How to Properly Install and Configure Yoast SEO Plugin in WordPress (2023 Expert Guide)

Yoast SEO is used by over 14 million websites making it the most popular WordPress SEO plugin.

But with so many powerful features, new users often get overwhelmed with the complex setup and miss out on tangible search visibility gains.

As a WordPress SEO expert with over 5 years of experience, I often get asked:

"What are the right settings to configure when installing Yoast SEO plugin?"

So in this detailed guide, I‘ll provide my proven step-by-step process for technically setting up Yoast SEO along with content optimization best practices to translate into higher rankings.

Let‘s get started!

Why Yoast SEO Plugin is Essential for Rankings

Before we dive into installation, let me quickly explain why actively using Yoast SEO is so critical for SEO and growing organic traffic.

As per recent reports, over 87% of all website traffic comes through search engines like Google and Bing.

So if you want visitors reaching your site, you need to rank high in those search results by properly optimizing your WordPress site.

This is where a plugin like Yoast SEO becomes indispensable.

Here are some of the key reasons why it‘s an integral part of my SEO tech stack:

1. Actionable Content Optimization – The content analysis gives you specific, tactical tips to optimize posts and pages around your focus keywords resulting in higher rankings.

2. XML Sitemaps – Automatically generates XML sitemaps to submit your new content to search engines for better indexing.

3. Title Tag & Meta Description Manager – Allows crafting compelling SEO-friendly titles and meta descriptions for all site content to drive clicks from search engines.

4. Schema Markup – Adds schema graph data that search engines use to richly display your content in search results. Significantly enhances click-through-rates.

In fact as per SEMrush‘s research report, over 51% of site owners leveraging Yoast SEO saw significant growth in organic traffic within 6 months!

Clearly it‘s a must-have plugin. Now let‘s get to the installation steps.

Step 1 – Installing Yoast SEO Plugin in WordPress

The process of installing plugins in WordPress is quite straightforward. Here are the 3 simple steps to get Yoast SEO plugin up and running:

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
2. In the search box type "Yoast SEO" and hit enter. This will bring up the official plugin by Yoast.
3. Click on Install Now. Once installed, click Activate.

And you‘re done! The Yoast SEO plugin is now installed and activated on your WordPress site.

You‘ll instantly see a popup to run the configuration wizard which we‘ll tackle next.

Using FTP to Install Yoast SEO Manually

For users facing file permission issues with the default plugin installer, I recommend installing Yoast SEO manually via FTP using these steps:

1. Download the latest plugin zip file from wordpress.org. At time of writing, that is Yoast SEO 19.4.
2. Unzip the downloaded file on your local computer.
3. Use an FTP client like FileZilla to access your web server and navigate to /wp-content/plugins/ path where all WordPress plugins reside.
4. Upload the unzipped Yoast SEO folder into the plugins directory.
5. Go back into your WordPress dashboard at yourdomain.com/wp-admin and activate Yoast SEO plugin from the installed plugins page.

This will install the plugin files directly via FTP, avoiding any file permission restrictions that sometimes occur with the WordPress installer.

Step 2 – Running the Configuration Wizard

Once you activate Yoast SEO plugin for the first time in WordPress, you‘ll see a popup prompting you to launch the configuration wizard:

The wizard quickly sets up the basic settings in a few clicks optimizing your site for search visibility. I highly recommend running through it on new sites especially if you‘re new to SEO.

It takes just under 2 minutes to complete.

Here are the key things the wizard will guide you through:

• Site type (blog, news, small business etc.)
• Optimize home page for search visibility
• Connecting your site with Google Search Console
• Enabling readability analysis
• Activating XML sitemaps
• Turning on social meta data for Facebook and Twitter

After finishing the wizard, you‘ll have a solid Yoast SEO foundation configured to build upon.

With that step done, let‘s dive deeper into customized settings for advanced WordPress users.

Step 3 – Configuring General Settings

Now we can optimize our setup further by accessing the General settings page under SEO > General in the WordPress backend:

Here are the key configurations to focus on for a technical SEO boost:

1. Site Visibility

By default, Yoast SEO makes all site content and pages visible to search engine crawlers for indexing. This helps maximize pages getting crawled.

However for certain content types, you may want to toggle visibility off depending on your site‘s needs:

For example, if you run a single author blog, I recommend disabling author archives to prevent duplicate content pitfalls.

2. Site Type

Properly defining site type enhances how Google understands your content‘s topic, allowing more relevant page rankings.

Choose between blog, news site, small business site, online store etc.

Also specify if your site represents an individual person vs an organization which surfaces useful info in search results.

3. Schema Settings

Enable schema markup under Site Type which adds code that allows search engines to richly understand your content.

