What Is Yoast SEO?
Yoast SEO is simply a celebrated WordPress plugin designed to thief you amended your site’s visibility successful hunt engines. By giving you recommendations to fine-tune your contented and website structure.
The free type gives you everything you request to complete basal SEO tasks. Such arsenic incorporating keywords successful the correct places and ensuring your titles are the due length.
The premium type unlocks precocious features, specified arsenic optimizing for aggregate keywords and receiving AI-powered recommendations.
The premium version costs $99 per twelvemonth for a azygous site.
What Can You Do pinch Yoast SEO?
Yoast SEO is designed to simplify the process of optimizing your tract for hunt engines. But the features you get dangle connected whether you take the free aliases premium version.
Let’s comparison the features of some plans broadside by side:
Feature | Yoast SEO Free | Yoast SEO Premium |
Keyword use: Assess whether you’ve utilized your target keyword enough, successful the correct places, etc. | Optimize a page for a azygous keyword to summation your likelihood of appearing (i.e., “ranking”) precocious successful hunt results | Optimize your contented for up to 5 keywords to summation your chances of ranking for aggregate hunt terms |
AI capabilities: Get suggestions to optimize your contented successful 1 click | You request to manually create and optimize each your content, including title tags and meta descriptions, without the assistance of AI | Generate SEO-friendly titles and meta descriptions. And get insights to amended the wide SEO value of your content. |
Automatic redirects: Get an easy solution to seamlessly redirect aged aliases renamed pages | There are nary built-in devices for managing redirects | Automatically create redirects for moved aliases deleted contented to support a seamless personification acquisition and sphere your site's SEO value |
IndexNow: Ensure hunt engines are automatically made alert of recently published, updated, aliases deleted pages | No automatic indexing | Your caller aliases updated contented gets indexed much quickly, perchance starring to faster visibility successful hunt results |
Internal linking suggestions: Get automatic soul linking suggestions for pages connected your site | You'll request to adhd soul links to your contented manually, without immoderate automated suggestions | Get automatic suggestions for various types of applicable soul links arsenic you write. This includes links to contextually applicable content, your astir important pages, and contented pinch nary soul links. |
Block unwanted bots: Block unwanted bots from accessing your site | Block Google AdsBot if you’re not utilizing Google Ads connected your site | Block a wider scope of bots. Including bots from AI services (including Google Gemini and ChatGPT) to forestall them from utilizing your information to train their models. |
Social media previews: Preview really your contented will look connected societal media | You won't beryllium capable to preview really your contented will look connected societal media | Preview really your contented will look erstwhile shared connected Facebook and X to guarantee it’s visually appealing |
Support: Get assistance to thief you pinch your SEO efforts | Access to a thief center, organization forums, and in-plugin support | Access to a thief halfway and organization forums, in-plugin support, positive 24/7 support via email and unrecorded chat |
How to Install and Configure Yoast SEO
Downloading and installing the Yoast SEO plugin connected your WordPress tract is straightforward.
Here's really to do it:
Log successful to your WordPress dashboard and click "Plugins" and past "Add New Plugin" from the left-hand menu.

Type "Yoast” aliases “Yoast SEO" into the hunt bar. Click connected the plugin

Then, click "Install and activate."

Now, you'll spot a "Yoast SEO" action successful your WordPress left-hand menu. Click it to entree the Yoast SEO dashboard.

Click the "First-time configuration" tab successful the Yoast SEO dashboard.

Yoast SEO will guideline you done a basal configuration.
Follow the prompts to complete the setup.
For example, you’ll adhd accusation astir your business successful the “Site Representation” part.

And adhd the URLs for your societal media profiles successful the “Social Profiles” section.

Next, alteration the Semrush integration to harvester Yoast’s powerful SEO devices pinch Semrush’s database of complete 26 cardinal keywords.
Click “Yoast SEO” successful your WordPress dashboard, followed by “Integrations.”
Under the "Recommended integrations" section, click to toggle connected the Semrush integration.

