Many individuals struggle if they haven’t optimized their websites for search engines. Yoast SEO’s user-friendly content suggestions and uncomplicated installation make it a long-standing favorite.
If you are curious how Rank Math compares to Yoast SEO, consider that Rank Math is quickly becoming the new SEO heavyweight.
Each tool is effective for both beginners and specialists. Even a complete beginner can readily optimize their posts for target keywords. In contrast, Rank Math provides many additional customization options for SEO analysis.
This article will introduce you to these plugins and compare Rank Math vs. Yoast SEO in crucial areas. Let’s go!
Yoast SEO Plugin
WordPress SEO plugin Yoast SEO has been around since 2010 and is the most popular. SEO specialist Joost de Valk, who previously worked at an SEO agency, established Yoast SEO.
Yoast SEO is the industry standard for WordPress SEO plugins. Most WordPress SEO tutorials presume you are using Yoast SEO.
There have been about 288 million downloads of Yoast in all. Due to its popularity, it ranks as one of the most popular WordPress plugins.
Rank Math Plugin
The Rank Math WordPress SEO plugin is relatively new. However, it is expanding rapidly. It was released in late 2018 following years of development and testing. Rank Math is a brand-new SEO plugin, yet MyThemeShop, a recognized WordPress development firm, developed it.
Following Rank Math’s introduction in 2018, its popularity has overflowed, and it now competes for the second position with WordPress SEO plugins. Two years ago, it had virtually no installations, but now it has thousands, which is considered outstanding.
Ranking Math is famous for its unique feature set, distinguishing it from other SEO plugins. Upgrade to the Premium version is feasible. However, the vast majority of customers are content with the free version.
Rank Math vs Yoast Top Features
Now that both plugins have been introduced, let’s compare them in four critical areas.
Keyword optimization
Both Rank Math and Yoast SEO are incredibly useful tools that can assist you in optimizing your website for specific keywords.
Yoast allows you to optimize for a single keyword at a time, but Rank Math allows you to optimize for up to five times as many target keywords on each page, which permits maximum optimization.
Moreover, Rank Math provides an analytical score out of a possible 100. Not only does this score provide an overview of optimization, but it also provides suggestions for how to make improvements.
As with other plugins, Yoast also offers keyword optimization, although its research and suggestions are limited.
Content optimization
Rank Math and Yoast SEO offer optimization features for website content. Using Rank Math, you may achieve maximum optimization by optimizing for up to five times as many target keywords on each page.
Yoast also offers content optimization; however, its analysis and recommendations are far more limited than those of other plugins.
Rank Math offers an optimization checklist that you can use to guarantee that your content is appropriately optimized for search engines (SEO). Yoast does not support this capability.
Comfort of use
Rank Math is commonly regarded as having a more perceptive interface than Yoast SEO due to its intuitive design. Rank Math will provide you with an analytical score out of a maximum of 100. This score will provide an overview of the site’s optimization and suggestions for improving it.
In addition, it provides a checklist for optimization that you may use to ensure that the information you publish is search engine optimization-optimized (SEO).
The Yoast plugin does not support these functions. In addition, the user interface of Rank Math is significantly more intuitive and straightforward, making the program easier to learn and use.
Rank Math Basic Features
- Create templates that automatically apply to the content and manually alter SEO titles/descriptions for each piece of content.
- Establish social media descriptions; manage Facebook and Twitter text and graphics.
- Focus keyword analysis (supports multiple keywords) – enter one or more focus keywords to determine how well your content is optimized for those keywords.
- XML Sitemap – create an XML sitemap with more customization options than the default WordPress sitemap feature offers.
- Structured data/schema — configure site-wide schema markup and manage schema markup for specific content components.
- Search Console – link your website to Google Search Console to automatically upload sitemaps and check Search Console analytics from the WordPress dashboard.
- Local SEO and the Knowledge Graph – optimize your website for local SEO (only one location for free).
- Image SEO – enhance image SEO and set alt and title tags automatically.
- Internal Link Suggestions – While you are working in the editor, Rank Math will recommend internal links to other pages on your site.
- Add breadcrumb navigation to your website.
- Link Counter – count internal and external links in your text.
- Create and administer 301 and 302 redirects
- 404 Monitor – track 404 issues on your website. You could then redirect frequent 404 errors to other web pages.
- Add the tracking code to Google Analytics and view details.
- Set product/shop titles and descriptions for fundamental WooCommerce SEO.
Yoast SEO Basic Features
- Create templates that automatically apply to the content and manually alter SEO titles/descriptions for each piece of content.
- XML Sitemap – generate a more flexible XML sitemap than the WordPress feature enables.
- Focus keyword analysis (just one keyword) – enter a single focus keyword to determine how well your content is optimized for that keyword.
- Sitewide schema – add sitewide schema markup.
- Content schema type – assign a unique schema type to specific bits of material (you can also set a sitewide default).
