Yoast Product Guide
Thinking about purchasing Yoast? Our product guide was crafted from our vetted user reviews to give you insights into how the product performs for its current customers. Find out where Yoast excels and discover potential pitfalls before you buy.
Highlight the Right Reviews
Throughout the guide below, there are links directly to reviews. Select the reviewers most relevant to you, and those links will be highlighted in blue.
Table of Contents
SEO Fundamentals
SEO Basics
Users consistently praise Yoast’s SEO optimization capabilities. When it comes to the basics of SEO, users find Yoast’s features to be user-friendly and effective in helping them understand and implement essential SEO practices. The general sentiment is that Yoast’s SEO basics functionality is a strong point, providing valuable guidance for beginners and non-technical users looking to enhance their website’s organic visibility. Users appreciate the simplicity and clarity with which Yoast presents SEO fundamentals, making it easier for them to grasp and apply best practices in their optimization efforts. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Yoast SEO is best for SEO on page optimization it helps me to add schema like FAQs. One of the best parts of it is the updated version of Yoast. if you add FAQs by using the Yoast widget you don’t need to add FAQs schema it will add automatically.” – Administrator in Corporate, Education Management, 11-50 employees
“Yoast helps us to optimize posts and tell us where we are lacking. I can say that this plugin is best for SEO the best thing in Yoast is focus keyword through which you can optimize the post according to your target keyword.” – Analyst in Marketing, Writing & Editing, 1-10 employees
“Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins are being used in our organization to quickly optimize posts and pages for various search engines and social media. With the bundle of plugins for SEO it is easy much easier to optimize video content, news posts, and woocommerce products.” – C-Level Executive in Information Technology, Computer Software, 51-200 employees
SEO for Beginners and Non-Technical Users
User sentiment regarding Yoast’s seo for beginners and non-technical users features is predominantly positive, with many reviewers highlighting its simplicity and effectiveness in guiding users through SEO optimization without requiring technical expertise. The intuitive interface and clear instructions provided by Yoast have been commended for making SEO accessible to individuals new to the field or lacking technical knowledge. Users appreciate how Yoast streamlines the optimization process, offering valuable insights and recommendations in a user-friendly manner. Additionally, the tool’s ability to cater to non-technical users by simplifying complex SEO concepts has been well-received, contributing to its popularity among beginners in the SEO realm. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Yoast helps us maximize the SEO efforts of our company blog and website. It takes what would normally be done with meta-tags and HTML and puts it in a very intuitive and easy-to-use format.” – Consultant in Marketing, Computer Software, 1-10 employees
“We had used the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins for our company’s website. Our website is not very dynamic but a decent one which gives information about what we do – our product line. Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins helped in showcasing the info in the manner we needed. It is easy to use and not very expensive.” – Analyst in Marketing, Oil & Energy, 51-200 employees
“Yoast makes it easy to ensure that you’re doing everything in your power to optimize for a given keyword (or multiple keywords), as well as cover your bases regarding related onsite SEO best practices. If you have a WordPress blog, you need Yoast.” – Strategist in Professional Services, Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees
SEO Best Practices and Recommendations
Users consistently praise Yoast for its effective SEO recommendations and best practices features. The general sentiment among reviewers is that Yoast’s seo best practices and recommendations capabilities are robust and reliable. Users appreciate the guidance provided by Yoast in optimizing content for search engines, ensuring that their websites are well-positioned to attract organic traffic. The platform’s emphasis on best practices and recommendations is seen as a valuable asset by those looking to enhance their SEO strategies without extensive expertise in the field. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
“The ability to audit new and existing content in real-time and get concrete suggestions on ways to improve our SEO makes it easy to keep up with ever-changing best practices.” – Manager in Marketing, Non-Profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
“Trying to improve the scores can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially if you’re unsure how to improve the scores.” – Consultant in Professional Services, E-Learning, 1-10 employees
Content and Writing
Content Optimization
Users generally praise Yoast for its robust content optimization features. Reviewers consistently highlight how Yoast’s content optimization tools enhance their writing and help in crafting better articles and blog posts. The general sentiment is that Yoast’s content optimization capabilities play a significant role in improving the quality and visibility of their page content. While there may be some minor concerns or suggestions for improvement, overall, users find Yoast to be a valuable tool for optimizing their content effectively. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Yoast suggested to me to add internal/external links to tell me the best opportunity to optimize content as per reading grade and last but not the least Yoast provides rank author pages as well.” – Analyst in Marketing, Writing & Editing, 1-10 employees