Now, you’ll beryllium capable to spot and adhd further keywords to your content. To summation your chances of ranking for further hunt position and driving much integrated postulation to your site. (We'll explicate really to do this later on.)
How to Optimize Your Content pinch Yoast SEO
Here's a step-by-step guideline connected really to usage Yoast SEO to create contented that stands a bully chance of ranking good successful hunt engines:
1. Enter Your Target Keyword
Find the Yoast SEO container beneath your WordPress editor (or successful the sidebar if you're utilizing the artifact editor), and participate your primary keyword successful the “Focus keyphrase” field. Which is the superior word you want your page to rank for, fixed it’s of liking to your target audience.
If you request thief determining which superior keywords to target, usage Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.
Enter a wide seed keyword (like "vegan cooking") and your website's domain (e.g., “loveandlemons.com”), prime your target location (such arsenic the U.S.), and click "Search."

You tin past measure the pursuing to thief you find what keywords to target:
- Search intent (Intent): The underlying goal of a user's search. Understanding this helps you create contented that genuinely meets their needs. Keywords tin beryllium categorized arsenic transactional, commercial, navigational, and/or informational.
- Search measurement (Volume): Higher search volume mostly intends much imaginable traffic. But it tin besides mean much competition.
- Personal Keyword Difficulty (PKD %): Estimates really challenging it will beryllium for your circumstantial website to rank successful the apical 10 results for this keyword. Lower PKD % indicates an easier keyword to target.

In the "Personal KD%" drop-down, take "Very easy" aliases "Easy" to find the champion keywords for your site.
Look for keywords pinch a reasonably precocious hunt measurement and a debased PKD % score. For example, immoderate bully keywords for Love & Lemons could be:
- “vegan slow cooker recipes”
- “vegan navigator books”
- “vegan chili slow cooker”

After conducting keyword research, you determine to create an article astir "vegan slow cooker recipes."
You'll participate this building into the "Focus keyphrase" section to commencement optimizing your content.

As you commencement filling your page pinch content, the Yoast SEO plugin will analyse it for your chosen keyword and connection suggestions to thief you optimize for amended hunt visibility wrong the “SEO analysis” section.
For example, your keyphrase not appearing successful your first paragraph aliases the title of your article.

2. Use the Semrush Integration to Find More Keywords
Choosing a superior keyword is simply a awesome measurement to scope your intended audience. But if you besides target immoderate additional, related terms, you tin rank for moreover much valuable keywords.
In the Yoast SEO box, click the “Get related keyphrases” fastener nether “Focus keyphrase.”

This will trigger a caller model to open, prompting you to log successful aliases motion up for a Semrush account.
Then, prime your database to spot a database of related keyphrases on pinch these information points:
- Volume: The mean number of monthly searches for that keyword
- Trend: A ocular practice of really hunt measurement has changed complete the past 12 months

Click connected "Get much insights astatine Semrush" to entree moreover much elaborate keyword information wrong the Semrush platform.

This will unfastened the Keyword Overview instrumentality successful Semrush, providing in-depth study for your attraction keyphrase.
Scroll down to the “Keyword ideas” conception and click “View each # keywords” to spot a database of related keywords.

You tin usage immoderate applicable position to grow the scope of your contented successful hunt results. Which mightiness thrust much clicks to your site.
In the lawsuit of this vegan slow cooker recipes article, you could adhd sections like:
- “easy vegan slow cooker recipes”
- “healthy vegan slow cooker recipes”
This will not only supply further worth to readers but besides summation the chances of the article appearing successful hunt results for related keywords.

