--- title: Optimize Yoast SEO Plugin: this is how it works! - isla Studio url: https://isla-stud.io/yoast-seo/yoast-seo-plugin-optimal-einstellen-so-gehts/ date: 2015-09-26 --- # Optimize Yoast SEO Plugin: this is how it works! I set up „Yoast SEO” or „RankMath” in every WP installation as an SEO solution. These two tools are among the „must have” plugins for me and are therefore in my standard toolbox. In this article, I will go into detail about the Yoast SEO plugin. I'm not the only one who thinks this SEO plugin is great. I took a look at the download history of the Yoast SEO plugin on wordpress.org today and as of today, the plugin has been downloaded and installed around 527 million times.I wrote this guide in its first version in September 2015 - for the Yoast SEO version at the time, of course. At that time, Yoast SEO had just broken the 90 million downloads barrier. The SEO landscape is constantly and rapidly evolving. That's why it's important to stay up to date with the latest information. Discover the most important SEO trends for 2024 to optimize your strategy. The optimal Yoast SEO settings can vary from website to website - simply because every website has different requirements and is usually structured differently. Please use the comment function at the bottom of this page if you have any questions or comments about this tutorial. I will be happy to help you! But now „butter to the fish”! Table of contents Toggle Preparations Some of the steps in this guide require you to have a Google account and access to the Google Search Console. I will explain below how to set up the Google Search Console for your website. You will need a free Google account for this. Register now or if you already have a Google account, you can proceed directly to the next step. Follow this link directly to your „Google Search Console” . Attention, this link opens in a new browser tab. You will now either be asked to log in to Google or, if you are already logged in, you will be taken to the homepage of your Search Console. In the top left-hand area you will find a selection field where you have the option of adding a new website to your Search Console by selecting „Add property”. After clicking on „Add property”, a pop-up window will open. Here you select the right-hand option (URL prefix) and enter the domain of your website including http:// or https:// in the input field provided. Please set up a property for both the http and the https version if the website is accessible via https. It is also necessary to create both the website with www and without www. In the end, you will have 4 properties in your Search Console: 2 for each protocol (with and without www). If you do not have an SSL certificate, it is sufficient to register only the http variants. Click the Next button here, as shown in the image above. A selection of different confirmation methods will then appear (see image below). Because Yoast SEO offers simple input options for an HTML tag, select the „HTML tag” option there. A hidden content will then appear: Copy the number salad between the quotation marks after content= and paste it under SEO > General > Tab: Webmaster Tools into the input field provided for the Google verification code and click on Save. If you can only copy the entire text, simply delete the rest from the field after pasting (including the quotation marks). Now save your changes in Yoast SEO and then click on the gray-blue „Confirm” button in the browser window with the Google Search Console. Congratulations, you have now verified your site in the Google Search Console and can later submit an XML sitemap generated by Yoast SEO, for example, to make it easier for the Google bot to quickly find the important pages on your homepage, include them in the Google index and rank them. Professional preparation of your Google Search Console for WordPress Direct links to individual comments are particularly helpful for visitors on pages/posts with a large number of comments - if you want to link to a specific comment on another page or in a much later comment. However, Google may view these comment links as duplicate content. So what is the solution to this debacle? If you have familiarized yourself with the Google Search Console and have become a little more confident in its use, just read on here: Under „Previous tools and reports” → „URL parameters” you will find an interface where you can teach the Google crawler how to deal with URLs that contain certain URL parameters (such as „replytocom”) on your own website property. So now we want to tell Google that all URLs to our website that contain the replytocom parameter should not be treated as separate URLS and are best ignored. The interface even allows us to define more precisely what the parameter actually does. The following screenshot shows the input mask for new parameters when you click on the „Add parameter” button. A similar approach can be taken, for example, if you want to tell Google how to handle search results pages. The URL parameter in WordPress is simply s. If this raises any questions, please use the comments function or hire a professional to configure your Google Search Console 😉 Installation In your WordPress backend - the so-called dashboard - click on „Plugins” in the vertical menu on the left → Install → Enter the following in the search field (Search plugins): Yoast SEO and press the Enter key. Select the Yoast SEO plugin from the suggested search results by clicking on „Install”. General Go directly to the „Functions” tab if you have clicked on „General” in the SEO menu. Here we will first determine which Yoast modules we generally want to activate on our website and which not. The following functions can be activated or deactivated here: SEO analysis & readability analysis Cornerstone content Text link counter Insights (Premium) Link suggestions (Premium) XML sitemaps Admin bar menu Security: no advanced settings for authors SEO analysis & readability analysis SEO Analysis and Readability Analysis are two of Yoast SEO's most powerful tools to help you optimize your content for both search engines and your readers. These features provide you with valuable real-time feedback directly in the WordPress editor, so you can continuously improve your copy as you write. These two tools in Yoast SEO not only help you to make your content search engine friendly, but also help you to meet the requirements of the Google Helpful Content Update. This update places particular emphasis on content that is useful and informative for users. Yoast SEO checks that your text is easy to read and well-structured, which helps your content to be classified as helpful by Google. Make sure that your content always focuses on user benefit and that this is supported by Yoast SEO's readability analysis. You can find out more about these trends in my SEO Trends 2024 article. The SEO analysis in detail Yoast SEO's SEO analysis checks your pages and posts for a variety of criteria that are crucial for a good search engine ranking. You receive concrete information on how search engine-friendly your content is and where there is still room for optimization. Important aspects of the SEO analysis: Focus keyword:A central component of the SEO analysis is the focus keyword. This keyword should reflect the main content of your page or post. Yoast SEO checks whether the focus keyword is used in key places such as the title, meta description, headings and in the text itself. Keyword density:The analysis evaluates how often your focus keyword appears in the text and gives you an indication of whether you have used it appropriately. Keyword density that is too high or too low can have a negative impact on readability and SEO. Yoast SEO helps you to find the right balance. Meta data:Your meta titles and meta descriptions play a key role in the visibility of your content in search results. The SEO analysis checks whether this meta data is optimally formulated and contains the focus keyword. This allows you to increase the click-through rate (CTR) of your pages. Links:Internal and external links are essential for a good SEO strategy. Yoast SEO evaluates how well you have integrated internal links to other relevant pages on your website and whether you use high-quality external links. These links not only contribute to SEO, but also improve the user experience. Technical SEO aspects:Yoast SEO also checks technical aspects such as the use of alt tags on images, the length and structure of your URLs and the hierarchy of headings. These technical factors are crucial to ensure that your website is optimally crawled and indexed by search engines. The readability analysis in detail In addition to the SEO analysis, Yoast SEO offers a comprehensive readability analysis, which ensures that your content is not only search engine optimized, but also easy to understand and pleasant to read for your readers. Well-structured and easy-to-understand texts contribute significantly to a positive user experience and can increase the time spent on your website. Key functions of the readability analysis: Sentence length and structure:Long, complex