Content:
- Optimizing SEO in a WordPress environment with the plugin
- Setting up the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress
- Meta tags Description and Title – customization
- Making breadcrumbs with Yoast SEO
- Setting up a robots.txt file in Yoast
- Creating XML Sitemap in Yoast plugin
- The benefits of using Yoast SEO plugin for your WordPress website
When creating or configuring a website, a webmaster expects the resource to start to be displayed in the top for the specified queries, will be viewed by thousands of visitors per day, bringing a high and stable income. But for search engines to find the site and start indexing it correctly, you need to engage in its optimization. For the WordPress environment to cope with this task will help the plugin Yoast SEO, which occupies the leading position both in terms of functionality and downloads (over 5 million).
Optimizing SEO in the WordPress environment with the plugin
When installed in the system, Yoast SEO will insert some settings into the editor that will give you the opportunity to improve the page you create for the desired keyword query. This plugin, designed for SEO optimization, gives the author the necessary keys to compose a high-quality Description and Title in the process of writing an article, substituting them the same generated SEO title with a demonstration of the page view when the user search query. Also with the help of Yoast, in a special tab, it is possible to improve the readability of the text.
The main thing for the author is to highlight the “focal keyword”. Because in WordPress SEO optimization for the edited article will come down to the keywords entered. The plugin shows where the Focus Keyword needs to be inserted so that the page is better ranked by search engines. When a keyword is confirmed, the plugin performs full article optimization analytics. By correcting “problematic” items, it is possible to achieve top search engine rankings.
The “Advanced” side tab allows you to select additional settings, allows you to influence the robots. The author is presented with the ability to disable indexing, create page redirects, form breadcrumbs header. By using only Yoast, it is possible to solve most of the range of tasks on professional SEO optimization of WordPress.
Social networks are not neglected either. The fourth side tab includes the ability to generate article descriptions for Fasebook and Twitter.
Setting up the plugin Yoast SEO for WordPress
The initial setup of Yoast SEO in WordPress comes down to configuring security. For example, when a site is “filled” with multiple authors whose competence the owner doubts, opening access to all SEO settings (such as de-indexing the page) would be unwise. In the plugin is an option to deactivate the management of search output for pages, leaving only the meta description settings. This is done in the “Console” tab. The adjacent tab allows you to confirm the ownership of the site in a variety of webmaster services.
Wizards who used other SEO optimization plugins before Yoast are worried that it will take down the meta description of existing pages. The developers, knowing the risks, have made provision for importing previous settings from the previously popular HeadSpace2 or All in One SEO plugins. The transition process does not cause any difficulties.
Through the “Tools” tab goes to the “Import settings from other SEO plugins” page, select the desired checkbox and click “Import”. This completes the configuration of the plugin Yoast SEO – disable the previous plugin and begin familiarizing yourself with the capabilities of the selected. No confidence in the correctness of the transfer settings, create a full backup of the site.
Meta tags Description and Title – customization
The main work of the author is to optimize the title and metadata. The plugin opens up more sophisticated options in the settings for each individual type of entry and taxonomy. The settings and controls are in the “Search Engine Display” tab with six other customization sections.
The “General” tab is where you can manage the powers of the Yoast plugin. By default, the headers of entries are scanned, identifying those that need to be changed. When the author has no need to rewrite the titles of many published articles, the feature can be disabled. The ability to select a delimiter in an entry to display in descriptions and titles is also here.
The Content Types and Taxonomies tabs configure the pages, headings, and entries you set up. When you turn on the “main” home page of the site, which every guest comes to the resource, in the tab “General” Description and Title are set just for it.
“Content Types” configures title and description templates for specific groups: pages, records, media files. Meta description templates for “Taxonomy” are also configured next to it: formats, labels, headings. The best solution is to create a universal template that builds on the tips of the tab.
Including noindex should be neglected because entries will be ignored by robot and will not appear in search engine. The relevance of noindex is justified for those pages that you do not want to index – headings, tags, posts created with the installed in WordPress theme. For news sites will not be superfluous function to display the date.
Settings “Archives” sets templates by title and description of the search page, archives by author and date, error 404.
Making breadcrumbs breadcrumbs with Yoast SEO
Breadcrumbs seem like a small and insignificant element, but is a tool that helps in page relinking, increasing many times the usability of the site. Owners of small resources, who have completely divided their content into 4-5 categories, can skip this section. But owners of sites with a large number of pages should create breadcrumbs.
The developers of the plugin has taken care, creating a specific heading – “Breadcrumbs”, located in the tab “Display in search results. The author, who engaged breadcrumbs, will be given the opportunity to choose the style of the separator “breadcrumbs”, customize the text on the home page, highlight the last item, prefixes on various entries, as well as customize the design and presentation of the selected item.
To display breadscrums in the theme, you need to insert a piece of code in the template.
The code to be inserted where breadscrums should be located:
<?php
/* breadcrumb Yoast */
if ( function_exists( 'yoast_breadcrumb' ) ) :
yoast_breadcrumb( '<div id="breadcrumbs">', '</div>' );
endif;
?>
Configure the robots.txt file in Yoast
Not every author is able and willing to make changes to the robots.txt file when he’s editing FTP. With the Yoast SEO plugin it is possible to access this key file directly in the WP admin panel. Going from the “Tools” tab to the “File Editor” opens the contents of both the robots.txt file and the most important .htaccess file. You can make changes to each of them immediately here, but you only need to “Save” them. When robots.txt is not yet installed, the plugin will generate it, if the author wishes. Once created, the wizard should edit the file on its own.
Create XML Sitemap in Yoast plugin
The developers of the plugin has been made to improve it so that it serves at least three different plugins, different tasks of optimizing the resource. Making a new site, no need to install a separate plugin for XML Sitemap, it (Yoast) automatically makes a map of the site. When you already pre-installed the Sitemap plugin, it is possible as a feature to disable the sitemap, and transfer data from it (the old plugin) and its subsequent disconnection, to avoid conflicts.
You can create a well-organized and working Sitemap in Yoast by just “turning on” it in the “XML Sitemap” section of the “Features” tab.
Including the sitemap allows you to configure the Sitemap itself: excluding tags, entire sections, formats, pages or records, media files. It is necessary to look at the structure of the site: the author sees what you need to show in the map, and from what you can close the visibility of search engines.
The advantages of using plugin Yoast SEO for the site on WordPress
Using plugins to improve the maintenance of the resource has proven to be a good thing. Because without them, the main work would be in the service configuration of the site. On the other hand, a large number of used plugins can lead to slower response and work of the resource, which in turn reduces the rating and income. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully select the plugins to be installed.
The best plugin for SEO optimization on the WordPress platform is Yoast SEO, which includes the ability to create and maintain XML Sitemap, meta tags, breadcrumbs, improve the readability of content. It also presents the ability to import settings from already installed plugins, for a correct transition. It replaces at least three narrowly targeted programs and combines efforts to speed up indexing as well as improve search engine rankings.
Did you like the article? Still have questions? Write a comment, we’ll discuss.