Yoast SEO is a popular tool for businesses that are just getting started with SEO. It provides suggestions for improving your blog posts and landing pages, giving you a hands-on opportunity to learn more about SEO.
Since Yoast SEO has a free version and a reasonably simple interface, it is the go-to resource for many SEO beginners.
In this article, we will cover the ins and outs of using Yoast SEO to optimize your website for search. We’ll start by reviewing what Yoast is and who should use it. From there, we will dive into the nitty-gritty of how to use Yoast SEO to reach your goals.
What is Yoast?
Yoast SEO is a tool designed to help marketers optimize their website content to rank on search engines. This search engine optimization (SEO) tool is a great learning resource since it identifies different elements you can enhance to better appeal to Google, Bing, and other search engines.
It assesses your keyword use, metadata, images, links, word count, readability, and other important SEO factors. Yoast’s user experience (UX) is built on a checklist that compares content against general SEO criteria.
Screenshot provided by the author
The plugin uses a red, yellow, and green light system to rate how well you’ve checked all the suggested boxes. Its intended use is to optimize content so every item on the checklist has a green light.
Who should use Yoast?
The Yoast SEO plugin is best suited for marketing professionals starting with SEO. By creating and editing content based on Yoast’s assessment, marketers should be able to pick up the basics of SEO content writing.
As you practice optimizing your content for search, you’ll likely find that Yoast is no longer a necessary part of your process. However, it’s a great resource when you’re learning the ropes.
Yoast is only available for WordPress, WooCommerce, and Shopify users. Also, if you’re using WordPress, remember that plugins are only available on Business plans, so you may need to upgrade your WordPress plan to access Yoast SEO.
9 Yoast plugins for SEO
Yoast offers several different SEO plugins, ranging from a general SEO tool to tools with more focused functionalities. Let’s check them out.
1. Yoast SEO (for WordPress)
Yoast SEO is the standard Yoast plugin. This plugin assesses your content and provides guidance for search engine optimization, as described above.
Upgrading to Yoast Premium unlocks access to AI optimization, secondary/synonym keyword assessments, dead link redirects, and automatic internal link suggestions. It also unlocks unlimited access to Yoast SEO Academy and 24/7 support.
This plugin is free to use. However, upgrading to the premium package starts at $99 per year.
2. Yoast Video SEO (for WordPress)
The Yoast Video SEO plugin helps you rank your video content. It uses Schema markup to ensure that videos on your website appear under the “Video” tab on Google search results. The plugin also optimizes page speeds, ensures video responsiveness for viewing on all devices, and makes it easy to customize thumbnails.
This package starts at $79 per year.
3. Yoast Local SEO
Yoast Local SEO is a WordPress plugin that helps your site rank for local search queries. It helps put your site on Google Maps to ensure your business comes up when prospective customers are looking for your services in the area.
This package starts at $79 per year.
4. Yoast News SEO
Another WordPress plugin is Yoast News SEO. It helps ensure you appropriately categorize news articles in relevant search results pages. Like Yoast Video SEO, it uses Scheme markup to achieve this.
This package starts at $79 per year.
5. Yoast WooCommerce SEO
This is a plugin that helps rank your online store. It uses unique criteria for analyzing product pages to boost visibility on listings.
You can use Yoast WooCommerce SEO to optimize product category pages as well.
This package starts at $79 per year.
6. Yoast Duplicate Post
This plugin helps you create a sandbox environment that you can use to make edits to an existing article or landing page. Since it creates a sandbox environment, you can work on the content without compromising the published text.
The Yoast Duplicate Post plugin is free to download.
7. Yoast Blog Metrics
You can use the Blog Metrics plugin for WordPress to help you access your blog metrics. It assesses blog engagement rates.
Understanding your analytics is integral to SEO since it helps you inform your future blog content strategy. That’s why Yoast recommends using the Yoast Blog Metrics plugin alongside Google Analytics.
It is free to download.
8. Yoast Bit.ly Shortlinks
Yoast offers another plugin that is fundamental for generating short links for your blog posts. It creates a short version of your full URL, making it easier to share on social media.
If you need to share a link quickly with a friend, you can shorten it using the Bitly platform.
However, the Bit.ly Shortlinks plugin is free to download.
9. Yoast SEO for Shopify
You can benefit from this plugin if you have an e-commerce business that uses Shopify to host your online stores.
It is similar to the WooCommerce Yoast plugin but dials in on product listing metadata. This plugin uses generative AI to create and optimize this copy.
Yoast SEO for Shopify costs $19 per month.
How to use Yoast to boost your SEO
Now that you’re more familiar with Yoast and its various functionalities, let’s discuss how you can use it to improve your rankings and drive more traffic to your site.
1. Decide which plugin to use
As we reviewed, there are quite a few Yoast plugins for SEO. Each of these is slightly different, so it’s essential to narrow down what you’re looking for in an SEO tool.
For example, Yoast Local SEO is the obvious choice if you run a local business and are among the 58% of businesses that have not optimized their content for local search.
However, the standard Yoast SEO plugin is the way to go if you need more general support on your WordPress site.