sentences can make comprehension difficult and reduce readability. The readability analysis helps you to identify such sentences and gives recommendations on how to break them up and make them easier to understand. Short, concise sentences promote a better reading flow and make the text more accessible. Paragraph length:Yoast SEO checks whether your paragraphs are too long and recommends using shorter paragraphs if necessary. Short paragraphs improve readability, especially on mobile devices, and make it easier for readers to grasp the text. Heading structure:A clear and logical structure with meaningful headings is crucial for the readability and SEO of your content. Yoast SEO ensures that your heading hierarchy is correct and that the individual sections of the text are clearly delineated. Active vs. passive:The analysis recognizes passive constructions, which are often perceived as cumbersome and less direct. You will receive suggestions on how you can make your texts more lively and dynamic by using active sentences, making them more reader-friendly. Transition words:Transition words are important to improve the flow of text and make connections clear. Yoast SEO checks whether you are using enough transition words and makes recommendations for improvement if necessary. This promotes the coherence of your texts and makes them more pleasant for readers to read. Flesch score:The Flesch score measures the readability of your text and indicates how easy or difficult your text is to understand. A high Flesch score (e.g. 60-70) means that your text is easy to understand for a wide audience, including students aged 13-15. This is particularly important if you want to appeal to a wide audience. How to make the most of SEO and readability analysis To exploit the full potential of these two functions, you should consider the following best practices: Continuous optimization:Review not only new content, but also existing pages and posts regularly with Yoast SEO's analytics tools. This will help you to improve the visibility and reader-friendliness of your entire website. Strategic keyword usage:Make sure that your focus keyword appears meaningfully and with appropriate frequency in your texts. A natural writing style is not only preferred by readers, but also by search engines. Improve text structure:Use the recommendations of the readability analysis to make your texts clear and structured. A logical structure with short paragraphs, active sentences and clear transitions makes your text easier to read and understand. Optimizing meta data:Make sure your meta titles and descriptions are engaging and include the focus keyword. These small adjustments can make a big difference in the click-through rate and therefore in your ranking. Consider technical aspects:Don't neglect the technical SEO aspects that Yoast SEO checks. A well-structured URL, the correct use of alt tags and a clean hierarchy of headings make a decisive contribution to ensuring that your content is indexed well. Conclusion: Holistic optimization for maximum effect Yoast SEO's SEO analysis and readability analysis are indispensable tools that help you to optimize your content for search engines and readers. By implementing the suggested optimizations, you not only improve the visibility of your website, but also ensure that your texts are read with pleasure. These two analyses work hand in hand to provide you with a holistic optimization that will take your website to the next level. Further resources on the topic of SEO analysis and readability Yoast SEO: Best practices for SEO analysis Yoast SEO: How to improve the readability of your content Google Search Central: Guide to search engine optimization Cornerstone content Since Yoast SEO version 7.x, the Cornerstone Content function has been available. But what exactly is it and why is cornerstone content important for your SEO? Simple rule of thumb: Cornerstone content is content that you are particularly proud of. Content that reflects your business, conveys your message particularly well or is simply particularly well written. These are posts that should rank very well in the search engines. Cornerstone content is usually „explainer posts” that combine the insights of different blog posts. If you activate the Cornerstone content function, an additional checkbox appears in the SEO box in the page and post editor: Think about which 4 to 5 posts your visitors should definitely read on your website. These posts should then be set as cornerstone content via the checkbox above. If you don't have enough content posts on your website that are optimized for keywords that you would like to rank for on Google and other search engines, then sit down and write that content! If you check the Cornerstone checkbox for a post/page, the link to that post will be prioritized in Yoast SEO's Link Suggestions module, so you can build a solid internal link structure. You can also create a list of these articles in your post overview. Make sure to set at least one Cornerstone post per category. All well and good, but why is this important for my SEO now? It can be very difficult to rank for highly competitive keywords in Google. The cornerstone content approach can help you conquer those difficult keywords. If you write a lot of articles on a particular topic, you can tell Google which of your articles is the most important. Otherwise, sooner or later you will be competing with your own articles and depriving yourself of so-called relevance. A well-constructed internal link structure shows Google which article is the most relevant, simply explained: always link from the smaller side articles on the same topic back to the main article and thus give this main article the required relevance within your site. Simply making the main article directly accessible from the homepage, for example, is already such an increase in relevance for Google. Text link counter The Text Link Counter is another tool to improve the textual content as well as the contribution within the structure of your website. The text link counter can do two things:1. it shows you the links within the current text to other posts on your websiteand2. it also shows you how many links from other posts on your website point to the current post. If you activate the Text Link Counter functionality, you will find these two new counter displays in the WordPress admin area under Posts directly in the list overview for all posts, as additional columns. Have you read the previous section on Cornerstone content? Then you now know how this new link counter can help you to improve your internal link structure and give certain articles more relevance. Rule of thumb: Pages / articles that have a particularly high number of inbound links from related articles and from the homepage, for example, appear more relevant to Google for this topic. It is only important that this article with the increased internal topic relevance then also provides the corresponding good content. Insights (Premium) The Insights functionality is part of the readability module of Yoast SEO in the Premium version. It extends the readability analysis with a kind of word usage check. In other words: it checks in real time which words you use how often or most frequently in your text and shows you these. This functionality can help you to concentrate on the essentials and especially on the current topic when writing. Imagine you are writing an article about high heels and the most frequently used word in your text is blistering. The focus of your text shifts accordingly... In the premium version of Yoast SEO, the results of the Insights functionality are analyzed and also used in the Link Suggestions module. Link suggestions (Premium) In the premium version of Yoast SEO, the link suggestions functionality is available to you. This tool is another module for the structural improvement of your website. Use it to implement your internal linking strategy. Or even better: develop an internal linking strategy with the help of this tool to push the important content and put the less relevant content at the back. XML sitemaps This function should definitely be activated. XML sitemaps are the search engines„ road maps. They help the search engine crawler visiting your website to quickly understand the structure of your site and reach the content in a targeted manner. An optimized sitemap is an important part of technical SEO. You can find out more about this in my guide to technical SEO. The XML sitemaps created by Yoast SEO ensure that Google can index your content quickly and efficiently. This is especially important in times of frequent Google Core Updates, where indexing speed and the timeliness of your content can play a crucial role. Make sure your sitemaps are updated regularly so that Google always sees the latest versions of your pages and posts. At this point, it makes sense to go into the Google Search Console. If you have not yet implemented the instructions for setting up your Google Search Console, it is best to go back up to the Preparations section and follow the instructions. Then simply