Yoast SEO Plugin Settings For WordPress (Configuration Settings 2021)

Do you want to learn how to configure Yoast SEO plugin settings for WordPress successfully? This article should guide you.

Yoast SEO plugin is the best WordPress plugin for SEO in the market and it features a lot of tools that help to optimize your website.

However, due to the number of SEO plugins available in the market, a lot of beginners might get caught up on which SEO plugin is fit for their website and how to set it up.

In this article, we will guide you to configure Yoast SEO plugin settings for WordPress.

Let’s proceed.

Features of the Yoast SEO plugin

The Yoast SEO plugin contains a lot of features for optimizing your site’s SEO and they include:

• Optimization for SEO title, URL, and meta description
• Readability check
• It gives a preview of how your post will show on mobile and desktop on Google search result
• RSS footer configuration
• .htaccess and robot.txt file editor
• Google search console set up and webmaster tools configuration
• Redirect manager that redirects 301 and 404 error
• Create an XML sitemap for the Google search console
• Internal linking suggestions
• work in both classic and block editor
• Internal linking count
• Prevent duplicate content

How to install the Yoast SEO plugin 

The first step you should take in setting up the Yoast SEO plugin on WordPress is to first, download and install the plugin.

To download;

• Simply visit the plugin menu on your dashboard and click on ‘add new’
• Type in ‘Yoast SEO’ into the search query displayed
• Click on Install. WordPress will install the plugin automatically
• Click on activate

Your Yoast SEO plugin is up and running, it’s time to configure the settings. 

Yoast SEO plugin settings for WordPress

To set up Yoast SEO on WordPress, kindly follow the step by step guide we have provided below: 

1. Data transfer

If you have previously used an SEO plugin on your sites like the All in one SEO and the likes, you should do a transfer of your previous data from it to the Yoast SEO plugin before deactivating it.

To do this, I recommend the SEO data transporter by studio press.

However, if you have never used an SEO plugin on your site, or your blog is new, then there is no need for data transfer.

Kindly skip this step. 

2. General 

Once you have clicked on the Yoast SEO icon, you will be taking to the setting page of the plugin, click on the ‘General’ tab and ignore the configuration wizard displayed.

In the next paragraph, we will walk you through a step-by-step process of the configuration.

Features

The Yoast SEO comes with a lot of features and by default, it is automatically turned on.

You have to enable or disable these features

Let’s analyze these features a bit further

• SEO Analysis: This indicates the SEO analysis and score of your content, to check whether your content is SEO friendly or not.
• Readability Analysis: This similarly gives the readability analysis and core for your content. The score is 100 in percentage, it is also known as flesh easy score.
• Cornerstone Content: This option allows you to select your most important article.
• Text link counter: This displays the total number of internal and external links on your blog posts.
• XML Sitemaps: With the help of XML Sitemap, Google can find and crawl all pages of your website.
• Ryte Integration: This is a third-party service that notifies Yoast SEO if your service is deindexed.
• Admin Bar Menu: If Enabled, Yoast will display it in your admin page menu bar.
• Security: No advanced settings for your authors: This prevents authors from having access to the advanced SEO settings of your site

Webmaster Tools

 Yoast SEO makes it very easy for popular search engines to be able to verify your site via their webmaster tools.

To be able to do that, you need to sign up for each webmaster tools program.

After which you will be given a meta tag to add to the head section of your website for verification of ownership.

Kindly follow the proceedings for Google verification below:

Look, there are 4 options. But most people will use Google and Bing. So, I verify only that 2. But if you want all of them, then it’s your choice. There is no problem with that.

Google verification process :

First, click on the google search console.

Then log in with your Google account.

Choose one of the verification methods.

I recommend the HTML tag, the easiest one.

Copy the code and paste it into the head section. (you will find your head section in your theme settings)

Click verify.

Then, copy the code and paste it into the google verification code section. 

Done.

3. Search Appearance

This option is in control of how your site appears on search engine 

General 

Choose your title separator and fill up your personal information.

Content types

Yoast SEO allows you to automatically set up the template you want to use for your content.  

You can decide to choose an SEO title and description for each content you write

However, you can also set your search appearance, date snippet, and whether or not you want the SEO meta box to be shown for each content type.