- Search Console – Search Console site verification
- Establish social media descriptions; manage Facebook and Twitter text and graphics.
- Set the titles and descriptions for products and shop pages, for example.
- Cornerstone content – identify essential pages as “Cornerstone” to assist in their optimization and garner more internal links.
- Add breadcrumb navigation to your website.
- Link Counter – calculate the number of internal links present in your text.
Comparing Rank Math with Yoast SEO's User-Friendly Interface
A crucial part of a WordPress plugin is its user interface. Rank Math and Yoast SEO have highly different appearances, which can impact how a user interacts with them.
Rank Math User Interface
Although the Rank Math Block Editor is fully integrated into blocks, no meta boxes are available. When you click the Rank Math icon in the toolbar, the block editor will open.
You can access four tabs in Rank Math: General, Advanced, Schema, and Social.
The free edition of Rank Math offers an Analytics dashboard for monitoring Google Console results, while the subscription version enables you to compare website traffic and SEO effectiveness.
Yoast SEO User Interface
The Yoast SEO sidebar or a WordPress meta box can be used for editing. The block editors are supported by both the sidebar and classic editors.
However, the meta box is only supported by the classic editor. Each meta box has four tabs: SEO, Readability, Schema, and Social, and it has a distinct purpose.
A sidebar makes it simple and quick to browse all SEO options. Also, you may preview content on Google, Facebook, and Twitter to see how it will appear.
What is the Better Tool, Rank Math or Yoast?
We’ve been given comparative analyses of Rank Math and Yoast SEO. Now is the time to make a decision.
When all factors are considered, there is no choice that would be improper. Each theme has helpful features that will benefit anyone with a WordPress site.
However, if you are interested in more complicated capabilities, you should select Rank Math. It offers more in the free version than Yoast SEO, and you can perform all the essential SEO tasks with the supplied tools in the free version.
Because the plugin comprises modules, you can selectively enable functionalities without burdening your website.
Yet, Yoast SEO is the plugin to use if you only require basic SEO and like the interface that comes with WordPress.
Reason for Switching Yoast to Rank Math
As said previously, Yoast SEO is an excellent plugin. Yet, after over a decade of using this Yoast, many switched to Rank Math. The following are the reasons:
Yoast SEO has hiked costs multiple times over the past few years. In addition, there are no scales for numerous websites or unlimited plans. These situations have already affected my finances.
Rank Math charges only $59.00 per year for an infinite number of owned websites, and they give a free pack with limited kinds of stuff.
Calculation example:
5 webpages Yoast SEO Premium costs $445.50 per year (current prices at the supplier)
5 webpages Rank Math Pro: $ 59 per year (current prices from the vendor) This makes the selection simple.
Compatibility concerns with other plugins: Many have experienced compatibility issues with paid plugins such as Polylang and Kadence.
Yoast SEO is effective. Nevertheless, Rank Math is even more potent.
For instance, RankMath includes a rank tracker and a schema builder, whereas Yoast does not.
Yoast has outsourced some functionalities to premium plugins already included in Rank Math Pro. Video SEO, Local SEO, News SEO, and WooCommerce SEO are the four. Annually, the entire Yoast subscription will cost $229.00 for a single website.
Tools Integration
Rank Math
Rank Math allows connection with advanced post-optimization technologies. It provides integration with tools such as
- Google Search Console
- Automatic canonical URLs
- XML sitemaps
- Social media optimization
- SEO breadcrumbs
- Post preview
- Site verification
- Schema markup
- Advanced redirects
- 404 log
- Automatic video data fill for video schema
- SEO warnings and failed tests
- Advanced “nofollow” link options
- Role manager
Yoast SEO
Nevertheless, Yoast SEO does not offer as many capabilities as Rank Math. It offers only
- Google Search Console
- Automatic canonical URLs
- XML sitemaps
- Social media optimization
- SEO breadcrumbs
- Post preview
- Site verification
- Schema markup
Final Thoughts
Rank Math must be the first option that comes to mind while searching for a high-performance WordPress SEO plugin. The characteristics of Rank Math and Yoast, however, differ significantly.
Rank Math provides many more functions than the ordinary free WordPress plugin. Nonetheless, don’t forget our Overall Winner for Best SEO Plugin: SEO Ultimate Pro.
If you’re a beginner, you might find the free edition of Rank Math’s tool handy for learning more about SEO. Yet, as you become experienced, you’ll find characteristics worth employing more than others. At this stage, your preferences will determine which plugin serves you best.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can import Yoast and HowTo Blocks into Rank Math and use them with the Yoast Block Converter.
Absolutely. Try out all of Rank Math’s capabilities by downloading and installing the free version on your website.
Factors of Rank Math is risk-free. You can find Rank Math on WordPress.org, where all plugins are verified by hand before being added to the repository.
Rank Math utilizes Content AI for superior analysis compared to SEOPress.
