The YouTube transcript provides a comprehensive tutorial on using the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress websites.
The video’s creator, Darrel Wilson, guides viewers through installation, configuration, and integration with search engines like Google, Bing, and Pinterest.
Wilson emphasizes on-page optimization, including keyword insertion, meta descriptions, and utilizing rich snippets to enhance search result visibility. The tutorial also covers site structure settings, content types, categories, tags, and advanced settings to avoid duplicate content penalties.
Ultimately, the video aims to equip users with the knowledge to optimize their WordPress sites for better search engine rankings.
What is Yoast SEO Plugin?
The Yoast SEO plugin is a free WordPress plugin designed to optimize and index WordPress websites for major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. It allows users to optimize all pages and posts on their websites.
This optimization ensures content is displayed in the Google search results as desired. According to Darrel Wilson, on-page optimization is crucial because it involves inserting specific keywords to rank higher in search results.
Yoast SEO also supports Rich Snippets, which display content in a clean, rich format, potentially increasing clicks and traffic to websites. The plugin helps structure and index content, as demonstrated by a blog post ranking on Google’s first page.
Installation and Configuration of Yoast SEO
To install the Yoast SEO plugin, navigate to the WordPress dashboard, select “Plugins,” and click on “Add New”. In the search bar, type “Yoast” and install the “Yoast SEO” plugin, which boasts over 5 million active installs and positive reviews.
After installation, activate the plugin. Access the settings via the “Yoast SEO” option on the left side of the dashboard. The dashboard displays potential problems and notifications, though these often promote purchasing additional products.
Begin by clicking on “Start SEO data optimization” to address technical issues and improve website indexing. Next, configure the site representation by specifying whether the website represents a business or a person.
Website and Organization Details
If the website represents a business, select “Organization” and enter the website name and the actual business name. Upload a logo that represents the business, as this logo will be indexed in Google search results and displayed alongside the website.
For individuals, such as motivational speakers, select “Person”. To create a user, go to “Users,” click “Add New,” and fill in the necessary details. This allows you to switch the site representation to “Person” and input the person’s name.
Also, insert social profiles to send social signals to various platforms, which can improve search engine rankings. After adding all relevant social profiles, save the changes and continue.
General Yoast Options and Site Basics
After the initial setup, explore the general Yoast options under “Settings”. Ensure that SEO analysis, readability analysis, and insights are enabled to access various site structure options.
In “Site Basics,” update the website name, alternative website name, and tagline. The alternative website name is useful for mobile devices if the primary name is too long.
The tagline can be a slogan or a brief description of the website. Choose a title separator, which will be the default separator in on-page optimization. Upload a site image to represent the website when shared on social media.
Content Types: Posts
The “Posts” section determines how posts appear in search results by default. For optimal settings, remove extra elements and only include the title of the blog post. For the meta description, use the “excerpt” variable to display content from the post.
Ensure that the “Show posts in search results” option is checked. In the schema settings, set the page type to “Web page”. Choose “Article” for most websites, but select “Blog post” for personal viewpoints or experiences.
Also, make sure that the “Enable SEO controls” option is checked. Save the changes to apply these settings to all posts.
Content Types: Pages
The “Pages” section allows customization of how pages appear in search results. While a formula can be used, creating a custom title and description for each page is recommended.
Always add a meta description for each page. In the schema settings, select “Web page” for the web page type. Since pages are not articles, select “None” for the article type.
If there are custom post types from plugins like Elementor, they will be displayed here. Disable any headers and footers from appearing in search results, as they are not relevant.
Categories and Tags
For categories, include the name of the category, a separator, and the website name. Add an excerpt for the meta description. Ensure the appropriate options are checked and save the changes.
For product categories, follow a similar format, including the term title, separator, and site title, along with an excerpt. For shipping classes, it is generally recommended to prevent them from being indexed on Google.
For tags and taxonomies, it is often recommended to set them to “off” to avoid creating duplicate content, which can negatively impact search engine rankings.
