How to Setup and Use SEO Yoast

How to Setup and Use SEO Yoast

May 21, 2021

SEO Yoast is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to help you optimize your website for search engines. With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features, SEO Yoast enables you to improve your site’s visibility, enhance your content, and boost your search engine rankings. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the steps to set up and use SEO Yoast effectively, from installation to optimization and best practices.

1. Understanding SEO Yoast

a. What is SEO Yoast?

SEO Yoast is a popular WordPress plugin that provides a suite of tools to help you optimize your website for search engines. It offers features like keyword optimization, readability analysis, XML sitemaps, and social media integration to enhance your site's SEO performance (https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/).

b. Benefits of Using SEO Yoast
  • SEO Optimization: Improve your website’s SEO with advanced optimization tools.
  • Readability Analysis: Ensure your content is easy to read and understand.
  • XML Sitemaps: Automatically generate XML sitemaps for better indexing.
  • Social Media Integration: Optimize your content for social media sharing.
  • Content Insights: Gain insights into your content’s performance and keyword usage (https://www.hubspot.com/yoast-seo).

2. Installing SEO Yoast

a. Install the Plugin
  1. Access Your WordPress Dashboard: Log in to your WordPress admin panel.
  2. Navigate to Plugins: Go to the "Plugins" menu and click "Add New."
  3. Search for SEO Yoast: In the search bar, type "Yoast SEO" and click "Install Now" next to the SEO Yoast plugin.
  4. Activate the Plugin: Once installed, click "Activate" to enable the plugin on your site (https://yoast.com/installation/).
b. Configure General Settings
  1. Access SEO Yoast Settings: After activation, you will see a new "SEO" menu in your WordPress dashboard. Click on it to access the Yoast SEO settings.
  2. Configuration Wizard: Use the configuration wizard to set up the plugin. Follow the step-by-step instructions to configure basic settings, including your site type, organization name, and social profiles.
  3. Webmaster Tools: Enter verification codes for Google, Bing, and other webmaster tools to connect your site and access additional insights (https://yoast.com/first-time-configuration/).

3. Optimizing Your Content with SEO Yoast

a. Focus Keyphrase
  1. Set a Focus Keyphrase: In the SEO Yoast meta box below the content editor, set a focus keyphrase for each post or page. This keyphrase should be the main keyword you want to rank for.
  2. Analyze Keyphrase Usage: SEO Yoast will analyze your content and provide feedback on how well you’ve used the focus keyphrase. Make sure the keyphrase appears in the title, introduction, headings, and throughout the content (https://www.hubspot.com/yoast-keyphrase).
b. SEO Analysis
  1. SEO Analysis: The SEO Yoast meta box provides an SEO analysis with suggestions for improving your content. Follow the recommendations to optimize your content for search engines.
  2. Snippet Preview: Use the snippet preview to see how your content will appear in search results. Edit the SEO title and meta description to make them compelling and include the focus keyphrase (https://yoast.com/seo-analysis/).
c. Readability Analysis
  1. Readability Analysis: SEO Yoast also includes a readability analysis that checks the readability of your content. It evaluates factors like sentence length, paragraph length, use of transition words, and passive voice.
  2. Improve Readability: Follow the readability suggestions to make your content more engaging and easier to read. Aim for green bullets in the readability analysis (https://www.hubspot.com/yoast-readability).

4. Technical SEO with SEO Yoast

a. XML Sitemaps
  1. Enable XML Sitemaps: SEO Yoast automatically generates XML sitemaps for your site. Ensure this feature is enabled in the plugin settings.
  2. Submit Sitemaps to Search Engines: Submit your XML sitemaps to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to help search engines index your content more effectively (https://yoast.com/xml-sitemap/).
b. Breadcrumbs
  1. Enable Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs improve your site’s navigation and help search engines understand its structure. Enable breadcrumbs in the SEO Yoast settings.
  2. Add Breadcrumbs to Your Theme: You may need to add a small piece of code to your theme files to display breadcrumbs on your site. Follow the instructions provided by SEO Yoast (https://yoast.com/breadcrumbs-seo/).
c. Schema Markup
  1. Schema Markup: SEO Yoast includes built-in schema markup to enhance your search engine listings with rich results.
  2. Configuration: Ensure schema settings are correctly configured in the plugin settings. This helps search engines display additional information like ratings, reviews, and events in search results (https://www.hubspot.com/schema-markup).

5. Social Media Integration

a. Open Graph Metadata
  1. Enable Open Graph: Enable Open Graph metadata in the SEO Yoast settings to ensure your content is optimized for sharing on social media platforms.
  2. Custom Social Previews: Customize the title, description, and image that appear when your content is shared on social media. Use the social tab in the SEO Yoast meta box to set custom previews for Facebook and Twitter (https://yoast.com/open-graph/).
b. Twitter Cards
  1. Enable Twitter Cards: Enable Twitter Cards in the SEO Yoast settings to control how your content appears when shared on Twitter.
  2. Customization: Customize the Twitter card title, description, and image in the social tab of the SEO Yoast meta box (https://yoast.com/twitter-cards/).

6. Analyzing and Improving Performance

a. Google Search Console Integration
  1. Connect to Google Search Console: Integrate your site with Google Search Console through SEO Yoast. This allows you to access search performance data directly from your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Monitor Performance: Use the Search Console integration to monitor your site’s performance, identify issues, and track your keyword rankings (https://yoast.com/google-search-console-integration/).
b. Content Insights
  1. Content Insights: Use SEO Yoast’s content insights feature to analyze your content’s structure and keyword usage.
  2. Improve Content: Use the insights to refine your content strategy and ensure your posts are well-optimized for search engines (https://www.hubspot.com/content-insights).
c. Optimize Internal Linking
  1. Internal Linking Suggestions: SEO Yoast provides internal linking suggestions to help you create a robust internal linking structure.
  2. Add Internal Links: Follow the suggestions to add relevant internal links to your content, improving navigation and SEO (https://yoast.com/internal-linking/).

7. Best Practices for Using SEO Yoast

a. Regularly Update Content
  1. Content Updates: Regularly update your content to keep it fresh and relevant. Use SEO Yoast to re-optimize updated content.
  2. Monitor Performance: Continuously monitor the performance of your content and make adjustments based on SEO Yoast’s recommendations (https://neilpatel.com/blog/seo-content-updates/).
b. Stay Informed
  1. SEO Trends: Stay informed about the latest SEO trends and algorithm updates. SEO Yoast regularly updates the plugin to align with search engine changes.
  2. Education: Take advantage of SEO Yoast’s educational resources, such as blogs, webinars, and courses, to enhance your SEO knowledge (https://yoast.com/seo-blog/).
c. Use Premium Features
  1. Consider Upgrading: Consider upgrading to SEO Yoast Premium for additional features like advanced keyword optimization, automatic internal linking suggestions, and 24/7 support.
  2. Evaluate ROI: Evaluate the return on investment of upgrading based on your business needs and SEO goals (https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo-premium/).

Conclusion

Setting up and using SEO Yoast effectively can significantly enhance your website’s SEO performance. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can install the plugin, optimize your content, leverage technical SEO features, integrate social media, and analyze your performance. Regularly review and update your SEO strategy to stay ahead of the competition and achieve your search engine optimization goals.


For further assistance on setting up and optimizing SEO Yoast for your website, consider partnering with Eastmoor Digital. Schedule a discovery call today at Eastmoor Digital Discovery Call or call us at 302-514-7003. Let our experts help you maximize the potential of SEO Yoast to enhance your SEO strategy and achieve your business objectives.