After you choose a plugin, you’ll need to decide if you need the premium subscription or if the regular subscription is sufficient.
For the sake of this tutorial, we will assume you’re using the standard Yoast SEO WordPress plugin for general optimizations.
2. Configure your plugin
Once you’ve chosen the plugin that best suits your needs, you need to set it up with your WordPress account.
Here’s how it works:
- Login to your WordPress account
- Click the “Plugins” dropdown in the menu bar on the left-hand side of the screen
- Choose “Add New Plugin”
- Enter “Yoast SEO” in the search bar
- Select this plugin:
Image Source - Click “Install and Activate”
- Follow the steps under the “First-time configuration” tab within the plugin
The configuration interface will vary slightly if you’re using Yoast SEO for WooCommerce or Shopify.
3. Add your content
Now, we can add your content to your CMS. Yoast works for both landing pages and blog posts so that you can upload your content to the appropriate page type.
Screenshot provided by author
Simply create a page and work within the text editor. You can also copy your content from wherever you write it.
4. Review the checklist
After adding your content, click the Yoast icon in the toolbar across the top to see your Yoast checklist.
Screenshot provided by author
Clicking the icon will expand your analysis results. You will see three categories: Problems, Improvements, and Good Results.
Screenshot provided by author
Problems are presented with solutions that you can apply to optimize your article. Each suggestion has resources linked to help you understand the purpose of taking each action.
Screenshot provided by author
You’ll also see a Readability Analysis with similarly structured suggestions. Depending on your plan, you may also have access to secondary keyword analyses and internal linking suggestions.
Fortunately, Yoast’s analysis checklists are very intuitive, so if you click through the lists, it’s easy to figure out what you’re looking at.
5. Edit accordingly
An essential part of using Yoast is discerning which suggestions you want to take and which you want to leave. Most suggestions should be helpful.
If a suggestion seems to err on keyword stuffing or doesn’t help create people-first content, it’s okay to disregard it. As you get more familiar with SEO and more comfortable creating content, it will be easier to decide which edits make sense and which don’t.
Frequently asked questions about Yoast SEO
To wrap things up, let’s answer a few of the top questions about Yoast SEO.
Is Yoast the best tool for SEO?
Yoast is one of the most popular SEO tools, but you may wonder if it’s the best. Of course, this is a subjective question, but as experts on the subject matter, we believe it is good but not the be-all and end-all of SEO tools.
It supports various critical SEO techniques and is a very accessible tool for WordPress and WooCommerce users. It provides helpful tips that can give marketers the boost they need to start ranking their content.
However, there is some criticism about how extensive the content suggestions can be on Yoast. Sometimes, the suggestions miss the idea that you’re primarily writing for humans, not the algorithm.
Furthermore, a lot of essential features are restricted to the premium plugin. Many users suggest Rank Math is a better alternative if you want a free SEO tool.
Do I have to accept all of the suggestions?
No, you do not need to accept all of Yoast’s suggestions. It is just a guide, but you must use your best judgment when it seems like a suggestion might compromise the quality of your content.
As you get more comfortable with SEO content writing, you’ll find that you rely less on Yoast’s suggestions. However, while you’re getting started, it’s a helpful resource.
How much does Yoast cost?
Yoast’s plugins range from free to $229 per year. It depends on the specific plugin and whether you’ve chosen the standard or premium version.
Pricing for Yoast SEO plugins is as follows:
- Yoast SEO (for WordPress): free for standard and $99 for premium
- Yoast Video SEO (for WordPress): free for standard and $79 for premium
- Yoast Local SEO (for WordPress): free for standard and $79 for premium
- Yoast News SEO (for WordPress): free for standard and $79 for premium
- Yoast WooCommerce SEO: free for standard and $79 for premium
- Yoast Duplicate Post: Free
- Yoast Blog Metrics: Free
- Yoast Blog Metrics: Free
- Yoast Bit.ly Shortlinks: Free
Yoast SEO Premium and other premium upgrades are also available in bundles for $145 to $229 per year.
Does Yoast offer a free trial?
You can access most of Yoast’s basic plugins for free, so in those cases, there’s no need for a free trial. However, there is a free trial for Yoast SEO for Shopify since there is no free version.
It’s also worth noting that Yoast also offers free SEO training for beginners through Yoast SEO Academy. Of course, more materials are available with the premium upgrade, but the free resources are a great place to start.
Does Yoast have support for link building?
None of the Yoast SEO plugins have dedicated support for link building. However, Yoast SEO has a tool for optimizing internal links, and Yoast Academy offers educational materials on link building. Part of Yoast’s optimization checklist also looks at the number of outbound links you’ve included.
If you want to add link building to your SEO strategy, you can outsource the efforts to a professional link building service like uSERP. Outsourcing link building to a provider with media connections and strict quality control for content can help you streamline these efforts.
Final thoughts
Yoast SEO has tons of plugins to optimize your content and improve your website rankings. This depends on your business needs and goals. For example, local businesses may benefit from Yoast Local SEO to target local audiences.
No SEO strategy is complete without link building. If you’re ready to add link building efforts to your SEO game plan, uSERP is here for you. Book a call to learn how we can help you reach your SEO goals!