Enable or Disable according to your needs or if you can’t understand then just copy my settings.

Media

WordPress opens a new page for each image you attach to your content, this page is seen as the attachment media and plays no major role except that it has a negative impact on SEO.

However, Yoast helps to figure that out by redirecting users to the attachment file instead of the attachment page.

By default, the option is set to yes (Recommended). There is no need to alter it.

Taxonomies

Choose accordingly.

Archives

Fill up with yourself or copy the same.

Breadcrumbs

Disable this and save.

RSS

The RSS is often used by content hijackers to copy content from your website.

 However, Yoast SEO allows you to add a backlink to your site for every post in your RSS feed. 

Every time they copy your post, you get a backlink from their site and this indicates to Google that you are the original source of the content.

There are several options made available they include the author link, post link, website link, and website description

Leave as it is and save changes.

4. Search Console

Google has discontinued its Crawl Errors API. Therefore, any possible crawl errors you might have cannot be displayed here anymore.

Don’t worry friends, that was not an error but a message saying that previously you can see your crawl errors on Yoast itself but from now you have to visit the Google search console to see your crawl errors.

From now on, Yoast will not provide the data.

To view your current crawl errors, visit Google Search Console.

Desktop

SmartPhone

Feature Phone

Settings

Authenticate with Google(It takes only 5 mins). Yoast will give you a code, copy, and paste the code for authentication. 

5. Social

The Yoast SEO plugin allows you to add your social link to your site, thereby integrating your site with your social platforms.

For instance, you create content and would want to share it on your social platforms, with just a click on the social icons, you will be taken to this platform.

Ride on, as we walk you through the whole process of setting it up.

Accounts

The account tab under the social settings is for all your social media account. This gives Yoast SEO the ground to tell Google about your social profiles.

All you need do is to simply add the URLs and usernames of your social profiles.

Facebook

Enure the ‘add open graph metadata’ is enabled, because this allows Yoast SEO to add the Facebook open graph metadata to the head section of your site

Twitter

Ensure that the ‘add Twitter card metadata’ is enabled.

You can choose what default card type to use. we recommend that you choose a summary with a large image 

Pinterest

Pinterest also works with the open meta graph data like Facebook.

Once you have enabled the open metadata graph under the  Facebook settings.

Visit your Pinterest account to add and verify your site.

You will be given a meta tag that you will enter below

6. Tools

The tool section allows you to perform some advanced tasks, while these tools may be useful to pro bloggers, Most beginners may not need to use these tools.

However, we will walk you through how it works. 

Import and Export

Like I stated earlier, if you have previously used another WordPress SEO plugin or themes with a built-in SEO function, then you can make use of this tool to import your SEO data. 

It can also be used to import Yoast SEO plugin settings from your site to another website.

File editor

This allows you to edit the .htaccess or robot.txt files directly on your WordPress admin area.

Bulk Editor

With the help of this tool, you can make changes to your titles and descriptions without going into the editor for each page.

7. Premium

Price – $78.68 (Including 1-year free update and support)

Risk-free 30 days money-back guarantee without any questions asked.

Redirect manager (Premium)

The Yoast SEO premium comes with a redirect manager that you can use to easily set up a redirect on your WordPress site.

The redirect manager fixes the 404 error, it redirects users from old content to a new one.

8. Courses

Here, Yoast will provide some free courses (Video tutorials), which is good for learning some quick tips.

How to use Yoast on your blog post?

Upon the installation and configuration of this plugin, it’s now time to use Yoast to optimize your content.

Note that optimization has to be done for each of your posts.

Let’s walk you through this process 

Open one of your blog posts, you will notice a new Yoast meta box beneath your text editor.

SEO : 

Set your focus keyword.

Fill up the meta description.

Check and resolve your problems one by one.

Readability:

Go to the readability section and find if there is any problem with the blog post. Then resolve.

Social Accounts Section.

Advanced Settings:

Leave as it is or change according to your needs.

Conclusion

I hope you have learned the Yoast SEO plugin settings for WordPress?

The Yoast SEO plugin is the best WordPress plugin for SEO. It is very useful for on-page SEO and technical SEO.

Most importantly, It is very easy to set up as long as you follow the steps I have provided above.

Have any recommendations, ideas, or suggestions? kindly use the comment section.

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