scroll back to this point or click on the link in the section above to return here. Entering the XML sitemap in the Google Search Console You should only enter the XML sitemap in your Google Search Console once you are satisfied with the structure of the sitemap. After you have completed the settings in Yoast SEO under Display in search results, only what makes sense for your website should be displayed in the sitemap. You should therefore only return to this section after you have made the above settings. In the WordPress admin area, navigate to ”SEO„ → ”General„ → ”Functions„ Activate the ”XML Sitemaps„ function and click on the small question mark symbol to the right of this function. An info text will now appear. In this info text you will find a link to your XML sitemap (View XML sitemap). You can copy this link by right-clicking on it. Save only the back part of the linked URL: /sitemap_index.xml Log in to your Google Search Console Select the website in question (Make sure you select the primary version. If your website is accessible via https and with www and this is the URL that is set in your WordPress, then select the property https://www.ihredomain.de in the Google Search Console). Now you can access your homepage in the Search Console Navigate to ”Index„ → ”Sitemaps„ in the left-hand menu Paste the above-mentioned part of the URL into the field provided. Test the sitemap and then submit it by clicking on the corresponding buttons. It may take some time for Google to process the submitted sitemap. Sometimes even several days. Admin bar menu The admin bar menu display is also a ”nice-to-have-but-not-must-have„ functionality in Yoast SEO. If you activate it, a new item will appear in your WP admin bar, in which the Yoast plugin informs you about all kinds of things: useful links to third-party tools for page analysis or, for example, easy recognition of new notifications concerning your Yoast SEO. Security: no advanced settings for authors It is advisable to deactivate this if the editorial work is carried out by many different people and you do not want the authors to have administrative rights to your posts. If this function is activated, authors can, for example, exclude individual posts from search engine indexing or set redirects. Tab: Webmaster Tools Click on the links for Baidu, Bing, Google and Yandex one after the other. If possible, register with all four search engine services. Registration is free of charge. Set up your user accounts and then enter the respective IDs in the fields shown here. The procedures for the search engines are very similar (example: setting up for Google ). If you still have any questions, please use the comment function at the end of this article. For a deeper integration and better use of the webmaster tools, read my comprehensive guide to technical SEO. Indexables (from version 14.0) - The new database structure for better performance Yoast SEO has made real progress with the introduction of “Indexables„ in version 14.0. This innovative database structure not only significantly improves performance, but also changes the way SEO data is processed. In this section, you will learn what indexables are all about, why they are so important and how you can make the most of this new feature. What are indexables? Think of indexables as a kind of turbo for your website. Before version 14.0, SEO-relevant information was generated dynamically with every page request - a process that could put a strain on your servers and increase loading times. With indexables, however, Yoast SEO stores this information in a central database in advance, which drastically reduces the number of database queries. This database structure includes everything that is relevant for the search engine optimization of your website: metadata, titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, social media metadata and Schema.org data. In short, all the information that makes your website understandable and visible to search engines and social networks. Why are indexables important for your website? The advantages of the indexables function are far-reaching: Improved performance:By reducing database queries, your website load times are significantly reduced. This not only means a better user experience, but also a positive impact on your ranking in the search results. More efficient data management:With all SEO data stored in one central location, you can make changes faster and easier. Your website responds immediately to adjustments, which is particularly beneficial for large page structures. Scalability:For larger websites with many pages, this structure offers excellent scalability. No matter how complex or extensive your website is - it remains fast and efficient. How do you make optimum use of indexables? To exploit the full potential of indexables, you should follow these steps: Database optimization:After you have activated the indexables, it is advisable to optimize your database. Yoast SEO offers a special tool for this under “SEO„ > “Tools„ > “Optimize database„. This ensures that all SEO data is saved correctly in the new structure. Regular updates:Always keep your Yoast SEO plugin up to date. With each new version, Yoast brings improvements and bug fixes that further optimize the Indexables function. Use caching plugins:Combine Yoast SEO with a powerful caching plugin such as WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache. This combination can significantly increase the performance of your website. Monitor Core Web Vitals:The performance of your website is a key factor for your ranking. Use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights or the Google Search Console to monitor and optimize the impact of indexables on the Core Web Vitals of your website. Indexables and technical SEO The introduction of indexables has also affected the technical SEO of your website. Since the SEO data is retrieved faster and more efficiently, you can focus on optimizing other technical aspects, such as the crawlability and indexability of your website. Conclusion: Indexables as a game changer Indexables are more than just a technical update - they are a real game changer. With this new database structure, you can significantly increase the performance of your website and ensure that it works optimally for both search engines and users. By combining indexables with other optimization measures, you lay the foundation for a successful SEO strategy. Further resources on the topic of indexables Yoast SEO: What are indexables? Google Search Central: Improving the loading time of your website Moz Blog: Technical SEO and why it's important Integrations Access to the integrations To access the integrations in Yoast SEO, proceed as follows: Log in to your WordPress dashboard:Open the admin interface of your WordPress website. Navigate to Yoast SEO:In the left sidebar of your dashboard, you will see the Yoast SEO menu. Click on “SEO„ to open the Yoast SEO main menu. Open the “Integrations„:In the Yoast SEO dashboard, you will find the “Integrations„ tab under “General„. Click on it to see a list of available integrations. Available integrations in Yoast SEO In the “Integrations„ tab, you will find switches to activate or deactivate the following integrations: SEMrush Function: Keyword research and competition analysis. Description: The SEMrush integration allows you to research relevant keywords directly in Yoast SEO and analyze their competitiveness. This feature is available in the Yoast SEO meta box on the edit page of each post or page. Activation: Go to “SEO„ > “General„ > “Integrations„ and activate SEMrush. Zapier Function: Automation of workflows. Description: With the Zapier integration, you can connect Yoast SEO with over 2,000 other apps to automate workflows. This could include, for example, automatically sharing new blog posts on social networks. Activation: Go to “SEO„ > “General„ > “Integrations„ and activate Zapier. Google Search Console Function: Website performance analysis. Description: The integration makes it possible to import data from Google Search Console directly into Yoast SEO to monitor crawling errors and indexing issues. Activation: Connect your website to Google Search Console under “SEO„ > “General„ > “Webmaster Tools„. Wincher Function: Keyword ranking tracking. Description: The Wincher integration allows you to monitor the position of your keywords in the search engines directly in the Yoast SEO Dashboard. Activation: Go to “SEO„ > “General„ > “Integrations„ and activate Wincher. Slack Function: Notifications about SEO events. Description: With the Slack integration, you can send notifications about SEO events such as crawling errors or indexing problems directly to a Slack channel. Activation: Go to “SEO„ > “General„ > “Integrations„ and activate Slack. WordProof Function: Blockchain-based time stamping. Description: This integration allows you to add a blockchain timestamp to content to prove its authenticity and increase trust in your content. Activation: Go to “SEO„ > “General„ > “Integrations„ and activate WordProof. IndexNow Function: Instant indexing in