“The Yoast SEO Plugin for WordPress helps us make all of our web content more searchable- and findable- by making it super simple to optimize every post and page. The ability to audit new and existing content in real-time and get concrete suggestions on ways to improve our SEO makes it easy to keep up with ever-changing best practices.” – Manager in Marketing, Non-Profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
“As far as our company is concerned, if a site is running on WordPress then it has Yoast running. From a technical standpoint, WordPress can get a bit out of control if not managed properly. Yoast does a good job of keeping many of these areas from getting out of hand. And if you are really working on your on-site SEO, then Yoast can be a great help in making sure that your content is up to today’s best practices.” – Professional in Marketing, Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees
Writing and Editing for SEO
Users consistently praise Yoast for its writing and editing capabilities in SEO. Reviewers highlight that Yoast’s tools have significantly improved their writing skills by identifying areas for enhancement, such as long sentences and passive tone. Additionally, users appreciate how Yoast helps in refining their content into a more concise and SEO-friendly format, leading to better visibility and higher rankings on search engines. Despite some minor drawbacks mentioned by a few users, the overall sentiment towards Yoast’s writing and editing for SEO remains positive and beneficial for writers and bloggers alike. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
“Readability analysis is often overlooked but a poorly written article can turn visitors off. Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins helps with that to the extent we don’t need a bunch of full-time editors.” – Director in Information Technology, Publishing, 11-50 employees
“Improves writing skills. By helping to identify long sentences and passive tone, our writing has improved by leaps and bounds.” – Executive in Finance and Accounting, Veterinary, 1-10 employees
“There were some downsides to Yoast when they added their ‘Indexables’ feature in version 14. I don’t believe it was tested enough on larger, busier sites.” – Director in Information Technology, Publishing, 11-50 employees
Readability and Content Quality
User feedback on Yoast’s readability and content quality features is generally positive, with many reviewers highlighting the tool’s ability to enhance the overall quality of their content. Users appreciate the readability analysis provided by Yoast, which helps them assess the complexity of their writing and ensure it is easily digestible for their audience. Additionally, the content suggestions offered by Yoast are seen as valuable in improving the overall quality and engagement of their articles. While some users have noted minor drawbacks, such as the need for more specific feedback, the consensus remains that Yoast’s readability and content quality functionalities are beneficial for creating well-optimized and reader-friendly content. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Readability analysis is often overlooked but a poorly written article can turn visitors off. Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins helps with that to the extent we don’t need a bunch of full-time editors.” – Director in Information Technology, Publishing, 11-50 employees
“The readability feature is nice in theory, but I feel like it should adapt to the content/audience focus of your site (or have the ability to manually set the desired level). I work on a site that is more advanced, and the flags for readability can be distracting.” – Manager in Marketing, Higher Education, 501-1000 employees
“PROS: Readability – makes it easy for you to assess the reading level of your piece to ensure it is correct for your intended audience.” – Contributor in Finance and Accounting, Financial Services, 1-10 employees
“The Yoast SEO Plugin for WordPress helps us make all of our web content more searchable- and findable- by making it super simple to optimize every post and page. The ability to audit new and existing content in real-time and get concrete suggestions on ways to improve our SEO makes it easy to keep up with ever-changing best practices.” – Manager in Marketing, Non-Profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees
Technical SEO and Site Structure
Site Structure and Technical SEO
Users generally praise Yoast’s website optimization and technical SEO features. When it comes to site structure and technical SEO, reviewers highlight Yoast’s ability to streamline internal linking, optimize URLs, and enhance overall website structure. The consensus leans towards positive feedback, with users appreciating how Yoast simplifies the technical aspects of SEO, making it accessible even to those with limited technical knowledge. Some users have noted minor drawbacks, such as occasional conflicts with other plugins or the need for clearer differentiation between free and pro features. Despite these minor concerns, Yoast’s site structure and technical SEO capabilities are generally well-regarded by users. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Yoast does a great job of managing many of the back-end functions in WordPress. Especially when it comes to handling things like the robots.txt and xml.sitemaps. But this is just the beginning of what Yoast can do.” – Professional in Marketing, Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees
“Yoast WordPress SEO plugin fixes several key things when it comes to WordPress websites. It handles taxonomies and prevents duplicate content issue. It is good if you want to improve your content marketing as it analyzes the content and suggests improvements.” – Strategist in Marketing, Internet, 1-10 employees
“The plug-in mostly helps by highlighting the main keywords on a page and making sure they are used in the correct manner. It’s really helpful for beginners because it not only ensures high SEO rankings, but also gives other valuable information like readability scores, keyword density and content length.” – C-Level Executive in Corporate, Education Management, 1-10 employees
SEO for Developers and Technical Users
