Are you looking to start an online blog? Whether you want to write about travel, food, or family time, among other things, you’ve probably heard of WordPress.
When it comes to website hosting, WP is the giant in the industry. Most sites you see online have a back-end intrinsically wrapped up in WordPress.
The platform is an excellent way to start blogging and have control of everything. However, newcomers still face a steep learning curve when it comes to getting a handle on WP. That dilemma is where plug-ins come into play, such as Yoast.
Yoast is a plug-in dedicated to making SEO simple for WP bloggers. If you use Yoast, the goal is to give you free time to focus on content rather than technical aspects.
If you’re already on WordPress and looking for plug-ins to enhance your website, we’ve reviewed Yoast for you. By the end, you’ll be able to determine whether Yoast is suitable for you.
What Is Yoast?
Yoast is a WordPress plug-in that focuses on optimizing SEO for bloggers and other users. The company also offers an SEO academy that teaches participants how to market their website by themselves.
How It Works with WordPress
WordPress is a free, open-source content management system. Users can host blogs, forums, and shops, among other things. The platform also allows web developers and creators to test out codes and sell themes.
A WP plug-in is usually a third-party tool to simplify various aspects of creating and managing websites.
The Yoast plug-in integrates with WordPress, meaning you won’t have to download software or worry about incompatible systems. Using the plug-in is as easy as downloading it for free.
How It Optimizes SEO
An essential part of blogging, whether on WP or a different platform, is search engine optimization.
SEO is the process of improving the quantity and quality of website traffic to a particular page. The techniques focus on natural audience increase and unpaid traffic.
Yoast enhances the SEO components of your WordPress website. It walks you through every step needed to:
- Attract more traffic from search engines like Google and Bing
- Drive visitors from social media to the website
- Improve user engagement
The Yoast SEO has various plug-ins for optimization, including:
- SEO Premium – for optimizing your entire WP site
- Video SEO – for improving the optimization of on-site videos
- Local SEO – for boosting your visibility on local searches
- News SEO – for optimizing content to appear on Google News
- WooCommerce – for enhancing your e-Commerce SEO
Should I Use Yoast?
If you’re a WordPress blogger, Yoast is an affordable way to manage search engine optimization on your website.
Unfortunately, the plug-in only works with the singular website hosting platform. If you’re not using WordPress, you can still benefit from the SEO Academy that the company offers online.
You can also use the blog resource to learn about keyword research, optimizing your website on mobile devices, and search engine optimization trends.
How Do Users Interact with the Yoast Platform?
If you have a WordPress blog, you gain full access to the variety of content available on Yoast. Yoast’s SEO functionality works as a plug-in that layers over the apps and widgets you already use on WordPress.
Without a WordPress account, you can still research topics on the blog and complete the company’s online SEO training courses.
What Information Can I Find on Yoast?
On Yoast, you find the intersection between SEO and WordPress:
With the plug-in, you learn how to get more visitors from Google and Bing, make an effective social media campaign, and increase regular readers’ engagement.
The training course gives bloggers a detailed insider tool at the latest tips and tricks to optimize their websites using SEO.
The blog covers a wide range of topics and advice on search engine optimization. The help feature allows you to ask and answer questions about the plug-in.
Who Is Yoast For?
Yoast is for bloggers who utilize WordPress. It helps users get their message across to a wide variety of audiences.
The website’s blog and academy sections cater to users who want to learn and master the correlation between WordPress and search engine optimization.
How Much Does Yoast Cost?
Yoast has an initial plug-in cost and an additional cost for their academy classes. You can either purchase just the plug-in or the plug-in plus the classes. If you’re interested, you can pay monthly or annually.
- The plug-in by itself is $19 per month or $199 per year.
- The plug-in plus the training courses is $59 per month or $599 per year.
- The training course alone is $49 per month or $499 per year.
Is Yoast Worth It?
If you’re using a WordPress blog, an understanding of search engine optimization’s ins and outs is essential. Yoast makes SEO simple for bloggers.
Whenever you post blogs on WordPress’s back-end, Yoast will help you with the keywords, back-linking, and other aspects.
Yoast is worth it for WordPress bloggers who want help managing their SEO. Here’s a brief list of the pros and cons of the service:
Pros
- Plug-ins that connect directly to WordPress
- SEO guides to help you optimize your website
- Easy to access the resources and tools
Cons
- Only functional if you already use WordPress
- The SEO academy will add to your blogging costs