search engines. Description: IndexNow immediately informs search engines such as Bing and Yandex about changes to your website to speed up indexing. Activation: Go to “SEO„ > “General„ > “Integrations„ and activate IndexNow. Social Previews (Premium) Function: Preview of the presentation in social media. Description: This function allows you to preview how your content will look on Facebook and Twitter before it is published. Location: This preview is available in the Yoast SEO meta box on the edit page of each post or page. Redirect Manager (Premium) Function: Management of redirects. Description: The Redirect Manager helps you to create and manage 301 redirects directly in Yoast SEO to ensure that all pages are redirected correctly. Location: This function can be found under “SEO„ > “Redirects". Content Insights (Premium) Function: Analysis of content focus. Description: Content Insights shows you the five most common words or phrases in your text so you can make sure your article is well focused. Location: This feature is available in the Yoast SEO meta box on the edit page of any post or page. Display in the search results The correct presentation of your content in the search results is crucial to avoid being negatively affected by the Google Core Updates. These updates regularly re-evaluate the relevance and quality of content. With Yoast SEO, you can ensure that your snippets are engaging and informative. This increases your chances of ranking well even after a core update. Make sure to formulate your meta titles and descriptions in such a way that they match the search intentions of users and also contain the most important keywords. Important basic settings: Company name, location and separators Enter your company name and remember to include your location in some form if this is important for your company. This is the case, for example, with craft businesses and other local service providers. When it comes to your company logo, you should not be too frugal with the image size and upload an image file that is at least 200x200px in size; however, I would rather recommend 1024px x 1024px. You can also specify here which separator should be displayed in the browser tab when generating the page title. Personally, I always use a pipe character (vertical hyphen). This setting is subject to your subjective preference. Before Yoast SEO 7.x, there was another setting at this point for the forced overwriting of title outputs. Enabling this feature could correct page title output errors (for example, duplicate output of the page name in the SEO title). This is a known issue. If you move the mouse pointer over the title of your page in the browser tab, the generated page title will be displayed after a short time. If the problem occurs on your site, you can fix it relatively easily without the need for this forced functionality, if you are confident enough: if you navigate to Design → Editor in the WordPress menu and call up Header.php there. Find the line with the title elements () at the very beginning of the file and delete everything between <title> and </title>. Replace the deleted item as follows: <title><?php wp_title(''); ?></title> Speichern Sie die Datei und überprüfen Sie das Ergebnis, indem Sie nochmal über den Titel Ihrer Seite im Browsertab hovern. Testen Sie das Ganze auf verschiedenen Unterseiten Ihrer Homepage, denn diese Codeänderung wirkt sich auf jede einzelne Seite Ihrer Webpräsenz aus. Jetzt sollten Ihre Seitentitel korrekt ausgegeben werden. Schema.org und Rich Snippets: Mehr Sichtbarkeit durch strukturierte Daten Ein oft unterschätzter, aber äußerst wirkungsvoller Bereich der „Darstellung in den Suchergebnissen“ ist die Integration von Schema.org-Markup. Schema.org bietet Ihnen die Möglichkeit, Suchmaschinen genau mitzuteilen, wie bestimmte Inhalte auf Ihrer Website strukturiert sind. Dies kann zu sogenannten Rich Snippets führen, die Ihre Ergebnisse in den Suchmaschinen nicht nur visuell ansprechender machen, sondern auch wertvolle Zusatzinformationen wie Bewertungen, Preise oder Veranstaltungsdetails direkt im Suchergebnis anzeigen. Rich Snippets sind eine hervorragende Möglichkeit, sich von der Konkurrenz abzuheben. Wenn Sie beispielsweise ein lokales Geschäft betreiben, können Sie durch die Integration von lokalem Schema-Markup sicherstellen, dass Ihre Adresse, Öffnungszeiten und sogar Kundenbewertungen direkt in den Suchergebnissen erscheinen. Diese Optimierungen können die Klickrate erheblich steigern und bringen Ihnen den entscheidenden Vorteil in den Suchergebnissen. Yoast SEO übernimmt die automatische Generierung des Grundgerüsts für das Schema-Markup basierend auf dem Inhaltstyp Ihrer Seite oder Ihres Beitrags. Diese automatische Generierung ist jedoch nur der Anfang. Um das volle Potenzial auszuschöpfen, sollten Sie die Schema-Daten individuell anpassen. Dies ist besonders wertvoll, wenn Sie spezifische Inhalte wie Rezepte, Veranstaltungen oder Produkte auf Ihrer Website darstellen. Die erweiterten Schema-Einstellungen von Yoast SEO ermöglichen es Ihnen, das generierte Markup so anzupassen, dass es genau auf Ihre Bedürfnisse abgestimmt ist. Individuelle Anpassungen und strategische Überlegungen Nicht jede Seite Ihrer Website ist für die Indexierung geeignet. Es macht oft keinen Sinn, etwa die URLs von Slider-Seiten oder systemgenerierte Seiten indexieren zu lassen. Indem Sie solche irrelevanten Seiten von der Indexierung ausschließen, verbessern Sie nicht nur die Übersichtlichkeit Ihrer Sitemap, sondern auch die allgemeine SEO-Leistung Ihrer Website. Diese gezielte Steuerung hilft Suchmaschinen, die wirklich relevanten Inhalte Ihrer Website effizient zu erfassen und besser zu ranken. Für jede Seite oder jeden Inhaltstyp können Sie in Yoast SEO individuelle SEO-Titel und Meta-Beschreibungen festlegen. Wenn Sie diese Felder leer lassen, werden die standardmäßig festgelegten Vorlagen verwendet. Diese automatische Befüllung ist praktisch, aber es lohnt sich, vor der Veröffentlichung eines neuen Beitrags oder einer neuen Seite gezielt über passende Inhalte für diese Felder nachzudenken. Die Meta-Daten sind schließlich das „Aushängeschild“ Ihrer Seite in den Suchmaschinenergebnissen, und ein gut gestalteter Eintrag wird eher geklickt. Optimierung und Validierung Ihrer strukturierten Daten Um sicherzustellen, dass Ihr Schema-Markup korrekt implementiert ist, empfehle ich, regelmäßig Tools wie das Google Rich Results Testing Tool oder den Schema.org Validator zu verwenden. Diese Tests helfen Ihnen, mögliche Fehler zu identifizieren und zu korrigieren, bevor sie sich negativ auf Ihre Suchergebnisse auswirken. Durch regelmäßige Überprüfung und Anpassung Ihrer strukturierten Daten können Sie sicherstellen, dass Ihre Website in den Suchergebnissen optimal dargestellt wird. Einfache Platzhalter (Titelvariablen) Sie können die nachfolgenden Platzhalter für die automatische Zuordnung der korrekten Begriffe in Ihren SEO-Titeln und SEO-Beschreibungen sowohl global im SEO-Menü unter Darstellung in den Suchergebnissen festlegen, als auch in den individuellen Feldern für SEO-Titel und -Beschreibung in der Yoast SEO Metabox im jeweiligen Seiteneditor einsetzen. Außerdem können Sie zusätzlich eigenen Text an beliebiger Stelle einfügen. PlatzhalterBeschreibung%%date%%Datum des/der Artikels/Seite%%title%%Titel des Beitrags bzw. der Seite%%parent_title%%Titel der übergeordneten Seite%%sitename%%globaler Webseitenname (WordPress Einstellungen)%%sitedesc%%globaler Seiten-Untertitel / WordPress Tagline (Untertitel)%%excerpt%%Textauszug aus Artikel / Seite (oder automatisch generiert, falls nicht vorhanden)%%excerpt_only%%Textauszug des Artikels / der Seite (ohne Auto-Generierung)%%tag%%Schlagwörter des Beitrags (mit Komma getrennt)%%tag_description%%Schlagwort-Beschreibung%%category%%Kategorien des Beitrags (mit Komma getrennt)%%category_description%%Beschreibung der Kategorie%%term_title%%Termtitel (z. B. bei Taxonomieseiten von Custom Post Types)%%term_description%%Termbeschreibung%%searchphrase%%Gesuchter Begriff%%sep%%Trennzeichen, das in Yoast SEO oder im wp_title()tag definiert ist. Fortgeschrittene Platzhalter (Titelvariablen) Manchmal reichen die obigen Platzhalter-Variablen nicht aus. Zum Beispiel wenn Sie die SEO Felder einer Taxonomieseite eines individuellen Inhaltstyps (Custom Post Type) einrichten möchten. Oder einfach wenn Sie weitere Angaben machen möchten. Fortgeschrittene PlatzhalterBeschreibung%%pt_single%%Singular des Beitragstyps (z. B. Veranstaltung)%%pt_plural%%Pluralform des Artikeltyps (z. B. Veranstaltungen)%%modified%%Aktualisierungsdatum des Artikels / der Seite%%id%%ID des Artikels / der Seite%%name%%Autor-„Nicename” des Artikels / der Seite%%user_description%%„Biographische Angaben” des Beitrags-/Seitenautors%%userid%%Autor-Nutzer-ID des Artikels / der Seite%%currenttime%%aktuelle Zeit%%currentdate%%heutiges Datum%%currentday%%heutiger Tag%%currentmonth%%dieser Monat%%currentyear%%dieses Jahr%%page%%aktuellen Seitennummer mit Kontext (z. B. Seite 2 von 4)%%pagetotal%%aktuelle gesamte Seitenanzahl%%pagenumber%%aktuelle Seitennummer%%caption%%Beschriftung Dateianhang%%focuskw%%Fokus-Keyword des Artikels%%term404%%Seiten-slug, der den 404-Fehler verursacht hat%%cf_<custom-field-name>%%Value of a user-defined field of the article%%ct_<custom-tax-name>%1TP3Individual taxonomy of a contribution (separated by a comma)%%ct_desc_<custom-tax-name>%%Beschreibung der individuellen Taxonomie Achten Sie darauf, dass Sie Ihren Hauptseitentitel, der mit dem Platzhalter %%sitename%% eingefügt wird, immer ans Ende der jeweiligen SEO-Titel Vorlage stellen. Ich habe bei der Gelegenheit mein Snippet für die Startseite etwas verändert. Es wird hoffentlich in den nächsten Tagen (oder Wochen) im Google Index aktualisiert. Geben Sie sich Mühe! Machen Sie sich die Mühe und schreiben Sie einzigartige Meta-Beschreibungen für jeden Beitrag/jede Seite. Andernfalls wird im Suchergebnissnippet automatisch nur ein kurzer Auszug aus dem Inhaltstext der jeweiligen Seite oder des jeweiligen Beitrags angezeigt. Obwohl Sie mit dieser Anleitung im Yoast SEO eine gute Vorlage als Standard eingerichtet haben, würde ich dennoch empfehlen individuelle Meta Beschreibungen im Beitrags-/Seiteneditor zu verfassen, wenn die automatisch anhand der Platzhalter generierten SEO-Titel und -Beschreibungen einmal nicht gut zu einer Seite passen. Also hilft wirklich nur die harte Tour: Kaffee kochen und Meta-Beschreibungen für jede einzelne Seite schreiben und optimieren.