User feedback on Yoast’s seo for developers and technical users features is somewhat mixed. While some users appreciate the plugin’s ability to simplify technical SEO tasks and provide guidance for developers, others have encountered issues with conflicts with other plugins and resource-heavy performance. The general consensus leans towards Yoast being a valuable tool for streamlining SEO implementations for smaller-scale projects, particularly for non-technical users looking to make content changes without complications. Despite occasional conflicts, Yoast’s stability and user-friendly setup wizards make it a popular choice for beginner to intermediate users seeking to enhance their site’s SEO performance. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
“Some default options are the opposite of what is considered a ‘best practice’.” – Engineer in Information Technology, Computer Software, 1-10 employees
“Conflicts with other plugins – Occasionally, Yoast is the number one enemy of site optimization plugins and has caused the site to crash a small handful of times when updates are mismatched.” – Team Lead in Marketing, Financial Services, 1-10 employees
“The plugin makes implementing changes easy, and it’s effective for small scale changes. It helps non-technical users easily make changes to their page content without inadvertently breaking anything or changing items they shouldn’t be.” – Professional in Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, 1001-5000 employees
Link Management and Sitemaps
Users generally praise Yoast’s link management and sitemaps capabilities based on the reviews provided. Reviewers consistently highlight the effectiveness of Yoast in managing internal and external links, making it easier to optimize content for search engines. The ability to generate sitemaps and ensure proper indexing of website content is also commended by users. While some users have encountered minor issues with specific features like internal link suggestions, overall, Yoast’s link management and sitemaps functionality seem to be well-received by the majority of reviewers. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
“The Insights section provides important data about content itself, including prominent words, internal links and link suggestions. Our writers rely on these features to provide the best content possible.” – Director in Information Technology, Publishing, 11-50 employees
“The internal link counter – tool failed with other plugin capability and the ‘help’ desk haven’t actually helped… Customer service/support – only offered for those who pay for a subscription but even when you have one they aren’t exactly helpful (in my experience).” – Contributor in Finance and Accounting, Financial Services, 1-10 employees
“Yoast does a great job of managing many of the back-end functions in WordPress. Especially when it comes to handling things like the robots.txt and xml.sitemaps. But this is just the beginning of what Yoast can do.” – Professional in Marketing, Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees
Tools, Analytics, and Performance
SEO Tools and Features
User sentiment regarding Yoast’s SEO tools and features is generally positive, with many users praising the functionality and ease of use provided by the plugin. Reviewers appreciate the comprehensive features offered by Yoast, such as keyword optimization, readability analysis, and internal linking suggestions. Some users find the free version sufficient for their needs, while others opt for the premium version to access additional tools and capabilities. Despite some minor drawbacks mentioned by a few reviewers, the overall consensus is that Yoast’s SEO tools and features contribute positively to optimizing content for search engines. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Readability analysis is often overlooked but a poorly written article can turn visitors off. Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins helps with that to the extent we don’t need a bunch of full-time editors.” – Director in Information Technology, Publishing, 11-50 employees
“The readability feature is nice in theory, but I feel like it should adapt to the content/ audience focus of your site (or have the ability to manually set the desired level). I work on a site that is more advanced, and the flags for readability can be distracting.” – Manager in Marketing, Higher Education, 501-1000 employees
“For very small sites, the free version of Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins is sufficient. For small and medium sites, one should opt for the premium version.” – Director in Information Technology, Publishing, 11-50 employees
SEO Analytics and Score Improvement
Reviewers consistently praise Yoast’s SEO analytics and score improvement features. Users appreciate the detailed insights provided by Yoast’s analytics, which help them understand their content’s performance and make necessary improvements. The score improvement functionality is seen as a valuable tool for optimizing keywords and enhancing content for better search engine visibility. While some users have suggested improvements such as more tutorials and automatic features, overall, Yoast’s SEO analytics and score improvement capabilities are well-regarded among reviewers for their effectiveness in enhancing website performance. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
“Optimize any post, page, or product with the best keywords; Get previews of sharing on social media and search engine result; Gives SEO and readability score and ways to improve; Generates clean XML sitemap.” – C-Level Executive in Information Technology, Computer Software, 51-200 employees
“PROS: Evaluate the SEO score of any given page’s content.; Makes it simple to manage the title and description for a page (what shows up on Google search results).; Boils down complicated topics such as canonical URLs for non-technical users.; Easy explanations for any and all options, including why to use or not use an option.” – Engineer in Information Technology, Computer Software, 1-10 employees
