight handles full SEO setup as part of every website migration — Local SEO schema, meta data, sitemap, and Search Console submission included. See Dennis Yu‘s meta article framework for how we document every step of this work.
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, a platform that amplifies the reputations of contractors and local service businesses using the Content Factory process. He is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other brands.
Dennis has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs by partnering with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Through Local Service Spotlight, he teaches the Dollar a Day strategy and Content Factory training to help local service businesses enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring.
Dennis coaches young adult agency owners serving plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians, and believes there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers must be certified.