Do you want to write high-quality content for your WordPress website? If yes, it is essential to choose the best SEO plugin that can enhance the quality of your content. Yoast and Rank Math are both excellent SEO plugins, and they compete with each other. Both SEO plugins offer numerous free and paid features.
You cannot use both of them simultaneously, so you have to make a choice. Which one is better between Yoast and Rank Math? According to WordPress, over 5 million people are actively using Yoast. This is a significant user base, which is a good thing. However, Rank Math, despite being relatively new, has gained a massive audience in a short time due to its outstanding features and user-friendly interface.
As an SEO expert, I have to test various SEO tools to assist with improving search rankings. Therefore, I conducted tests on Rank Math and Yoast SEO plugins. In this article, I will provide you with essential information based on my experience regarding the features, user interface, pricing, content optimization, and more for Yoast and Rank Math. This information will help you make an informed choice between the two.
It’s going to be quite fascinating! So, be sure not to miss any points, or you might encounter difficulties in ranking on Google.
But first, you need to know what Yoast SEO and Rank Math are (What is Yoast and Rank Math).
What is Yoast SEO Plugin?
To understand what Yoast SEO is, you should also take a look at its history. Yoast was launched in 2010 and has become a very popular SEO plugin for WordPress. Its creator, Joost De Valk, has its headquarters in the Netherlands, where more than 80 people work.
In Yoast, you’ll find numerous free and paid features that help you run your website. The content analysis feature in Yoast provides essential insights about your content and suggests ways to improve it.
How to use wordpress Yoast SEO Plugin for On-page SEO
What is Rank Math SEO Plugin?
Rank Math is another trending SEO plugin that has gained over 7 million active downloads in just three years. It was launched in 2018 by Bhanu Ahluwalia and his team. According to their website, their headquarters are in New Delhi, where more than 25 people work.
Rank Math is competing with Yoast thanks to its features, user interface, in-depth analysis, and more.
Let’s see how important an SEO plugin can be for your website.
Why is SEO Plugin Important?
Ranking in Google search results requires following Google’s guidelines, and all websites present on the internet need to work in accordance with these guidelines. However, beginner and intermediate bloggers often lack the full knowledge of these guidelines. So, how can they rank their websites? This is where SEO plugins come into play because they guide bloggers on how to write better high-quality content that can rank on Google.
Although there are many SEO plugins in the market, not all are the same. They come with different pricing, features, interfaces, and performance. Therefore, you need to choose wisely based on your specific needs.
What is SEO and how to use it in blogging?
Google has officially announced over 200 ranking factors that it uses to judge whether any content is suitable for ranking on the first page of Google or not. As a blogger, it’s essential to understand that if your blog post doesn’t rank on the first page of Google search results, you won’t get as much traffic.
According to Backlinko, results that rank on Google’s first page receive a 31.7% click-through rate (CTR), while results on the second page get only a 0.78% CTR. Do you get the point? If you’re an expert blogger, you can work without an SEO plugin, but if you’re a beginner or intermediate blogger, I recommend using either Yoast or Rank Math.
Now, let’s see how Yoast vs. Rank Math work and which one might be better for you.
Yoast vs Rank Math: Which is a better SEO plugin
I know that choosing between Yoast and Rank Math can be a challenging task. However, in this section, I will provide you with vital information about both of these plugins. I’m 100% sure that, in the end, without any confusion, you will be able to choose one of these plugins.
Rank Math and Yoast: Free vs Paid Features
Both Yoast and Rank Math offer a range of free and paid features that can help improve your website’s search ranking. However, having more features doesn’t necessarily mean one is better than the other. It’s important to evaluate your specific needs and preferences to determine which plugin is the best fit for your website. In the end, the choice between Yoast and Rank Math depends on your individual requirements and how well each plugin aligns with your SEO and content optimization goals.
Features | Yoast | Rank Math |
SEO Titles and Meta Description | Free | Free |
Social Media Description | Free | Free |
Keyword Analysis | Focus Is Free | Multiple Focus Is Free |
XML Sitemap | Free | Free |
Schema | Free | Free |
Data Analytics From Search Console | Free | Free |
Local SEO | Paid | Free |
Image SEO | Paid | Free |
Internal Linking Suggestion | Paid | Free |
Breadcrumbs | Free | Free |
Redirects Manager | Paid | Free |
Google Analytics | Free | Free |
WooCommerce SEO | Free | Free |
Keyword Rank Checker | Don’t Have | Paid |
Google Trends Integration | Don’t Have | Paid |
Google Video Sitemap | Paid | Paid |
Google News Sitemap | Paid | Paid |
Local SEO For Multiple Locations | Paid | Paid |
Google Adsense | Don’t Have | Paid |
These are some of the important features of both plugins that are crucial for beginners and mediocre bloggers. As you can see, there are differences in the important features of both plugins. However, it’s not just the features you need to consider – you should also take a look at their pricing. It’s essential to evaluate how well these features align with your specific needs and how they fit within your budget. This will help you make an informed decision when choosing between Yoast and Rank Math.
