Yoast is a well-established Dutch company founded in 2010 that has spent 15 years making an extraordinary impact on the digital landscape.

The reason for their success is apparent: Yoast consistently delivers on its mission to help everyone worldwide achieve the best SEO results possible, providing the opportunity to rank effectively in search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. What began as a helpful tool has evolved into an industry standard—Yoast SEO has firmly established itself as the premier search engine optimisation plugin for WordPress websites.

As of 2025, it powers over 15 million websites worldwide and has sophisticated capabilities for optimising technical SEO, readability, content structure, and more. This comprehensive guide provides everything you need to know to properly configure and leverage Yoast’s full power to rank your WordPress site higher in Google and other search engines this year.

At ProfileTree, we recommend using Yoast, one of the best WordPress SEO plugins, to help you get the most out of your website.

What is Yoast SEO?

Yoast SEO is the world’s leading WordPress plugin for search engine optimisation, helping over 15 million websites improve their visibility in search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. First developed in 2008 by Dutch SEO expert Joost de Valk, Yoast has evolved from a simple SEO tool into a comprehensive suite of features that make technical SEO accessible to businesses of all sizes.

As digital marketing specialists at ProfileTree, we’ve implemented Yoast SEO on hundreds of client websites across Northern Ireland, Ireland, and the UK, consistently delivering impressive ranking improvements. The power of Yoast lies in its ability to transform complex SEO requirements into straightforward tasks that even non-technical users can implement effectively.

“Yoast SEO has been a cornerstone of our WordPress development strategy for years. It bridges the gap between technical SEO requirements and user-friendly implementation, which is exactly what our clients need to compete effectively in search.” – Ciaran Connolly, Director at ProfileTree

At its core, Yoast SEO helps website owners optimise their content for both search engines and human readers. The plugin handles technical aspects like XML sitemaps, schema markup, and metadata while providing actionable guidance for content creation through its distinctive traffic-light system.

This dual approach of technical optimisation and content improvement makes Yoast SEO particularly valuable for businesses looking to maximise their organic search presence without needing deep SEO expertise.WordPress by a wide margin. It has a 5-star rating and over 1 million 5-star reviews.

Why is Yoast SEO Important?

Optimising a WordPress site for search engines is crucial for driving qualified organic traffic and rankings. However, WordPress lacks many critical SEO capabilities needed for visibility and performance. This is where Yoast SEO comes in to fill those gaps.

Here are some of the key reasons Yoast has become so popular and essential:

1. Adds necessary metadata like page titles and meta descriptions that search engines factor into rankings.
2. Provides SEO analysis and readability tools to help create optimised content.
3. Allows you to optimise pages for target keywords and topics efficiently.
4. Generates an XML sitemap to make sure all pages are indexed.
5. Optimises site performance with caching and minification features.
6. Integrates directly with Google Search Console to align optimisation efforts.
7. No coding knowledge is needed – it is simple to set up and configure.

Ready to transform your WordPress site’s search performance? Book a free 30-minute SEO consultation with our experts at ProfileTree to discover untapped opportunities for your business.

Comparisons with Other Popular SEO Plugins

The main competitors to Yoast SEO in the WordPress plugin space include:

• All-in-One SEO Pack – Offers similar metadata tools but is seen as less advanced/intuitive than Yoast.
• The SEO Framework – A Lightweight alternative focused on site speed. Less robust features.
• RankMath – Rapidly growing plugin with robust features, but less established than Yoast.

Overall, Yoast continues to lead the pack with its depth of features, ease of use, and integration with top SEO tools. The optimisation insights it provides out of the box make it the go-to choice for most sites.

Yoast SEO

There are two kinds of Yoast SEO: the free version and the Premium version. The free version is excellent as it lets smaller sites sharpen their SEO without spending a penny.

Of course, you do not get everything with the free plan, but it is a start. Furthermore, you can get the premium version of Yoast SEO for £79 a year for one site. Below, we will outline all the features you will receive with each plan. In the free plan, you get access to the Yoast features outlined below;

• Only one keyword
• Only Google preview (No Facebook & Twitter preview)
• Readability check. Calculate a Flesch reading ease score
• Full control of breadcrumbs
• No duplicate content 
• SEO in the background
• The plugin is updated every 2 weeks. Making it perfect for changing Google’s algorithm

Moving on to the Premium plan, users will access all the above features plus more with Yoast Premium.

