In the last post, I described how to install Yoast SEO.

Now you will find out how to configure Yoast settings and how to write text to get the most optimized results.

Yoast SEO Automatic setup

After installation Yoast SEO will start automatic setup.

You can start that setup whenever you want, but it is recommended to do it right away.

Yoast SEO will detect some settings by automatically scanning your website, and some you will have to enter manually.

Saved settings will be placed under First-time Configuration and if you have made any significant changes to the website, you can always scan again here.

Site Representation

Here you need to define if the webpage belongs to the person or company, add the website name, owner’s name, and add your logo or avatar.

Social profiles

If you have profiles on social networks, you can enter them under Social profiles.

Personal preferences

Under Personal Preference, you can enable Yoast to track your site data and sign up for the Yoast newsletter.

Site connections

Under Settings>Site connections you need to add a verification code from Baidu, Bing, Google, Pinterest, or Yandex.

For example, if you want to connect the Google Search Console and your webpage:

Go to Google Search Console. …
Click ‘Add a property’ under the search drop-down. …
Click the arrow next to ‘HTML tag’ to expand the option. …
Copy the meta tag. …
Log in to your WordPress website. …
Click on ‘Yoast SEO’ > ‘General’. …
Paste the code in the Google field.

Integrations

With Integrations, you will connect your website with the most popular keyword research tools: Semrush and Wincher.

You need to register on these platforms.

But to get better results you will have to use their paid versions.

Tools

Under Yoast SEO>Tools would highlight the option Import and Export.

You can export your customized settings and reuse them on another page or import them if something happens with your website.

These would be the most important settings you had to enter.

All others set to default values will work fine for 99% of users.

On page SEO

When you open any page or post at the end of it there will be a Yoast panel.

He will always show you what else you need to do to optimize the text for the best SEO performance.

In the beginning, when you start writing the text, the smileys will be red.

The better you optimize the text, the more color will change.

Orange will mean a partially optimized text, and green will mean that you have done your SEO correctly.

Besides the correctly written text and titles, you will have to do a few more things.

Focus keyphrase

In the Focus keyphrase field, you need to enter the search term that you most want your post or page to rank for.

When you push the Get related keyphrases button you will be shown a list of similar words and how often they are searched.

Meta description

In the Meta description field, you give users a short, relevant summary of what a particular page or post is about.

Your keyword should also be found in that description.

The meta description should be neither too short nor too long.

Its length is acceptable if the indicator below the field is green.

In Google preview, you will see how your title and meta description will look when someone finds your website in the search results.

SEO analysis

In the SEO analysis field, you will find what else you have to do to make SEO on your site as good as possible.

Readability

On the readability panel, you will see all the information about your text: sentence length, paragraph length, subheading distribution, word complexity, etc.

For example: If the dot before the sentence length is red that means that some sentences in your text are too long or too short.

If you push the aye icon, all bad sentences in the text Yoast will mark with color to make them easier to spot and correct them.

Schema

In the Schema panel, you will be able to define the type of scheme for your page and it will be displayed as a Google-rich result.

For example, if you have an FAQ page for the page type, you will select the FAQ page option.

But that will not be enough and you will have to insert the Yoast FAQ block on that page and define it.

Due to the extremely extensive topic, I will leave this for one of the following posts.

General overview

Here’s a general overview of how you can use the plugin to write text that will rank well in search engines:

Choose a focus keyword: Before you start writing your text, choose a keyword or phrase for which you want to optimize the text. This keyword should be relevant to the topic of your text and something that people are likely to search for.
Use the keyword in the title: Make sure to include your focus keyword in the title of your text. This will help search engines understand what the text is about and make it more likely to rank for that keyword.
Use the keyword in the first paragraph: Starting the text with the focus keyword will signal to search engines what the text is about.
Use the keyword throughout the text: Include the focus keyword throughout the text, but don’t overdo it. Yoast SEO will give you a readability and keyword density analysis, and it’s important to keep the keyword density within the suggested range.
Use the keyword in headings: Use the focus keyword in at least one of the headings (H2, H3, etc.) in your text. This will help search engines understand the structure of your text and the most important parts of it.
Use the keyword in the meta-description: Yoast SEO allows you to write a meta-description which is the short summary of your text, make sure to include your focus keyword in the meta-description.
Use images and internal links: Search engines also look at the images and internal links in your text. You can add keywords in the name of your pictures.
Optimize for readability: Yoast SEO also gives you a readability analysis, make sure to follow the suggestions and use simple language, short paragraphs, and headings to improve readability.

Yoast SEO setup