In terms of features, Rank Math appears to have taken the lead over Yoast. It offers more extensive features and functionality, which can be beneficial for bloggers and website owners looking for a comprehensive SEO plugin. However, it’s important to note that the right choice between Yoast and Rank Math depends on your specific needs and how you prioritize different features for your website. Make sure to assess your requirements and budget before making a decision.
Yoast vs Rank Math Pricing
Both Yoast and Rank Math offer free versions of their SEO plugins, which you can easily install on your WordPress website. You have two options for downloading these plugins: either download them from their respective websites and then install them on your website or go directly to the WordPress plugin section and install them from there.
After installing the plugins, you can upgrade them at any time when you’re ready or if you have the budget. Keep in mind that both plugins have different pricing structures, so it’s important to check the pricing details before purchasing a plugin.
Rank Math Pricing
Currently, Rank Math offers two types of yearly paid plans to its users. This will undoubtedly assist you in your blogging journey.
- Pro Plan – $59: With this plan, you can host an unlimited number of personal websites, along with the capacity to track more than 500 keywords and enjoy 24×7 support.
- Premium Plan – $199: This plan allows you to support client websites and offers the ability to track more than 10,000 keywords, along with 24×7 priority support.
Please note that the specific pricing and plan details for Rank Math may change over time, so it’s a good idea to visit the Rank Math website or contact their support for the most up-to-date information.
Yost Pricing
Yoast offers 2 premium plans to its users, both of which encompass nearly all the features.
The core premium plan from Yoast allows you to access almost all of its paid features, such as multiple keyword analysis, redirect manager, internal linking suggestions, and more.
In addition, Yoast provides its SEO expert academy course as part of this bundle. It comprises approximately 13+ SEO training modules that will assist you in becoming a successful blogger.
You can have all these benefits with a website license for $89 per year. Please note that pricing and plan details for Yoast may change over time, so it’s a good idea to visit the Yoast website or contact their support for the most up-to-date information.
In Yoast’s second premium plan, you have the option to choose a specific type of SEO extension, and all these can be obtained for the same price of $69 per website.
- Video SEO
- Local SEO
- News SEO
- WooCommerce Advance SEO
Why is Rank Math cheaper than Yoast SEO: 3 Important Reasons
- RankMath offers its high-level plans at a lower cost compared to Yoast.
- With Rank Math’s premium plan, you can support unlimited client websites, whereas Yoast does not offer this.
- Rank Math provides all features in a single premium plan, while Yoast has multiple premium plans.
Yoast vs Rank Math Interface
Altogether, excluding the editor, both have almost the same interface. As you may know, WordPress has updated its editor in Gutenberg, also known as the block editor. The interface has completely changed, and you can now edit your content more efficiently using a block editor. Let’s see how you can use these two SEO plugins in this updated environment.
Rank Math
Rank Math has a very impressive and user-friendly interface that can be easily operated within the WordPress block editor. However, it looks quite different when operating in the classic editor. In this interface, you’ll find four major sections that can be accessed easily by clicking the “Toolbar” icon.
- General: In this section, you’ll find important features such as meta description, focus keywords, and content analysis.
- Advanced: With this, you can edit some advanced settings like robots meta box and canonical URLs.
- Schema: This helps you easily change your content’s schema from blog posts to news articles, and basic articles
- Social: Using this, you can set up social share information for your content.
It’s not over yet; whether you have Rank Math’s premium version or not, you can still use Rank Math’s unique Analytics system interface, which provides you the ability to track:
- Google search console data in a free version.
- Keywords ranking in a paid version.
- Traffic analytics in a paid version.
Yoast SEO
You can use Yoast SEO much like Rank Math. If you want to use it in the classic editor, you’ll find all the options below the editor. In the block editor, all the functions are provided in the toolbar, which Yoast offers to every user, whether they have a free or paid license. All the tools are divided into different sections for easy use. These sections include:
- SEO Analysis: Here, you can add or edit the title and description, as well as the focus keyword, and preview how it will appear.