The only differences between the free and the premium features are the previews and the number of keywords you are allowed. Users of the premium plan also get Twitter and Facebook previews and a Google preview. Below are the additional features you get with the Premium Yoast SEO plan. 

• Gain link suggestions to other pages on your website
• Content insights. Check your most-used phrases
• Redirect manager
• Clear overview of focus keywords and SEO score (CSV export)
• 1 year of free access to 24/7 support
• Ad-free

Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Yoast SEO

Proper configuration is essential to get the most from Yoast SEO. Follow this comprehensive setup guide to ensure your WordPress site benefits from all its capabilities.

Initial Installation and Configuration

1. Install Yoast SEO from the WordPress plugin directory and activate it
2. Complete the configuration wizard that appears after activation
3. Connect with Google Search Console for valuable search performance data
4. Set your site type (blog, online shop, news site, etc.) in SEO > General Settings
5. Configure titles and metas for different content types and taxonomies
6. Review XML sitemap settings and confirm they’re active
7. Set up social profiles to control how your content appears when shared

Advanced Configuration for Maximum Impact

8. Define your homepage SEO with targeted keywords and a compelling meta description.
9. Set up breadcrumb structure to improve site navigation and SEO
10. Configure taxonomy settings to control which categories and tags are indexed
11. Review and adjust robots’ meta settings for different content types
12. Set up an advanced schema structure based on your business type
13. Configure content analysis settings to match your SEO strategy
14. Connect Webmaster tools (Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, etc.)

Content Optimisation Workflow

Once Yoast SEO is configured, follow this workflow for each piece of content:

1. Conduct keyword research before creating content
2. Add your focus keyphrase to the Yoast SEO meta box
3. Optimise your SEO title to include the keyphrase naturally
4. Write a compelling meta description that encourages clicks
5. Create content that addresses the keyphrase thoroughly
6. Review the SEO analysis feedback and make improvements
7. Check the readability score and adjust the content as needed
8. Add internal links to relevant content on your site
9. Preview how your content will appear in search results
10. Make final adjustments before publishing

This systematic approach ensures consistent SEO implementation across your entire WordPress site, leading to better overall search performance.

Pro Tip: Use Yoast’s site map and breadcrumbs features to optimise your site structure.

How to Optimise Pages with Yoast SEO

Now that Yoast is installed and configured, optimising your actual WordPress pages and posts for search is easy with the right approach:

1. Research your focus keyword for the page using Google‘s Keyword Planner and related tools.
2. Craft an SEO-friendly title that includes the keyword early on. Yoast will check this.
3. Write meta descriptions that contain the keyword and compel clicks.
4. Analyse readability with Yoast and improve content if needed. Shoot for optimal scores.
5. Structure content with your focus keyphrase in mind, including relevant related keyphrases (LSIs) and synonyms. Use images, videos and schema markup where possible.
6. Check page analysis to fix errors and warnings impacting SEO.
7. Consider supporting plugins like Yoast News SEO and WooCommerce SEO.
8. Promote your content and aim to earn backlinks to build authority. Monitor rankings.
9. Use Google Search Console and Analytics data to optimise pages over time further.

By following these steps, you can continually refine your WordPress pages to increase organic traffic, leads and sales over time, leveraging the full power of Yoast SEO.

How to use Yoast to optimise a website for local SEO

To use Yoast to optimise your website for local SEO, you can:

• Add your business address and phone number to the Yoast settings.
• Add your business to Google My Business and other local directories.
• Create and optimise local landing pages for your target keywords.
• Get reviews from your customers on Google and other review sites.

How to use Yoast to improve the SEO of a WordPress blog

To use Yoast to enhance the SEO of your WordPress blog, you can:

• Optimise your blog posts for target keywords.
• Use Yoast’s readability analysis tool to make your blog posts more readable.
• Use Yoast’s social media integration to share your blog posts on social media.
• Promote your blog posts on other websites and blogs.

How to use Yoast to create and optimise SEO titles and meta descriptions

To use Yoast to develop and optimise SEO titles and meta descriptions, you can:

• Use Yoast’s keyword suggestion tool to find relevant keywords for your content.
• Use Yoast’s title and meta description editor to create titles and meta descriptions optimised for your target keywords.
• Keep your titles and meta descriptions under the recommended length.

