36 replies to this topic

[newhope]

anyone using Yoast WordPress SEO....wondering what the best way to integrate....thanks

[catrina]

I haven't used it but perhaps some customers have.

[kev2719]

I use Yoast SEO and the configuration is a little complex. I have detailed the steps below; I paid good money to get this set up and this works. Some of these details have been moved in the latest version but you can find the sections with some effort Install and activate the plugin. In your blog??™s wp-admin area, go to "SEO >> Dashboard". This brings you to "Yoast WordPress SEO: General". Check the "Enabled" radio button beside "Plugin Status". Configure the following "Dashboard" options: Under "General Settings" check: "Use meta keywords tag" "Disable date in snippet preview for posts" For those using Google Webmaster Tools, Yahoo! Site Explorer or Bing Webmaster tools, enter the appropriate 'verify meta values' under "Webmaster Tools". Under "XML Sitemap" check "Check this box to enable XML sitemap functionality." This will cause other settings to appear. Under "General Settings" check "Add images to XML Sitemap." Under "After sitemap generation:" check: "Ping Google." "Ping Bing." "Ping Yahoo!." "Ping Ask.com." Scroll down and click "Save Yoast WordPress SEO Settings". (We will (re)build XML Sitemap later) Go to "SEO >> Titles" and configure the following options: In section "Singular pages", under options "Post" and "Page", enter the following: "Title template": %%title%% "Meta description template": %%excerpt%% "Meta keywords template": %%tag%% In section "Taxonomies", under option "Category", enter the following: "Title template": %%category%% | %%sitename%% "Meta description template": %%category_description%% "Meta keywords template": %%tag%% In section "Taxonomies", under option "Post_tag", enter the following: "Title template": %%tag%% | %%sitename%% "Meta description template": %%tag_description%% "Meta keywords template": %%tag%% In section "Special Pages", under option "Author Archives", enter the following: "Title template": %%name%% | %%sitename%% "Meta description template": %%excerpt%% "Meta keywords template": %%tag%% In section "Special Pages", under option "Date Archives", enter the following: "Title template": %%title%% | %%sitename%% "Meta description template": %%excerpt%% In section "Special Pages", for options "Search pages" and "404 pages", in the "Title template:" field enter "%%searchphrase%% | %%sitename%%". Scroll down and save settings. Go to "SEO >> Indexation" and configure the following options: In section "Indexation Roles", check the following options: "This site's search result pages" "The login and register pages" "All admin pages" "Author archives" "Date-based archives" In section "Internal nofollow settings", check the following options: "Nofollow login and registration links" "Nofollow comments links" "Replace the Meta Widget with a nofollowed one" In section "Archive Settings", check the following options: "Disable the author archives" "Disable the date-based archives" In section "Robots Meta Settings", check the following options: "Add noodp meta robots tag sitewide" "Add noydir meta robots tag sitewide" In section "Clean up section", check the following options: "Hide RSD Links" "Hide WLW Manifest Links" "Hide WordPress Generator" "Hide Index Relation Links" "Hide Previous & Next Post Links" "Hide Shortlink for posts" Scroll down and save settings. Go to "SEO >> RSS" and configure the following options: In section "Permalink Setting", check the following options: "Strip the category base (usually /category/) from the category URL." "Redirect attachment URL's to parent post URL." In section "Canonical Settings" set "Force Transport" to "Leave default". Scroll down and save settings. Go to "SEO >> RSS" and configure the following options: In section "RSS Feeds", check the following options: "noindex the comment RSS feeds" "Ping the Search Engines with feed on new post" In section "Content of your RSS Feed", Place the following in "Content to put after each post:" textarea: A post from: Your Keyword Here Scroll down and save settings. Go to "SEO >> Import & Export". If you have previously used any of the plugins on the page and wish to import your settings, check the appropriate box(es), including the "Delete the old data after import? (recommended)" box, then click "Import". Once you have your blog set up, you can come here and export your settings to a file on your computer, then upload those settings on your next blog. Go to "SEO >> Edit files". Once you have your robots.txt file set up, you can access it and the .htaccess files from here to make any updates or adjustments. It is recommended to back up your blogs files before making any changes. Go to "Pages". Find your index page and click "Edit". Scroll down to configure "Wordpress SEO by Yoast" settings: On the 'General' tab, configure the following: In "Focus Keyword:" enter the main keyword of your site. In "SEO Title:" enter the title of your page. In "Meta Description:" enter the meta description of your blog. This is what will show in your listings. You are allowed 155 characters, but 139 is recommended. In "Meta Keywords:" enter your primary keyword first, followed by 3 -4 more related keywords, all comma separated. Once you have the information filled in, you can look at the 'Snippet Preview" to see what your listing will look like in Google. Any changes made to your titles or keywords will show here as well. Click on the "Page Analysis" tab. The following information will help you with your analysis: Entries tagged with a check mark are good to go. Entries tagged "Okay" are good, but need some work. Entries tagged with an exclamation mark need immediate attention. Follow the recommendations beside each entry to better optimize your page. Update/publish your page (if necessary). Go to "Posts". Using the same principles described above to optimize your index page, optimize 2 primary posts and any other post you deem important. Update/publish your post(s) as necessary. After your main page and primary posts are optimized, return to the "SEO" dashboard. Check the services to be pinged (Google, Bing, Yahoo! and Ask.com) then scroll down and (re)build your XML sitemap.