“The Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins Score is beneficial for optimizing key phrases and content.; Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins Analysis and ranking provides expert direction for optimization.” – Partner in Corporate, Internet, 1-10 employees
Google Search and SERP Ranking
User feedback consistently highlights Yoast’s exceptional performance in enhancing Google search visibility and SERP ranking. Reviewers frequently emphasize the plugin’s effectiveness in optimizing content for search engines, leading to improved rankings on search engine results pages. The general consensus among users is that Yoast’s features and tools play a significant role in boosting website visibility and increasing organic traffic through enhanced search engine performance. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“It helps me to suggest the keyword density on the page. Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins provides me the reading score and many on-page things that help me to rank my content on the top of the page. This tool is wonderful that help to rank pages on the top of SERP.” – Administrator in Corporate, Education Management, 11-50 employees
“We use Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins mainly for analyzing our site pages, but it has also helped us to boost traffic and grow our search engine rank. The plug-in mostly helps by highlighting the main keywords on a page and making sure they are used in the correct manner.” – C-Level Executive in Corporate, Education Management, 1-10 employees
“We’ve seen a steady rise in our organic search presence and ranking for key search terms – which is at least in part a result of optimization through Yoast – meaning for traffic and potential conversions.” – Manager in Marketing, Higher Education, 501-1000 employees
SEO Maintenance and Enhancement
Page and Post Analysis
User consensus seems to be that Yoast excels in page and post analysis capabilities. Reviewers appreciate the detailed insights provided by Yoast’s analysis tools, which help users optimize their content effectively. The ability to receive suggestions for improving titles, keywords, and meta tags is particularly valued by users, enhancing the overall SEO performance of their websites. While some users have noted minor drawbacks, such as the need for additional schema features, the general sentiment leans towards positive experiences with Yoast’s page and post analysis functionalities. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Yoast helps us to optimize posts and tell us where we are lacking. I can say that this plugin is best for SEO the best thing in Yoast is focus keyword through which you can optimize the post according to your target keyword.” – Analyst in Marketing, Writing & Editing, 1-10 employees
“Yoast suggests the optimal meta tags limit so that you won’t forget to optimize.” – Administrator in Corporate, Education Management, 11-50 employees
“Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins mainly for analyzing our site pages, but it has also helped us to boost traffic and grow our search engine rank. The plug-in mostly helps by highlighting the main keywords on a page and making sure they are used in the correct manner.” – C-Level Executive in Corporate, Education Management, 1-10 employees
Troubleshooting and Common Issues
User feedback on Yoast’s troubleshooting and common issues functionality varies across reviews. While some users have reported conflicts with other plugins and occasional issues with updates causing site crashes, others have praised the support team for their quick responses and effective solutions when facing plugin conflicts. However, there are also instances where users have expressed dissatisfaction with the import of previous SEO plugin keywords and the Readability highlighting feature due to specific plugin conflicts. It seems that opinions on Yoast’s troubleshooting and common issues capabilities are mixed, with some users finding it a strong point while others have encountered challenges that remain unresolved. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
“With premium, the support is, at times, nearly instantaneous. My only experiences contacting support occurred when plugin conflicts arose, but the team was incredibly helpful in checking logs and diagnosing the issue, even providing a viable solution to allow us to continue using our site optimization plugin alongside it. Very impressed!” – Team Lead in Marketing, Financial Services, 1-10 employees
“I’ve never had any issues finding resolution via Yoast’s support team.” – Strategist in Professional Services, Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees
“There are plenty of amazing articles published on their site, however, I don’t rate their actual support team as being particularly helpful. I made multiple points of contact regarding the internal link counter not working and even though they began troubleshooting I think when it became too hard it was just forgotten about and so is still unresolved.” – Contributor in Finance and Accounting, Financial Services, 1-10 employees
Premium Offerings
Users generally find Yoast’s premium offerings to be a valuable asset in enhancing their SEO efforts. Reviewers appreciate the additional features and support that come with the premium version, such as the redirect manager and advanced keyword optimization capabilities. While some users have experienced minor performance issues or feature limitations, the overall consensus leans towards the benefits of investing in Yoast’s premium offerings for a more comprehensive SEO strategy. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“I pay for premium and get some extra useful benefits, including a redirect manager.” – Strategist in Professional Services, Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees
“Yoast SEO premium has a, well, premium support. While you can also do well with a free version of the plugin, the support is not at the same level.” – Strategist in Marketing, Internet, 1-10 employees
“I highly recommend Yoast WordPress SEO Plugins Premium for its ease of use and built-in rank scoring system for optimizing keyphrases and content.” – Partner in Corporate, Internet, 1-10 employees
