What Is Yoast?
Yoast is a popular WordPress plugin that optimizes your content for search engines.
Many website owners rely on Yoast to help them attract organic traffic and retain visitors. There is a free version available, but many website owners shell out $89 for the premium version. Both versions check for relevant keywords and perform behind-the-scenes technical configurations, but Yoast SEO Premium also redirects outdated URLs, creates previews on social media sites and provides 24/7 support.
The premium version of Yoast also offers some features you probably don't need as well as some that can't stand alone. Consider the factors below before you decide Yoast is the only SEO plugin your website needs.
A High Readability Score Doesn't Equal Excellent Content
New website owners often place a heavy emphasis on readability, especially if they weren't SEO-savvy writers prior to purchasing a domain. Readability may seem like a practical way to measure content quality, but a computer program — no matter how well it's designed — isn't a substitute for human opinions.
Here are some things the readability feature on Yoast checks:
- Sentence length
- Paragraph length
- Use of transition words
- Use of passive voice
- Word choice
If you want a high readability score, you should create paragraphs with two or three short sentences. You should also focus on words with one or two syllables that are easily understood by readers with a middle-school education.
This is okay advice if you're writing about general topics like food or parenting, but you may offend readers if you cover information-heavy topics or write posts tailored toward experts. You may also sound impersonal or encyclopedic if you eliminate too much passive voice or create only short sentences. Short sentences don't always flow well together, and readers may feel as if something is missing.
You Shouldn't Force Keyword Density
Yoast has a feature called Content Insights that checks for keyword density. However, this feature doesn't matter as much as it did years ago.
Marketing guru Neil Patel warns website owners not to worry too much about keyword density. He explains that "You no longer have to jam a bunch of keywords into your copy at the last minute" if you want to get Google's attention, and he's right. Unfortunately, many Yoast users complain that the plugin encourages keyword stuffing.
Keyword stuffing is an outdated practice, and so is tracking keyword density. It's important to add relevant keywords to your articles, but you probably do that naturally. There's generally no reason to track keyword density closely unless you suspect you're using too many keywords in your content or fear that you aren't using any at all.
Even if keyword density matters to you, the Content Insights feature is somewhat redundant. Yoast reviews keyword density when it performs an SEO analysis, so why do you need the information twice?
Sometimes Internal Links Look Spammy
When you write about a subject that you've discussed in the past, it's helpful to link to previous posts. Google likes this, and so do readers.
Keep in mind this rule only applies to relevant content. It's not ideal to link an article about personal loans to a pumpkin pie recipe or share automotive repair tips in an article about raising toddlers. You know this, but sometimes Yoast doesn't. That's why many website owners turn off the internal linking option on Yoast.
Yes, that means you have to find your own internal links, but you should know your content well enough to do that. If not, consider hiring someone to help manage your site before you resort to computer-generated internal links.
You don't have to heed this advice, of course. If you feel like Yoast-approved internal links benefit your site, you may want to install a plugin like RB Internal Links. It scans your content for broken links so you don't botch your SEO with 404s or failed redirects.
Yoast Premium also checks for broken links, but the free Yoast plugin does not.
Should You Get Rid of Yoast?
We aren't saying you should completely avoid Yoast. The plugin works well for website newbies, and it generally performs as expected. However, you may want to add incorporate additional SEO tactics into your site.
If you want to replace Yoast, consider All in One SEO for WordPress. Yoast gets more attention from internet marketers and SEO experts, but All in One SEO actually has a higher installation rate. It has a simple interface that won't bog down your CPU or bombard you with options the way Yoast sometimes does.
Check out The SEO Framework if you want something that goes beyond the basics of website optimization. Reviewers warn that the plugin may overwhelm or confuse SEO newbies, but it's a great option if you have plenty of experience optimizing content on WordPress sites. You can use this plugin alone or with Yoast.
No matter what you install, remember this: Plugins enhance the performance of your site, but there's no plugin that does everything a site owner needs. If you decide to rely on Yoast for your SEO needs, make sure you also implement other SEO tactics to support your work. Or contact one of the best SEO companies in the country!