How to use Yoast to improve the readability of your content

To use Yoast to enhance the readability of your content, you can:

• Use Yoast’s readability analysis tool to identify areas where your content can be improved.
• Use short paragraphs and sentences.
• Use transition words to connect your ideas.
• Use a variety of sentence structures.
• Use images and videos to break up your text.

How to use Yoast to detect and fix duplicate content on your website

To use Yoast to detect and fix duplicate content on your website, you can:

• Use Yoast’s duplicate content checker to identify any pages on your website with duplicate content.
• Remove the duplicate content from your website, or use a canonical tag to tell Google which page is the original.

How to use Yoast to create and optimise XML sitemaps

To use Yoast to develop and optimise XML sitemaps, you can:

• Go to the Yoast settings page and click on the XML sitemaps tab.
• Click on the ‘Enable XML sitemaps’ checkbox.
• Click on the ‘Save changes’ button.
• Yoast will now automatically generate an XML sitemap for your website.

Best Yoast SEO Features

Overall, the free Yoast plugin gives users access to 7 free features. With the Premium Yoast plugin, 2 of these features are updated, and the user can access six more features.

Keyword Optimisation

You can access keyword optimisation with the free and Premium Yoast SEO plugins. You need to make your keyword count with the free plugin, as you only get one keyword compared to the five you are allowed with the premium.

You can use up to 5 keywords with the paid premium Yoast plugin. These keywords can drive more traffic to your website, as keywords should be words people use to search for specific topics. These keywords can make your content more effective, and you will connect with more people interested in your blogs and content.

Preview of your Page

With the free and premium Yoast plugins, users can preview their page on Google. This allows them to see all the content on their pages and whether it looks good. Users can also access a preview of their page on Twitter and Facebook. This feature is only in the Premium plugin.

This is an excellent feature because it lets you see if your page will stand out on Google, Twitter, and Facebook.

Readability Check

The free and premium plugins check all your content for readability. These readability checks analyse every part of your page’s content and calculate a Flesch score.

A Flesch score is rated out of 100; the higher it is, the easier it is to read. If your score is between 90 and 100, then people younger than 12/13 can read your pages. If your score is under 30, reading and understanding are very difficult. 

The Flesch reading score of this article is either 66.6, 74.6 or 82.6. What do you think? Read on to find out.

Full Control of Your Breadcrumbs

Yoast also allows users of its free and premium plugins to control the breadcrumbs on their sites fully. They do this by allowing a primary category over smaller categories.

This is good because some posts can be part of many categories. For instance, this article could be part of the ‘The Internet’ category and the’ SEO’ category, but what would the primary category be? We would say SEO, as that’s the primary function of Yoast, although it is a tool to better your fortunes on the internet.

Yoast Duplicate Content Checker

Another great feature of free and premium plugins is that Yoast points out duplicate content within your pages and articles. Google finds this duplicate content and does not understand which page this content should be on.

Yoast allows you to choose which URL this content belongs to, therefore not confusing Google anymore. 

Technical SEO

Yoast also handles SEO in the background—SEO you cannot fix yourself or see. Yoast identifies the best possible ways to make it easy for search engines to rank your site and pages. Although you can fix this yourself if you’re technical enough, I can’t picture myself being that person.

Updated Plugin to keep in Check with Google’s Algorithm

One of the best parts of Yoast is that its plugin is updated fortnightly. Google constantly updates its SEO and ranking algorithms to cope with new and growing internet trends. This allows your website and many pages to be updated in line with Google’s updates, so you do not fall behind in ranking. One thing to note is that a valid license is needed to receive updates on the Premium plugin. 

Internal Linking Suggestions

Now we are on to the Premium-only features. There are only six of them. You have access to linking suggestions if you have a premium Yoast plugin. This recommends internal links within your website that could be related to whichever article you’re writing, saving you time from having to search for links.

Content Insights

Contact insights show the user their five most-used words/phrases. This allows the plugin user to match up their keywords to determine their accuracy. This means the topics you would like to rank for can be checked to see if you will. This is only available with the Premium plugin.

