LOCALGOVGUIDE.US — READY TO UPLOAD

1. Upload everything in this folder into your domain document root (usually public_html).
2. In cPanel/phpMyAdmin, create a MySQL database and import install.sql.
3. Edit config.php with the real DB user/password and keep base_url as https://localgovguide.us.
4. Replace admin_key with a long random secret.
5. Run scripts/seed_states.php from SSH/Terminal.
6. Import U.S. Census 2026 Places using scripts/download_import_2026_places.php, or manually download the Census national Places Gazetteer and run scripts/import_census_places.php.
7. Import real, source-backed local content using scripts/import_city_content_csv.php.
8. Add your Search Console verification value in config.php, then submit https://localgovguide.us/sitemap.xml.
9. Do not add AdSense IDs until your site has enough verified, useful content and is ready for review.

IMPORTANT: The engine intentionally keeps unverified city-topic coverage pages NOINDEX. This protects the domain from thin/duplicate pages.