I also suggest uploading your company logo and details which get shown in Google‘s Knowledge Graph for branded keyphrases.

For example, searching for WordPress tutorials displays the WPBeginner logo and description in search results due to implemented schema markup.

4. Connect Search Console

Linking your WordPress site with various search engine webmaster tools is crucial for insights and performance tracking.

Enter the meta tag provided from Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Yandex etc under the Webmaster Tools section to verify site ownership.

This grants access to key SEO metrics directly in those platforms.

5. Social Meta Settings

Activating Facebook Open graph and Twitter Card data detection allows properly previewing headlines, descriptions and images when your URLs get shared on social media.

For Twitter Cards, I recommend using the "Summary Card with Large Image" card type for maximum visibility.

With key general settings covered, let‘s optimize features next.

Step 4 – Configuring Yoast SEO Features

A powerful advantage of Yoast SEO is the vast array of built-in SEO and content optimization features.

Based on your specific needs, you can toggle them on and off under Features settings:

By default, all major functionality like SEO analysis, readability checks, XML sitemaps etc. are enabled which is perfectly fine.

Let me explain a few advanced specific features that you can disable if unnecessary:

1. Text Link Counter

Displays the number of internal links pointing to a post or page. Handy for internal linking stats but can slow admin backend.

2. Admin Bar Menu

Adds a Yoast SEO menu to your toolbar in WP backend. Disable if you don‘t need quick access.

3. Enhanced Slack Sharing

Customizes how your headlines and meta descriptions get displayed when shared on Slack. Niche use case, safe to deactivate.

Other than these niche features, make sure to leave the XML sitemap generator, content analysis and other essential tools enabled.

Next, let‘s optimize how our site content appears in search engines further.

Step 5 – Configuring Search Appearance

You have fine-grained control on exactly how your titles, descriptions and content appears in search engine result pages.

This allows crafting click-worthy snippets that attract high search traffic.

Head over to the Search Appearance tab in Yoast SEO settings:


It lets you customize SEO titles and meta descriptions for all your site‘s content types.

Here are some key recommendations:

1. Customize Homepage Titles

Pick compelling on-brand homepage titles and descriptions that perfectly convey your site‘s main topic and purpose.

2. Add Archives Description

Include a meta description for archives listing pages (author, dates, search etc.) to provide context on what they contain.

3. Set Default Meta Templates

Define title tag prefixes/suffixes and meta description length defaults for different content types like posts, pages, products etc.

This helps Yoast auto-generate relevant titles and descriptions if you forget to manually optimize a piece of content.

4. Enable Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs not only improve site navigation but also provide incremental keyword value. Keep this feature active.

Outside of these recommendations, tweak settings aligned to your site‘s structure.

With the technical setup complete, let‘s discuss optimizing actual content…

Step 6 – Content Optimization Guidelines

The true power of Yoast SEO lies in optimizing your actual posts, pages and products:

When editing a post, notice the Yoast SEO Metabox at the bottom offering the content optimization functionality.

Here is my step-by-step process for making content rank:

1. Add a Primary Focus Keyphrase

Start by entering 1-2 core keywords that accurately reflect what the post is about and what you want it to rank for.

2. Craft Compelling Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Manually create persuasive SEO titles and descriptions instead of relying on auto-generated ones.

3. Review the Content Analysis

Scan the content analysis section flagging specific improvements needed around your focus keyphrases to help search visibility.

4. Follow Through the Suggestions

Execute tips around adding more contextual keyword usages, internal links, media etc. to boost SEO.

5. Iterate based on Rankings

Check search engine rankings for the post over the next few weeks. Further refine on-page optimization if needed.

Rinse and repeat the same optimization process for other site content like static pages, product listings, categories, tags etc.

This completes my 5-step methodology for leveraging Yoast SEO‘s content optimization functionality for higher Google rankings.

Next let‘s discuss some pro tips and tools for power users.

Bonus Tips: Going Pro with Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO plugin offers a robust set of built-in tools for technically-savvy WordPress experts under Features > Tools:

Here are some advanced capabilities that I personally use:

1. Bulk Title & Description Editor

Quickly batch update SEO titles and meta descriptions for existing content. Useful especially when reoptimizing old articles.

2. Redirect Manager

Premium feature that lets you easily create redirects to fix 404s or change URLs moving forward. Critical for avoiding traffic loss.

3. File Editor

Allows modifying robots.txt and .htaccess files related to site crawling and indexing without needing server access.

4. Import & Export

Migrate all Yoast SEO plugin settings to quickly replicate setup across different sites. Super handy!

These pro tips allow taking your Yoast SEO capabilities to the next level.

Now over to you. Install this incredibly versatile plugin and start driving more organic traffic using my comprehensive setup and optimization blueprint!