[amirbkhan]

wow. talk about sharing! thanks Kevin. you just saved me a lot of time (and money) Amir

[newhope]

wow is right....and thank you....if your ever in the philly area let me know...I owe either a beer or a cheese steak your choice....two questions....kinda like Ren & Stimpy saying don't push the red button...here goes 1st Question: "SEO >> Titles" do I check the "Force rewrite titles" my gut feeling is yes....just wanted to check 2nd Question: is this a bear to uninstall....getting the feeling I should back everything up other than that thanks....I really appreciate this

[joie]

i wonder which one do you think is better, this or the all in one seo

[Simon_P]

Yoast has a built in sitemap.

[dsalomon1]

So far, I like the plugin. But I am concerned about one thing: does anyone know how to remove "" from the source code of all my site's pages?

[Simon_P]

Here is the plugin support forum: http://wordpress.org...s/wordpress-seo

[Danny]

@dsalomon1 To be honest, why on earth would you want to do that? The plug-in is totally free and is pretty much the best SEO plug-in available for Wordpress.

[kennyb]

I use All in one SEO and Google XML Sitemaps.

[dsalomon1]

Thanks, Simon. I will search the forum as well. Danny, I agree--it's a great plugin. And I understand that keeping it is a way to thank the developer, but so is donating (which I've done). I want it removed for SEO purposes--don't want the search engines to catch that I am using it.

[Simon_P]

Search engines do not read CSS or HTML comments, do you have evidence that they do?

[dsalomon1]

I have heard speculation that these sort of comments leave a "footprint" behind and considering all the changes Google is making to their algorithms, I don't want to take any chances.

[Danny]

Hi Dsalomon1 If you've made a donation, then contact Joost and ask him if you there is a way to remove the code.

[gavin_launchpad]

Hi ALL have just started using Yoast's plugin and it is pretty cool and big thanks to kev2719 i was wondering how do those of you using it get around using boxes / higlight / feature etc on a page like for us, all our pages use a highlight section for the page title with an h1 tag we also have boxes on the pages which have keyword rich content yet Yoast's plugin doesn't see all this - so just curious if the search engines do any thoughts? thanks

[WebWerx]

@dsalomon1: Yoast has put in a huge amount of sweat equity into the Development of this (amazing) plugin. So sending him a link is the right thing to do. I have done it on over 100 sites. Take a good look at any site's source code and you will see links back to either the Plugin Author or the Theme author's website. I gladly have a link to www.pagelines.com in my site's source code. What you need to be worried about is links back to spammy sites. This is where you could take a hit from Google et al. Google's new "webspam algorithm update" is their latest foray into the development of optimal SERPs. I pontificate (and have shown myself to be working for White Hat SEO firm -- LOL). Like @Danny says, contact Yoast (if it really bothers you). @joie: We initially used All-In-One on all of our sites (ours & clients). We have since switched to Yoast's plugin and are very happy we did. He keeps on improving it. Also note that he is a globally respected SEO practitioner who has proven himself to be a big-league WordPress expert also.

[gavin_launchpad]

any one have any thoughts on my post above? re pagelines sections and yoasts plugin thanks

[WebWerx]

@gavin_launchpad: Actually the Yoast Plugin does see Features, Boxes & Banners: http://cl.ly/1X3H0b3p3V0Q2T1p0r3X. Have a look for yourself. Look here also: http://cl.ly/1W1s00122g3l1T3X0938 . Plus you can choose to have the above appear in your site's XML sitemap. The search engines will see it (depending on your site's individual settings). We have used with it great (positive) results for many of our SEO clients.

[gavin_launchpad]

thanks @webwerx so when we SEO our home page if using Highlight or features etc - we should also complete those?