Consider upgrading to Yoast SEO Premium to easy adhd these related position arsenic secondary keywords straight wrong the WordPress editor.
3. Add a Title Tag, Meta Description, and URL Slug
Yoast provides fields wherever you tin customize your content's title tag (HTML that specifies the page title and whitethorn show successful hunt results), meta description (HTML that provides a page summary and whitethorn show successful hunt results), and URL slug (the extremity portion of the URL that identifies the page).
Here are immoderate tips for penning each:
- Title tag: Write a header that accurately reflects your contented and entices users to click. Include your attraction keyphrase, ideally astatine the beginning. Keep it nether 60 characters to debar truncation if it shows successful hunt results.
- Meta description: Write a concise and informative summary of your content, highlighting its unsocial worth proposition. Aim for 150-160 characters to guarantee the afloat explanation is displayed if it shows successful hunt results.
- URL slug: Create a short, descriptive URL that includes your attraction keyword. Avoid unnecessary words aliases characters and usage hyphens to abstracted words for readability.
Yoast's snippet preview characteristic lets you spot really your title tag and meta explanation whitethorn look successful hunt results.
You tin past make adjustments to guarantee they're clear, compelling, and apt to pull personification clicks. Which tin amended your organic click-through rate (CTR).
For example, you mightiness usage the pursuing title tag, meta description, and URL slug for an article astir “vegan slow cooker recipes.”

4. Review the SEO Analysis
After entering your attraction keyphrase(s) and penning your content, Yoast SEO will analyse your page and supply color-coded feedback:
- Green: Indicates items you’ve done a bully occupation of optimizing
- Orange: Suggests areas wherever improvements tin beryllium made
- Red: Highlights much superior issues that request to beryllium addressed
For example, a communal SEO problem is not including your keyword successful your title tag (which Yoast SEO calls an “SEO title”)—a ranking factor.
If you request thief implementing immoderate recommendations, click the corresponding hyperlinked text. Which will unfastened up a assets explaining the rumor and what you tin do to reside it.

5. Review the Readability Analysis
Yoast SEO doesn't conscionable attraction connected SEO. It besides helps you create reader-friendly contented that keeps your assemblage engaged and coming backmost for more.
This is particularly valuable for businesses looking to make leads aliases summation income straight from their websites.
The readability study evaluates your penning style and provides recommendations for condemnation length, paragraph length, modulation connection use, passive sound use, and different factors influencing really easy it is to understand your content.
Like the SEO analysis, the readability study uses a color-coded strategy (green, orange, and red) to intelligibly show which areas of your contented are beardown and which request improvement.

You tin besides usage Semrush's SEO Writing Assistant to refine your content's SEO and readability. This instrumentality analyzes your matter successful real-time and provides suggestions for improving keyword use, readability, reside of voice, and originality.
To get started, click “Analyze my text.”

You tin either type aliases paste your matter straight into the tool. Or, click "Import matter from web" to import the matter from a circumstantial URL.

Add your target keyword(s), populate the editor pinch your content, prime your target audience, and click “Get recommendations.”

On the right-hand side, you’ll spot a database of actionable suggestions to heighten your content's wide value divided into 4 categories:
- Readability
- SEO
- Tone of voice
- Originality
Apply the suggestions successful each class to amended your contented successful real-time.

You tin past transportation the article to your WordPress editor and continue.
6. Add Schema Markup
Schema markup is codification you tin adhd to webpages to thief hunt engines understand your contented better. Which tin lead to rich results—search listings that show further accusation astir your page and tin pull much attraction and clicks.
For example, this is what look schema tin look for illustration successful hunt motor results pages (SERPs):

Go to the "Schema" tab successful the Yoast SEO box.
Then, prime the due schema type for your page. (Yoast provides a schema guide to help.)

Yoast SEO gives you power complete really your contented appears connected societal media platforms for illustration Facebook, X, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. This is to thief you power really your contented appears erstwhile shared connected these platforms.
You do this by customizing the Open Graph tags associated pinch your content. These tags are snippets of codification that show societal media platforms what accusation to show erstwhile your contented is shared.
In Yoast SEO, you tin customize the:
- Social image: Choose a featured image displayed pinch your societal media station to guarantee it has the correct record size and dimensions for optimal display
- Social title: Set a civilization title for societal media sharing that differs from your station title/title tag if needed
- Social description: Craft a platform-specific explanation that will entice users to click connected your shared content
You tin find the societal sharing settings nether the “Social” tab.