– eine weise Frau – Der Grund hierfür ist nicht nur, dass die Meta-Beschreibungen individuell verfasst besser zu lesen sind und schöner aussehen. Der Hintergrund ist, dass hin und wieder Shortcodes in einzelnen Seiten oder Beiträgen im Editorfenster eingetragen worden sein könnten. Direkt zu Beginn des eigentlichen Textes. Plugins wie zum Beispiel der Visual Composer, der sich großer Beliebtheit unter Premium-Theme-Entwicklern und deren Kundschaft erfreut, ist so ein Kandidat: er platziert massenweise Shortcodes im Editorfenster. Nicht sichtbar für den Benutzer, weil der ja wenn er im Backend etwas ändert, auf den Visual Composer umgestellt hat und die schöne Klicki-Bunti-Oberfläche benutzt, um seine Inhalte zu pflegen. Aber wenn Sie einmal auf den Standardeditor zurückstellen – den Texteditor – dann sehen Sie diese Unmengen an Shortcodes, die der VC anhand Ihrer Eingaben generiert und platziert. Ähnliches gilt auch für jeden anderen Shortcode-basierten Page Builder. Haben Sie nun keine individuelle Meta-Beschreibung für eine vollständig im VC Editor generierte Inhalts- oder Beitragsseite erstellt, versucht YOAST aus diesen vielen Shortcodes schlau zu werden und erzeugt eine entsprechende Meta-Beschreibung. Dabei kommt dann ungefähr so etwas heraus, wie man oben auf dem Screenshot sieht. Dieses Verhalten ist seitens Yoast bereits bekannt und soll seit Yoast 3.1. repariert worden sein. Ich hatte aber am 07. Mai 2016 mit der WP Website eines Kunden zu tun, wo ein Visual Composer in der damals aktuellsten Version (nach besagtem Patch) zusammen mit einem Theme vorinstalliert wurde, Yoast 3.1.3 und WordPress 4.5 Einsatz war. Und hier trat dieses Problem ebenfalls weiterhin auf. Allerdings werden die Shortcodes nicht im Klartext in der Meta-Beschreibung wiedergegeben, sondern Yoast wandelte sie in eine Art Endlos-Kuddelmuddel-Zeichenkette um. Und dies ist ebenfalls unerwünscht.Mittlerweile ist dieser Bug jedoch behoben, weil die Metabox heute anders funktioniert als damals. In 2019 wurde ein ähnlicher Bug mit dem Site Origin Builder festgestellt. Es gibt einen noch immer offenen Fall dazu auf Github. Was man hier aber verstehen muss, ist dass es sich hier nicht um das handelt was Google (oder jede andere Suchmaschine) später in ihren Suchergebnisseiten anzeigt. Es handelt sich hier lediglich um eine lokale Vorschau, die in manchen Seitensetups etwas buggy ist (aktuell in Kombination mit dem Site Origin Builder). Deshalb ist der Bug auch mit einem “minor Bug”-Tag auf Github markiert, denn die echten Snippets, die von Google erzeugt werden, bleiben von dieser lokalen Ansicht unberührt. Wenn Sie die in der obigen Abbildung aufgeführten Variablen ebenfalls für Ihre Einstellungen verwenden, wird der Seiten-/Beitragstitel als SEO Titel verwendet und Ihr Hauptseitentitel immer am Ende angehängt – es sei denn Sie definieren im SEO-Abschnitt unter „Seite bearbeiten” oder „Beitrag bearbeiten” einen individuellen SEO-Titel. Darstellung in den Suchergebnissen Wenn Sie die Darstellung in den Suchergebnissen deaktivieren, legen Sie fest, dass dieser Inhaltstyp nicht im Suchmaschinenindex aufgeführt werden soll (noindex) und auch nicht in Ihrer Sitemap erscheinen soll. Datum in der Schnipsel-Vorschau (Code-Snippet) Wenn Sie dies aktiveren, wird in den Suchmaschinenergebnissen das Veröffentlichungsdatum des jeweiligen Inhaltstyps angezeigt. Diese Einstellung ist mit Vorsicht zu genießen, denn mit der Zeit könnten die Inhalte Ihrer Homepage deshalb veraltet wirken. Yoast SEO Meta Box Deaktivieren Sie diese Funktion je Inhaltstyp, wenn Sie den Yoast SEO Optimierungsbereich im Bearbeiten-Fenster des jeweiligen Inhaltstyps ausblenden möchten. Reiter: Taxonomien Durch teilweise Eingabe im Abschnitt beleuchteten Platzhalter wie z.B. %cat lässt eine Liste aufploppen, aus der Sie den passenden Platzhalter per Klick auswählen können. Dies erzeugt dann ein “lila” Yoast Platzhalter tag. Ich stelle meine Schlagwort-Archivseiten z. B. so ein, dass sie nicht von den Suchmaschinen indexiert werden. Dies verhindert Sanktionen wegen duplizierten Contents („duplicate content penalties”) Option: Kategorie-URLs Standardmäßig baut WordPress in die Permalink-Struktur Ihrer Blog-Beiträge das Wort „category” ein. Sobald Sie eine Beitragskategorie aufrufen, wird diese Einstellung diesen unschönen Linkzusatz entfernen. Ein automatisch erzeugter Link wie https://www.saskialund.de/category/news sieht dann stattdessen so aus: https://www.saskialund.de/news Reiter: Archive Im Reiter Archive können Sie einstellen, ob Autoren- oder Datumsarchive pauschal aktiviert werden sollen oder nicht. Überlegen Sie genau, was für Ihre Website Sinn macht. Unter Umständen können Sie beim Deaktivieren der Datumsarchive die Ausgabe Ihres Kalender oder Veranstaltunsplugins beschädigen. Deaktivieren Sie deshalb die Datumsarchive nicht, wenn Sie eine Art Kalender- oder Terminplugin auf Ihrer Website nutzen. Reiter: Breadcrumbs Bevor ich das aktuelle Design und Rework meiner Website live geschaltet habe, hatte ich In meinen Einstellungen die Yoast SEO Brotkrümel (breadcrumbs) nicht aktiviert, denn ich nutzte bis dahin das Plugin Breadcrumbs NavXT zu diesem Zweck. Es ist sehr flexibel einsetzbar. Und kann vollständig an die eigene Website angepasst werden. Mit dem neuen Look habe ich auch unter der Haube einiges verändert und nutze jetzt die Yoast Breadcrumbs in einer mit php Filtern modifizierten Form. Denken Sie daran, dass Sie gegebenenfalls die Templatedateien Ihres Themes anpassen müssen, wenn die Brotkrümel nicht bereits eingebaut sind. Viele Themes werden aber bereits mit einer eigenen Lösung für die Brotkrümel-Menüs ausgeliefert. Auch in diesem Fall gilt: Yoast Breadcrumbs deaktivieren – es sei denn Ihr Theme unterstützt die Yoast Breadcrumbs explizit. Was sind „Brotkrümel” (breadcrumbs)? Als Brotkrümel bezeichnet man den Navigationstext, der oberhalb des Seiteninhalts angezeigt wird. Ein sogenanntes Brotkrümel-Menü einzubauen, ist besonders benutzerfreundlich, denn es hilft Ihren Seitenbesuchern und Suchmaschinen sich zurechtzufinden und Ihre Seiteninhalte zu strukturieren. Sie können, falls Ihr Theme keine eigenen Brotkrümel mitbringt, den folgenden Code in Ihren Theme Dateien um die Yoast Breadcrumb php function ergänzen. Dafür müssen Sie entweder über den Dateieditor in WordPress oder via FTP/SSH oder SFTP Zugriff auf Ihre Themedateien haben. Je nach Theme ist der Code z. B. in der index.php, der single.php, page.php oder ganz simpel lediglich in der header.php zu platzieren. Wichtig ist, dass die Breadcrumb function sich an einer Position befindet, die innerhalb des body-tags und am besten irgendwo innerhalb oder oberhalb des Hauptinhaltscontainers ist, damit sie letztendlich sichtbar sind. (oder folgen Sie der Anleitung von Yoast zum Thema Breadcrumbs einbinden): if ( function_exists('yoast_breadcrumb') ) { yoast_breadcrumb('<p id="breadcrumbs">','</p>'); } Tab: RSS Your WordPress site automatically generates a so-called RSS feed. Here you can set which text should be displayed before and after each entry in your feed. The following will appear before each post in your → automatic RSS feed: %%BLOGLINK%%%%BLOGDESCLINK%%% And this will appear after each post: %%POSTLINK%%%%AUTHORLINK%%% You can add or remove text here. As you wish. You can view the feed at https://www.ihre-domain.com/feed/, for example. Support for multilingualism In a globally connected world, multilingualism of a website is often essential to effectively address different target groups. Yoast SEO offers comprehensive support for multilingual websites and helps you to present and structure your content optimally in multiple languages. This functionality is particularly important for companies that operate internationally or for websites that operate in different