- Readability Analysis: This section provides a readability score for your content, indicating whether your content is of high quality or not.
- Schema: This allows you to prepare schema markup for crawling bots.
- Social Share: With this feature, you can prepare your content’s social share information.
RankMath is the clear winner in this category
Content Analysis and Optimisation
Yoast and Rank Math both analyze your content and provide suggestions for improvements. You can optimize your content according to these suggestions for better search rankings. Let’s understand how both plugins offer recommendations:
Rank Math
It’s quite surprising that even with your free license, you can add up to 5 focus keywords. All you need to do is enter the keywords, and Rank Math will start analyzing your content. After that, it will provide you with a score ranging from 0 to 100, along with color-coding. This score and color-coding depend on the quality of your content.
If your score is above 80, Rank Math will highlight your content in green. This indicates that you don’t need to make changes to your content. However, you should still carefully check all the recommendations, such as basic SEO, additional, total readability, and content readability.
Yoast SEO
In Yoast SEO’s free version, you can only analyze your content for a single focus keyword. Only in the paid plan can you add multiple focus keywords, which will cost you approximately $89 per year.
As you may know, both Yoast and Rank Math are SEO plugins that analyze your content in a similar way. However, the way their recommendations are presented can be quite different.
For example, you might prefer to purchase items from a well-maintained store where everything is easily accessible, or you might choose a place where the items are available but not well organized, causing you some inconvenience.
Yoast doesn’t provide you with a specific number score like Rank Math, but when you enter your keyword, Yoast starts analyzing your content and gives you color-coded emojis. These emojis depend on the quality of your content:
- Green: Best quality content.
- Yellow: Needs some improvement.
- Red: Requires significant improvement.
This is just the SEO analysis report, but the Yoast SEO plugin also provides you with a readability report, which tells you whether your content is easy to read or not. This feature is available in a separate section. It’s crucial because if readers can’t easily engage with your content, you won’t achieve a high ranking.
Account Setup Process Yost vs Rank Math
Both Yoast and Rank Math have done a great job in making the setup process user-friendly. They provide two types of setup wizards: basic and advanced. If a user is not familiar with settings, they can complete the basic setup wizard. Afterward, users can also configure advanced settings if needed.
Rank Math
When running the setup process for Rank Math, it’s advisable to choose the advanced settings. Configuring Rank Math’s advanced settings is straightforward and can save you from having to redo it later. Let’s take a look at the essential settings you’ll need to complete in the advanced setup:
- Your website information
- Connect it with your Google analytics and search console
- Configure the sitemap
- other basic things
- Webmaster Tools: Here, you can integrate your website with various search engine webmaster tools like Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and Yandex Webmaster.
- Breadcrumbs: This is an essential navigation element for your website. You can configure how breadcrumbs appear on your site, which is important for user experience and SEO.
- 404 Monitor: This feature helps you track and manage 404 error pages on your site.
- Redirections: You can set up 301 redirects for your site, ensuring that visitors and search engines are redirected appropriately.
- Role Manager: This feature allows you to control what each user role can access and modify within Rank Math.
- Rich Snippets: This is where you can enable or disable specific rich snippet types for your content.
- XML Sitemap: Rank Math offers advanced options for fine-tuning your XML sitemaps.
- Link Counter: The link counter helps you keep track of both internal and external links in your content.
- Local SEO: If you’re running a local business or have a website with a local focus, you can set up your local SEO details.
By completing these advanced settings during the initial setup, you can ensure that Rank Math is configured optimally for your website’s needs. This can save you time and provide a more efficient and accurate SEO management experience.
Yoast SEO
Yoast also provides a single installation wizard, similar to Rank Math. However, there is only one setup wizard you need to complete. In this wizard, you’ll configure some crucial settings, such as
- Site Type: You can specify whether your website is a blog, an online shop, a news website, or another type.
- Environment: You can choose to set up Yoast SEO in either a development or a live environment.
- Search Engine Visibility: This setting allows you to enable or disable search engine indexing of your site, which can be useful during development.
- Title Settings: Here, you can set up title templates and other settings related to how your pages appear in search engine results.
- Notifications: You can decide whether you want to receive notifications from Yoast about updates and improvements to their plugin.