Advanced Settings: Breadcrumbs and Archives
In the “Advanced” section, breadcrumbs can be enabled if the theme supports them, though this is not a critical feature. Author archives should only be enabled if there are multiple writers on the website.
If it is a solo blog or has only one content writer, disable author archives to prevent duplicate content. Date archives and format archives should also be disabled to avoid potential penalties for duplicate content.
For special pages, such as 404 pages, the default settings are usually sufficient. Ensure that media pages are set to “off”. This setting ensures that clicking on an image in search results redirects to the page where the image is located, rather than just the image itself.
RSS Feeds
The RSS feed settings are crucial for indicating that the content first appeared on the website, protecting it from content scrapers. This setting ensures the website receives credit for original posts and prevents others from stealing and ranking for the content.
Yoast SEO also offers integrations and tools. The “start SEO data optimization” tool provides insights on internal linking. The file editor should only be used by those familiar with robots.txt files.
Yoast also provides access to its academy for further SEO learning. While a premium version with additional features is available, the core plugin provides substantial value.
Connecting to Search Engines: Google Search Console
To integrate a website with search engines, navigate to “SEO settings” and then “Site Connections”. Connect with Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and Pinterest to index the website effectively.
For Google Search Console, click on the provided link to get a verification code. Sign in with a Gmail account. Add a property by selecting “URL prefix” and entering the website URL.
Verify ownership using the HTML tag method. Copy the provided HTML tag and paste it into the designated field on the website. Save the changes and click “Verify” in Google Search Console.
Connecting to Search Engines: Bing and Pinterest
To connect with Bing Webmaster Tools, click on the Bing link and sign in with a Microsoft account. Import data from Google Search Console to integrate the website with Bing.
If the Google Search Console method does not work, manually add the site and use the HTML code verification method. For Pinterest, log in, go to settings, and claim a website.
Copy the provided tag and paste it into the website settings. Return to Pinterest and verify the website. If verification fails initially, try again after a few minutes.
Submitting a Sitemap
To submit a sitemap, find the XML sitemap by typing “sitemap” in the quick search. Copy the sitemap URL and go to Google Search Console. In the left sidebar, click on “Sitemaps” and paste the sitemap URL.
Remove any unnecessary parts of the URL, ensuring it ends with “sitemap_index.xml,” and submit. Repeat the process in Bing Webmaster Tools by navigating to “Sitemaps” and submitting the sitemap URL.
Submitting a sitemap helps search engines understand the website’s structure and what to index, based on the settings configured in Yoast.
On-Page Optimization: Pages
On-page optimization is critical for SEO success. Optimize all pages and posts by inserting specific keywords to improve search engine rankings. For pages, avoid using the default formulas for SEO titles and meta descriptions.
Instead, create custom titles and descriptions that include relevant keywords. Analyze competitor websites to identify effective strategies. Ensure the SEO title and meta description contain keywords relevant to the website.
Customize the appearance of the website on mobile devices by using the mobile results preview. Also, add specific images, titles, and descriptions for Facebook and Twitter previews to optimize social media sharing.
On-Page Optimization: Posts
Optimize posts similarly to pages by creating custom titles and meta descriptions. Utilize the Google preview to see how the post will appear in search results. Consider adding the publication date to the title to indicate fresh content.
Incorporate relevant keywords into the meta description to improve ranking for those terms. The schema settings should be set to “Web page,” and the advanced settings should remain standard.
Cornerstone content is only relevant for blogs and indicates the most important articles on the website.
Rich Snippets and Content Quality
Rich Snippets enhance the appearance of search results, providing more information and potentially increasing click-through rates. By adding proper meta descriptions and creating valuable content, websites can be marked up by schema and displayed as Rich Snippets.
Ranking high on Google requires quality and comprehensive content. High-ranking blog posts provide extensive information, examples, and internal and external links.
Tools like ChatGPT can assist in content creation, but the focus should always be on providing valuable and informative content to readers. The most critical aspect of SEO is the quality of the content produced.