markets. Yoast SEO works seamlessly with the leading multilingual plugins such as Polylang, TranslatePress, MultilingualPress and WPML. Depending on the use case and requirement profile, I usually recommend one of these solutions to my clients, although based on my experience I would advise against using WPML. Nevertheless, for the sake of completeness, the WPML integration should also be mentioned here. Why multilingualism is important for SEO Providing content in multiple languages not only opens up new markets for you, but also significantly improves the user experience. Search engines like Google prefer websites that are tailored to the needs of their users, and this includes providing content in the user's native language. A well-structured, multilingual website can significantly increase your visibility in local search results. The right multilingual solution for your website Polylang integration Polylang is one of my favorite solutions for multilingual WordPress websites. It offers seamless integration with Yoast SEO and allows you to configure SEO settings for each language separately. Polylang scores with its ease of use and the ability to customize each language version of your content without having to worry about technical complications. It is particularly suitable for websites that require a clear and simple structure without sacrificing flexibility. TranslatePress integration TranslatePress offers a particularly user-friendly solution when it comes to translating your website directly in the frontend. This is particularly beneficial for websites that use complex layouts and a lot of visual content, as all changes are visible in real time. The integration with Yoast SEO ensures that all SEO settings for each language version can be adjusted directly during translation. TranslatePress is ideal for users who want to have direct and visual control over the translation of their website without sacrificing the powerful SEO features of Yoast. MultilingualPress integration For complex or extensive websites based on multisite installations, I recommend MultilingualPress. This plugin creates a separate site for each language within a multisite installation, which enables clean and separate management of the language versions. Yoast SEO fully supports MultilingualPress, so you can make individual SEO settings for each site and therefore for each language version. This solution is particularly beneficial if your website has very different content and requirements in the different language versions and you need maximum flexibility and control. WPML integration Although I do not recommend WPML due to various technical and administrative challenges, it is still a widely used solution for managing multilingual websites. Yoast SEO's integration with WPML makes it possible to synchronize SEO settings for each language version of your website. Below are some sticking points that are fraught with problems: Meta data management:WPML allows you to set the meta data for each language individually. This includes SEO titles, meta descriptions and other SEO-relevant settings. However, managing this data via WPML can be complex and error-prone, especially for large websites. Hreflang tags and sitemaps:WPML supports the automatic implementation of hreflang tags, which ensure that search engines display the correct language version of your content. The sitemaps are also adapted accordingly to display the different language versions correctly. Nevertheless, problems may occur during implementation that require additional manual control. Performance and compatibility issues:One of the main reasons why I advise against WPML is the frequent performance issues. WPML tends to increase website load times, which can negatively impact user experience and search engine rankings. In addition, compatibility issues with other plugins and themes are not uncommon, which makes managing your website unnecessarily difficult. Technical aspects of multilingualism In addition to the simple translation of your content, there are some technical aspects that should be taken into particular consideration with multilingualism: Hreflang tags Hreflang tags are an essential element in the optimization of multilingual websites. These tags signal to search engines which language version of a page is intended for which region. Yoast SEO automatically takes care of implementing these hreflang tags so that search engines can display the correct language version of your content. However, it is advisable to check these settings regularly to ensure that they are applied correctly. Sitemap customizations If your website is available in several languages, the sitemap should also be adapted accordingly. Yoast SEO automatically generates separate sitemaps for each language version of your website so that search engines can index the content correctly. This ensures that each language version of your website is optimally displayed in the search results. Best practices for multilingual SEO To realize the full potential of your multilingual website, you should consider the following best practices: Individual meta data for each language:Ensure that meta titles and meta descriptions are customized for each language version of your content. Do not simply use an automatic translation, but make sure that the texts are formulated in an appealing and culturally appropriate way in each language. Keyword research for each market:Keyword research should be carried out separately for each language and each market. What works in one market may not necessarily be successful in another. Use local keyword tools to find the most relevant search terms for each language version. Optimize internal linking:Make sure that the internal linking between the different language versions of your website is well structured. This helps search engines to understand the relationship between the different language versions and improves the user experience. Cultural adaptations: Take cultural differences into account when creating your content. What works well in one country may not work as well in another. Adapt your content to the cultural characteristics of the respective target markets to achieve the best results. Conclusion: Multilingualism as a competitive advantage A well-optimized, multilingual website is not only a sign of professionalism, but can also be a decisive competitive advantage. By seamlessly integrating Yoast SEO with Polylang, TranslatePress and MultilingualPress, you can ensure that your SEO efforts are equally effective in all languages. WPML, on the other hand, although widely used, comes with potential drawbacks that can affect the performance and usability of your website. Take advantage of the opportunities offered by Yoast SEO to optimize your content for a global audience and perform well in search results in all relevant markets. Social When you fill in the Yoast Social settings, you help Google to recognize your integration with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or YouTube. These settings format your page content so that it is displayed properly in search engines and social networks. Yoast SEO uses the following tools for this: Facebook Open Graph and Twitter Cards. To link to Pinterest, you will need to complete a few additional verification steps. Social media preview Social Media Preview is another powerful feature of Yoast SEO that helps you optimize your content not only for search engines, but also for social networks. In times where social media is an essential part of online presence, this feature plays a crucial role in how your content is perceived on networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. In this section, I will show you how you can use the social media preview to optimize your posts and pages for social networks. Why is the social media preview important? When your content is shared on social media, first impressions are crucial. An appealing preview image, a well-written title and a meaningful description can make the difference between users clicking on your link or scrolling further. The social media preview in Yoast SEO allows you to see exactly how your content will appear on different platforms and gives you the option to customize this display. Functions of the social media preview You can use the social media preview to make specific settings for various social networks: 1. customization of title, description and image for Facebook and Twitter: Facebook preview:You can customize the title, description and preview image that is displayed when your content is shared on Facebook. This gives you the opportunity to create a targeted version of your content that is tailored to the preferences and expectations of Facebook users. Twitter preview:Similar to Facebook, you can also make specific settings for Twitter. Here you can also customize the title, description and image that is displayed when someone shares your content on Twitter. 