For example, let's opportunity we want to stock our blog station connected organic traffic. When shared connected societal media, it could look thing for illustration this:

Additional Yoast SEO Settings to Consider
Let's research immoderate cardinal settings beyond the default options that tin heighten your SEO efforts.
Improve Google’s Understanding of Your Company
We've already touched connected really Yoast SEO tin thief you instrumentality schema markup connected individual pages. But it's worthy mentioning the action to easy adhd organization schema. Which provides hunt engines pinch cardinal accusation astir your institution arsenic a whole.
This system information tin summation the likelihood of your business accusation appearing successful a salient "knowledge panel" successful hunt results.
Here's what our knowledge sheet looks like:

In your WordPress dashboard menu, click connected "Yoast SEO" > "Settings" > "Site representation."

Scroll down to the "Additional statement info" conception and capable retired the disposable fields (organization description, email address, telephone number, etc.).

Simplify Site Verification
Yoast SEO simplifies connecting your tract to basal devices that require manual verification. It allows you to adhd different platforms' verification codes successful 1 cardinal place.
This is acold easier than individually adding each verification snippet to your website code.
To verify your tract utilizing Yoast SEO, travel these steps:
In your WordPress dashboard, spell to "Yoast SEO" > "Settings" > "Site connections"

Paste the verification codes into the corresponding fields and click the "Save changes" button.

Return to each respective platform's website and travel its instructions to complete the verification process.
Enhance Navigation
Yoast gives you a elemental measurement to instrumentality breadcrumbs. Which are a navigational way of links that thief users much easy find their measurement astir your tract and boost SEO by helping hunt engines amended understand your site structure.
Here’s really we usage breadcrumbs connected the Semrush blog to fto readers cognize what class and subcategory the article falls in.

To alteration and customize breadcrumbs, spell to your WordPress dashboard. And navigate to “Yoast SEO” > “Settings” > “Advanced” > “Breadcrumbs.”

Then, scroll to the bottommost and move connected the toggle adjacent to “Enable breadcrumbs for your theme.”

After that, you tin customize really breadcrumbs look and behave connected your site.

Improve Site Speed pinch Crawl Optimization
Yoast SEO tin thief hunt engines crawl your tract much efficiently by removing unnecessary elements from its code. This reduces the number of unnecessary URLs that hunt engines person to crawl, which tin thief amended your site's speed.
To entree these settings:
Go to "Advanced" > "Crawl optimization."
Then, cautiously reappraisal each action and region thing your tract doesn't need.
For example, the "generator tag" is simply a snippet of codification automatically added by WordPress that reveals the nonstop type of WordPress your tract is running.
It has nary SEO worth and is simply a imaginable information threat. Because publically displaying your WordPress type tin make your tract a target for hackers who utilization vulnerabilities successful circumstantial versions.
You tin easy region it utilizing the toggle.

For a much in-depth knowing of really good hunt engines tin crawl your site, usage Semrush’s Site Audit tool.
Enter your URL successful the hunt barroom and click “Start Audit.”

Next, configure your Site Audit. And click “Start Site Audit.”

Once the audit is complete, you'll spot an overview of your site's method health.
Next, click connected the “Issues” tab. Then prime “Crawlability” from the “Category” drop-down menu.
You’ll past spot a database of crawlability issues connected your tract that you tin fix.
For each flagged issue, hover complete the "Why and really to hole it" nexus for elaborate instructions connected really to reside it and amended your site's performance.

You mightiness besides spot a "Learn more" link. This offers further discourse aliases accusation astir the rumor being analyzed, moreover if it's not presently causing a problem for your site.
You tin besides click connected each rumor for a much elaborate mentation and to spot which circumstantial URLs are causing the problem.

Take Control of Your SEO
Yoast SEO lays the instauration for a well-optimized WordPress site. And incorporating Semrush into your processes tin lead to moreover amended performance.
In summation to the integration pinch Yoast, Semrush offers a full big of SEO devices you tin usage to:
- Uncover hidden keyword opportunities
- Optimize your content
- Improve your wide tract health
- Track your progress
Sign up for a free proceedings today.