Hi, I'm Javier Chiva, specialist in web development with WordPress and PHP. In the world of web development, it is crucial not only to create visually appealing and functional sites, but also to optimise them for search engines. A Good SEO positioning is essential to increase visibility. and traffic to your website.
One of the most popular plugins and effective for optimising SEO in WordPress is Yoast SEO. In this article, I will explain in detail what Yoast SEO is, what its benefits are and how you can install and configure this powerful plugin on your WordPress site.
What is Yoast SEO?
Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin designed to help website owners optimise their content for search engines.
Since its launch, has become an essential tool for bloggers, web developers, web developers and anyone looking to improve the SEO of their website.
This plugin offers a number of features that simplify the SEO optimisation process, including:
- Content Analysis: Yoast SEO evaluates your content and provides recommendations to improve keyword optimisation, readability and overall text structure.
- Sitemap generation: It facilitates the creation and management of XML sitemaps, which are essential for search engines to index your site effectively.
- Optimisation of Meta Descriptions and Meta Keywords: It allows you to customise the meta descriptions and meta keywords for each page and post, thus improving its relevance and visibility.
- Breadcrumb configuration: Improve the internal navigation of your website by implementing breadcrumbs, which make it easier for users and search engines to understand the structure of your site.
- Control of Robots.txt and .htaccess files: It provides tools to edit these crucial files directly from the WordPress administration panel, allowing you to control how search engines interact with your site.
Yoast SEO also guides you in creating new content that is aligned with SEO best practices.
By using Yoast SEO, you can ensure that your website is well optimised for search engines, which can lead to more traffic and better online visibility.
Benefits of Using Yoast SEO in WordPress
Yoast SEO is one of the most popular and powerful plugins available for WordPress, and for good reason. Here are some of the main benefits of using Yoast SEO on your website:
Keyword Optimisation
Yoast SEO allows you to optimise your content for specific keywords, ensuring that every page and post is aligned with your SEO goals.
You can add a main keyword and get recommendations on how to improve keyword density in your text.
Readability Analysis
This plugin includes a readability analysis tool that evaluates your content based on several factors, such as sentence length, use of passive voice and paragraph structure.
This will help you create content that is user-friendly and easy to read for your visitors.
Generation of XML Sitemaps
Yoast SEO makes it easy to create XML sitemapswhich are essential for search engines to crawl and index your site effectively.
A well-structured sitemap can significantly improve the indexing of your content.
Configuration of Meta Descriptions and Meta Keywords
It allows you to customise meta descriptions and meta keywords for each page and post, which is crucial for improving the relevance and visibility of your content in search results.
Handling of Breadcrumbs
Yoast SEO helps you implement breadcrumbs on your website, improving navigation and site structure for both users and search engines.
Breadcrumbs provide a better user experience by showing the navigation path within your site.
Editing Robots.txt and .htaccess files
The plugin includes tools to edit important files such as robots.txt and .htaccess directly from the WordPress admin panel.
This gives you full control over how search engines interact with your site.
Social Networking
Yoast SEO allows you to define how your content is shared on social media, optimising the appearance of your posts when shared on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
Google and Bing Console Verification
Facilitates the verification of your website in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, giving you access to important data about your site's performance in search engines.
By using Yoast SEO, you can significantly improve your website's SEO, increase its visibility in search engines and provide a better user experience.
This plugin will optimise your content and also guide you through the process of creating SEO-friendly content, ensuring that your website is always optimised for success.
How to Install Yoast SEO on WordPress
Installing Yoast SEO on your WordPress site is a simple process that you can complete in just a few minutes.
Here is a step-by-step explanation of how to do it:
Login to your WordPress administration panel
- Log in to your WordPress administration panel.
Go to the Plugins section
- In the side menu, click on "Plugins" and then "Add new".
Search for "Yoast SEO".
- In the search bar on the top right, type "Yoast SEO". You will see a list of results with several related plugins.
Install Yoast SEO
- Find the Yoast SEO plugin in the search results and click the "Install Now" button. Wait a few moments while WordPress downloads and installs the plugin.
Activate the plugin
- Once installed, the "Install Now" button will change to "Activate". Click "Activate" to enable the plugin on your site.
Yoast SEO Initial Setup
Once you have installed and activated Yoast SEO, the next step is to configure the plugin to work optimally on your site.
Here is a basic guide for the initial setup:
General Settings
Go to the "SEO" menu in your WordPress administration panel and select "General". Here you will find the setup wizard that will guide you through the basic steps.
Configuration Wizard
The configuration wizard will help you set the initial SEO preferences for your site.
This process includes selecting the type of website, choosing social media profiles and configuring basic SEO settings.
Content Configuration
In the "Search engine appearance" section, you can define how your pages and posts will be displayed in the search results.
Here you can customise title templates and meta descriptions, as well as enable or disable options such as breadcrumbs.
Site Map
In the "Features" section, make sure that the "XML Sitemaps" option is enabled. This will allow Yoast SEO to automatically generate a sitemap for your site, which is crucial for search engine indexing.
Integration with Google Search Console
Connect Yoast SEO with Google Search Console to get important data about your site's performance. This will allow you to identify and fix SEO issues more effectively.
With this initial setup, your site is ready to start benefiting from Yoast SEO's powerful features.
Remember that you can always adjust and customise the plugin settings according to the specific needs of your site.