2. automatic suggestions and manual customization: Automatic settings:If you do not make any specific customizations, Yoast SEO automatically uses the SEO title and meta description of your content as well as the featured image as a preview for social networks. These default settings are often sufficient, but for important content or campaigns, specific adjustments may be useful. Manual adjustments:You have the option to override the automatic suggestions and make manual adjustments at any time. This is particularly useful if you want to create different versions of the content for different platforms or if certain images and texts work better on one social network than on another. 3 Open Graph and Twitter Cards: Open Graph (OG) Tags:Yoast SEO supports the use of Open Graph tags, which are used by Facebook and other social networks to control how your content is displayed. Through the targeted use of these tags, you can ensure that your content is displayed exactly as you want it to be. Twitter Cards:Similar to the Open Graph tags for Facebook, Twitter Cards use special meta tags to determine how your content is displayed on Twitter. Yoast SEO allows you to set and optimize these tags so that your tweets with shared content stand out. How do you make the most of the social media preview? To use Yoast SEO's social media preview effectively, you should consider the following best practices: Targeted customization for different networks:Consider which audience you want to reach on which social networks and customize your preview content accordingly. Facebook users, for example, often react positively to emotional or visually appealing images, while Twitter users prefer concise and informative texts. Use high-quality images:Make sure that the preview images you choose for your content are of high quality and meet the recommended size and resolution of the respective platform. A blurry or inappropriate image can cost potential clicks. Consistent brand message:As you customize content for different platforms, make sure your brand message remains consistent. All titles, descriptions and images should reflect your brand's values and image. Test and optimize:Use Yoast SEO's preview feature to see how your content will look on different platforms and make adjustments as needed. Test different versions to see which combination works best. Conclusion: Maximize your reach on social media Yoast SEO's social media preview is an indispensable tool when it comes to successfully presenting your content on social networks. By customizing the title, description and image, you can ensure that your posts and pages are shown to their best advantage and achieve the best possible reach. By using this function effectively, you not only increase the visibility of your content, but also the interaction and engagement of your target group. Further resources on the topic of SEO for social media Yoast SEO: How to make the most of the social media preview Buffer: Best practices for social media visuals Hootsuite: Guide to optimizing social media posts Connection to WordProof At a time when trust and transparency on the internet are becoming increasingly important, the integration of WordProof with Yoast SEO offers a groundbreaking way to strengthen the authenticity of your content. WordProof allows you to timestamp your content based on the blockchain. This not only helps you to prove the integrity of your content, but also to gain the trust of your users and search engines. Yoast SEO supports this integration seamlessly and offers you the opportunity to further optimize your SEO strategy by using WordProof. In this section, I'll show you how you can use this connection to make your website even more trustworthy and future-proof. Why the connection to WordProof is important The internet is increasingly flooded with content, and it's getting harder and harder to distinguish trustworthy sources from less reputable ones. WordProof helps you prove the authenticity of your content by setting an immutable timestamp on the blockchain. This can be particularly useful to avoid copyright disputes, strengthen the credibility of your website and be recognized as a trustworthy source in search engines. Google and other search engines are placing more and more emphasis on trust signals, and a verifiable timestamp can be one such signaling device that makes your content even more valuable in the eyes of search engines and users. How does the WordProof integration work? Set timestamp:The integration of WordProof in Yoast SEO allows you to create a timestamp for each published post or page. This timestamp is saved on the blockchain and is unchangeable. This allows you to prove that your content was published or updated at a specific time and has not been tampered with since. Timestamp display:WordProof offers the option to display the timestamp visibly on your website so that your visitors can see that the content is authentic and up-to-date. This transparency can significantly increase trust in your brand and your content. Trust signals for search engines:By integrating WordProof with Yoast SEO, you send strong trust signals to search engines. Content that is demonstrably authentic and unaltered can be given preferential treatment by search engines as it enjoys higher credibility. This can have a positive impact on your ranking, especially in an increasingly competitive online environment. Best practices for using WordProof with Yoast SEO To utilize the full potential of the WordProof integration, you should consider the following best practices: Set regular timestamps:Make sure you set regular timestamps for all important content. This is especially true for pages that are updated frequently, such as blog posts or news articles. The timestamp should be updated every time you make significant changes to a piece of content. Make the timestamp visible:Use the option of displaying the timestamp visibly on your website. This increases transparency and strengthens the trust of your users. It shows that you are open about the topicality and authenticity of your content. Communicate your trust strategy: Let your visitors know why you use WordProof and how this is to their advantage. Explain that your content is secured by blockchain technology and that you take the integrity of your website seriously. Technical aspects of the WordProof integration Implementation in Yoast SEO:Connecting WordProof to Yoast SEO is easy and requires only a few steps. Once the WordProof plugin is installed and set up, you can manage it directly from the Yoast SEO dashboard. This allows for seamless integration into your existing SEO strategy. Linking to the blockchain:WordProof uses blockchain technology to secure your content. This requires a connection to a supported blockchain platform that stores the timestamps. The integration with Yoast SEO ensures that these processes run in the background without the need for additional technical knowledge. Compatibility with existing plugins:WordProof is compatible with most popular WordPress plugins, including caching plugins and security solutions. This ensures that the integration works smoothly and there are no conflicts with your existing website configuration. Conclusion: WordProof as a trust booster The integration of WordProof in Yoast SEO offers you a unique opportunity to boost trust in your content and support your SEO efforts at the same time. By using blockchain-based timestamps, you can prove the authenticity of your content and position yourself as a trustworthy source in search results. At a time when credibility is becoming increasingly important online, WordProof can be a crucial factor in the success of your website. Core Web Vitals support Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics introduced by Google that measure the user experience on a website. They play an increasingly important role in search engine rankings as they directly evaluate the loading speed, responsiveness and visual stability of a page. Yoast SEO does not offer a direct setting for Core Web Vitals, but supports the optimization of these metrics through various features and integrations that can be embedded into your SEO strategy. In this section, I'll show you how you can use Yoast SEO to improve your website's Core Web Vitals to boost performance in search results. Why Core Web Vitals are important Google has integrated the Core Web Vitals as central metrics in its ranking algorithm to evaluate the quality of the user experience on websites. The three most important metrics are: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures the load time of the largest visible block of content on a page. A good LCP rating is less than 2.5 seconds. First Input Delay (FID): Measures the time it takes for the page to respond to the first user interaction. An FID of less than 100 milliseconds is considered good. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Evaluates the visual stability of a page by measuring how often visible elements shift during loading. A CLS value below 0.1 is optimal. Improving these metrics not only leads to a better user experience, but can also significantly improve your SEO performance. How Yoast SEO supports the optimization of Core Web Vitals While Yoast SEO doesn't offer direct control over Core Web Vitals, the plugin helps you optimize your site's structure and content to help improve these metrics. Here are some ways you can use Yoast SEO to improve your Core Web Vitals: Content and Media Optimization:Yoast SEO helps you structure your content so that it loads efficiently. This includes optimizing images and other media elements, which are often the main cause of poor LCP scores. Make sure you use Yoast SEO's recommended image sizes and formats to minimize load times. Structured data and schema markup:By implementing structured data and schema markup with Yoast SEO, search engines can interpret the content of your page faster. This can indirectly help the most important content load faster, which has a positive impact on the LCP metric. Avoid unnecessary scripts and plugins:Yoast SEO helps you to reduce the number of plugins and scripts used on your website. A well-optimized website should only use the most necessary plugins to avoid unnecessary loading times. This has a direct impact on FID and CLS, as fewer external resources need to be loaded. Mobile-friendliness and Responsive Design:Yoast SEO provides insights and recommendations to improve the mobile-friendliness of your website. Since the Core Web Vitals are also geared towards mobile devices, responsive design is crucial. Yoast SEO helps you to ensure that your website performs well on all devices, improving the CLS metric in particular. Integration with external tools:Yoast SEO integrates seamlessly with Google Search Console and other analytics tools that provide detailed reports on your Core Web Vitals. You can use these reports to make targeted improvements. Yoast SEO helps you take the right actions based on this data. Best practices for optimizing core web vitals with Yoast SEO To get the most out of Yoast SEO and improve your Core Web Vitals, you should consider the following best practices: Regularly check Core Web Vitals:Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or Google Search Console to regularly check the performance of your Core Web Vitals. Make sure you implement the recommendations for improving these metrics. Optimize images and media:Use Yoast SEO's recommended image formats and sizes to optimize load times. Consider using lazy loading to load images only when they become visible, which improves the LCP metric. Minimize resources: Reduce the number of plugins used and ensure that all scripts used are optimized. Remove unnecessary scripts that could increase loading time and keep your website as lean as possible. Mobile optimization:Make sure your website works just as well on mobile devices as it does on desktop computers. Good mobile optimization not only improves the user experience, but also the core web vitals. Continuous improvement:Core Web Vitals are not a static metric. Google continuously adjusts its requirements, which is why it is important to regularly work on optimizing your website. Yoast SEO provides a solid foundation on which to build your SEO and Core Web Vitals optimizations. Integration of Core Web Vitals into the SEO strategy Performance monitoring:Regularly monitor the performance of your website using Google Lighthouse or other appropriate tools that give you detailed insights into the Core Web Vitals. This data should then be incorporated into the continuous improvement of your website performance. Optimization through caching and content delivery networks (CDNs): Consider using caching plugins and CDNs to improve the loading speed of your website. These tools help deliver your website's content to the user faster, which has a positive impact on the LCP metric. Code optimization:Minimize HTML, CSS and JavaScript to reduce loading times. Yoast SEO can be used in combination with appropriate tools such as Autoptimize or WP Rocket to optimize your website's code to improve Core Web Vitals. Conclusion: Core Web Vitals as the key to better SEO Core Web Vitals play a crucial role in modern SEO. By integrating Yoast SEO into your website optimization strategy, you can ensure that your content is not only strong in terms of content, but also technically compliant with current requirements. By implementing the best practices of Yoast SEO in combination with the optimization of Core Web Vitals, you can create a user-friendly, fast and stable website that impresses both users and search engines. Tools Under SEO → Tools you will find the practical toolbox from Yoast SEO. Import and export You can use the import/export module to export your Yoast SEO settings (e.g. as a backup or for use on your other WordPress sites) or import them. For example, you could simply import the settings I recommend into your Yoast SEO and save yourself the work of configuring them. You can find out how to do this → here! Yoast SEO Premium also allows you to easily import existing redirects: e.g. from the .htaccess file, from a .csv file or from other plugins. File editor Here you can easily edit your robots.txt and, if available, your .htaccess. Collective editing Bulk editing allows you to view and edit the meta descriptions and SEO titles of all available pages and posts on your website at a glance. Your SEO titles and meta descriptions are the flagship of your website. After all, they appear in the search results of search engine services and are therefore the first thing a potential visitor sees of your website - before they even visit it. It is therefore highly recommended to maintain them well and carefully. Include the main keyword of the respective page/post in the description. Premium In the „Premium” section you will find an overview of all available Yoast SEO extensions. These are premium plugins (paid) that fulfill special SEO requirements: Video SEO for WordPress Local SEO for WordPress News SEO for WordPress SEO for WooCommerce Yoast SEO Premium In case anyone is wondering, I have absolutely nothing to do with Yoast and am not paid by Yoast to regularly update this article for the past 5 years. I do this in my spare time because I enjoy it. Simply import optimal start settings Set up YOAST SEO completely with the help of these instructions. This is the best way to get to know all the functions and features of the plugin. It is better not to import prefabricated settings text data unseen! You will still have to do some hard work anyway. The settings are the least of the problems: SEO → Display in search results → Enter company info and set up the corresponding links in the „Webmaster Tools” tab. (→ Instructions above) Enter title and metas Link your social networks Activate breadcrumbs → Anchor text for the start page (use your page name) ... and of course the optimization of every single post and every single page in the corresponding editing window. With the installation of Yoast SEO, an SEO box has been implemented there, which you can use to define the focus keyword (focus keyword / focus keyphrase) and optimize your post accordingly. Use the tips in the Page analysis tab to prepare the content for SEO! You can find further useful background information and basic knowledge as well as knowledge for advanced users under the following links: Google Search Central Blog: for the latest updates and best practices from Google. Moz Blog: for deeper insights into SEO strategies and trends. Ahrefs Blog: for comprehensive SEO guides and advanced techniques. Yoast Developer Blog: for technical details on the latest plugin updates and how to use them. Trust is good, control is better. Advertisement 😉 With the online tool seobility, you can put your own website through its paces in terms of SEO. Valuable insights can be gained even with a free user account. Yoast SEO offers numerous tools to enable good on-page SEO on your WordPress website, but ultimately there are many other “little things” that actually make up good search engine optimization. The seobility Crawler helps you to find exactly these little things and errors with practical tips and provides you with useful suggestions for improvement. Try out the seobility SEO Crawler Do you still have questions? Yes, the Yoast SEO plugin is extensive and YES, there really is a lot to adjust. All the texts for titles and descriptions alone... there is a risk that you will postpone the whole thing until tomorrow and let SEO be SEO. But don't do that, because the extra work is worth it! Ultimately, you want to „sell” something in some form via your webshop, your blog or your homepage with blog and webshop. Either an image, your services or your products, or everything at once. Please share this article on your Facebook page, Twitter, Google+ or another social platform of your choice. Below you will find the share buttons. Sharing is quick and easy and I would really appreciate it. Yoast SEO guide 2026 - Tips &amp; guide for the best setup Yoast SEO Plugin 2026: Step-by-step guide to optimal configuration. Tips &amp; guide for the best setup and ranking with WordPress. Course provider: Person Name of the course provider: Saskia Teichmann Course provider URL: https://www.saskialund.de/ Course mode: Online Workload of the course: PT03H Course type: Free SincerelySaskia Teichmann