Redirect Manager

The premium plugin includes the Redirect Manager. This allows deleted pages to be redirected to other pages. This way, users of your website and pages will not get a code 44 error, which could cause them to leave your site. Links are also a great way to rank for SEO, as they show search engines the layout of your site.

Focus Keyword export

With the premium plugin, you can download an overview of all the SEO on your site. This will help you determine what to optimise next and what needs improvement. This export looks at all keywords, URLs, readability scores, and titles.

24/7 Support

Along with all the above features, you get free access to Yoast’s 24/7 support service. You can email their support about setting up your plugin. Their team is full of knowledgeable staff.

Ad-free

Premium Yoast SEO is also ad-free. With the free version, you will not receive any ads on your WordPress site.

Future of WordPress SEO: Trends to Watch

As WordPress and search engine algorithms evolve, staying ahead of emerging trends is crucial for maintaining strong search visibility:

AI Integration in SEO Tools

Yoast SEO and similar tools increasingly incorporate AI to provide more nuanced content recommendations. At ProfileTree, we leverage this through our AI implementation services, helping clients prepare for more advanced content optimisation requirements.

Core Web Vitals Importance

Google’s focus on page experience metrics continues to grow. Yoast SEO now includes performance insights, but comprehensive WordPress optimisation requires additional technical improvements that our web development team implements.

Voice Search Optimisation

As voice-activated devices become more prevalent, optimising for conversational queries is increasingly essential. Yoast SEO’s natural language processing capabilities help create content that performs well in traditional and voice search environments.

Schema Expansion

Structured data will continue to drive rich search results. Yoast SEO’s schema implementation capabilities are expanding to cover more business types and content categories, creating new opportunities for enhanced search listings.

Local SEO Evolution

Local search will become even more sophisticated for businesses in Northern Ireland, Ireland, and the UK. Yoast SEO’s local SEO features and ProfileTree’s regional expertise can help companies to stay competitive in their specific geographic markets.

How ProfileTree Can Elevate Your WordPress SEO

While Yoast SEO provides powerful tools, maximising your search performance often requires expert implementation and strategy. As Northern Ireland’s leading digital agency, ProfileTree offers specialised services that build upon Yoast SEO’s capabilities:

Comprehensive WordPress SEO Audits

Our technical team conducts in-depth WordPress SEO audits that go beyond Yoast’s automated checks, identifying hidden issues and opportunities specific to your business and competitive landscape.

Strategic Keyword Research & Content Planning

We develop data-driven keyword strategies tailored to your business goals, target audience, and regional market, creating a roadmap for content that will drive qualified traffic.

Expert Yoast SEO Implementation

Our WordPress specialists ensure Yoast SEO is configured optimally for your specific business type and goals, implementing advanced settings and customisations many businesses miss.

Content Optimisation & Creation

Our content team creates search-optimised content that satisfies search engines and human readers, leveraging Yoast SEO’s analysis tools while adding the creative and strategic elements that algorithms can’t provide.

Ongoing SEO Management & Reporting

We provide continuous optimisation and transparent performance reporting, adapting your SEO strategy as algorithms change and new opportunities emerge.

Contact our team for a free consultation to discuss how ProfileTree can help you maximise your WordPress site’s search performance through expert Yoast SEO implementation and comprehensive digital marketing.

Conclusion: Maximising Your WordPress SEO Success

Yoast SEO transforms WordPress websites into search-optimised platforms, making complex SEO accessible to businesses of all sizes. Its true power lies in turning technical requirements into actionable tasks that deliver measurable improvements in search visibility and traffic.

Whether you’re a local Northern Ireland shop, a UK e-commerce site, or a content publisher, Yoast SEO provides the essential tools to improve your digital presence—but like any powerful tool, its effectiveness depends on proper implementation and strategy.

At ProfileTree, we help businesses throughout Northern Ireland, Ireland, and the UK integrate Yoast SEO into comprehensive digital strategies that drive real business growth. With Yoast as your foundation and professional guidance to maximise its potential, you’ll be well-positioned to thrive in an ever-changing search landscape.

Did you think I forgot to tell you this article’s Flesch score? It’s 74.6. Pretty good, right?

Take the next step in your SEO journey today! Contact ProfileTree for a comprehensive WordPress SEO audit and discover how our expert Yoast implementation services can dramatically improve your website’s performance. Let’s grow your business together!

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