Completing these settings in the Yoast setup wizard ensures that the plugin is configured according to your site’s specific requirements. It streamlines the SEO optimization process for your WordPress site.
Yoast and Rank Math: Pros and Cons
The comparison between Yoast and Rank Math will remain incomplete if you don’t consider their pros and cons. Every tool has its benefits and limitations, and it’s essential to understand them before making an informed decision about which one to use.
Rank Math SEO Plugins
I understand that you’re eager to know which is the best plugin for you between Yoast and Rank Math. However, before making a decision, it’s essential to understand the pros and cons of Rank Math. This will help you make an informed choice that aligns with your specific needs and preferences. Let’s proceed by discussing the pros and cons of Rank Math.
Pros
- User-Friendly Interface: Rank Math offers an easy-to-use interface, making it suitable for beginner bloggers to optimize their content effectively.
- Import SEO Settings: If you are switching from another SEO plugin to Rank Math, it will automatically export your existing SEO settings.
- Free Version: Rank Math’s free version provides robust features and functionality.
- Integration with Google Console: It seamlessly integrates your website with Google Search Console, assisting you in resolving crawling issues.
- Lightweight Plugin: Rank Math has minimal code and is lightweight.
- Rich Snippets: With Rank Math, you can easily add rich snippets to your website.
- 24/7 Support Team: Rank Math provides 24/7 support to help you address any website-related issues.
- Redirection Manager: It includes a redirection manager to manage URL redirects.
- Multiple Focus Keywords: You can optimize your content for up to 5 focus keywords.
- Auto Alt Tag Feature: Rank Math automatically adds alt tags to images in case you forget to add them manually.
- Dedicated Media Team and Facebook Group: Rank Math has a dedicated media team and a supportive Facebook group to assist users.
Cons
- As you may already know, Rank Math was recently launched in 2018, so it might have some bugs or issues that can affect your user experience.
- One notable drawback of Rank Math is that while it supports most SEO plugins, not all SEO plugins support Rank Math. Therefore, if you decide to switch from Rank Math to another SEO plugin, you may not be able to export your SEO settings, and you would need to configure all settings from scratch.
- Despite these potential drawbacks, Rank Math offers a powerful set of features and advantages that have made it a popular choice for many WordPress users. Now, let’s discuss the pros and cons of Yoast SEO.
Yoast SEO Plugin
Yoast SEO is one of the most popular SEO plugins with millions of users and a 4.9+ rating on WordPress. It’s known for being a top-quality plugin that helps improve your website’s search engine rankings. However, like any tool, it has its own set of pros and cons that are important to understand. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of using Yoast SEO.
Pros
- Its interface is user-friendly, making it easy to use.
- It promptly notifies you of any SEO issues on your website.
- It safeguards your website from content scraping via RSS feeds.
- It enjoys the trust of millions of users and has a wide user base.
- You can use the free version of Yoast.
- It provides in-depth guidance on your content topics.
- Yoast SEO offers suggestions for SEO and readability, helping you improve your content.
- It’s lightweight, leading to faster website loading.
- Yoast provides a dedicated forum for support, where you can get solutions to any SEO-related issues.
- You can easily add titles and descriptions to your metadata.
Cons
- Yoast can’t fully understand your content.
- Yoast allows you to add only one focus keyword for analyzing your content.
Now that you’re familiar with all the important pros and cons of Yoast and Rank Math, it should help you choose the best SEO plugin for your needs.
Who is Winner and Who is Looser!
Rank Math is unquestionably providing a more modern free and paid feature set, a more quality interface, and is more beginner-friendly. You can add more focus keywords, allowing you to optimize your content more effectively.
As you’ve seen, Rank Math has gained more attraction over the past few years. They are preparing a roadmap to compete with Yoast, and I believe they will soon surpass Yoast as well.
Based on performance, features, extensions, interface, and more, it can be said that Rank Math is better than Yoast. I found Rank Math to be a good option, which is why I canceled my Yoast SEO subscription and installed Rank Math. I’ve been using it since 2020, and I haven’t faced any issues so far.
If you’re thinking of creating a new blog, I would recommend using Rank Math instead of Yoast because it offers more free features that can help you make your blog successful.
What have you noticed about Rank Math and Yoast? Do you have a better SEO plugin in mind? Which SEO plugin are you currently using? Would you consider switching to Rank Math in place of your current SEO plugin?
If you’re using Rank Math right now, please share your experience in the comments below. It can help others understand whether Rank Math is better or worse than Yoast.
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