Preface

I officially started to take SEO seriously around late May of this year. Before that, because the number of articles was too small, I felt it wasn't time to study SEO yet, so I just followed basic online tutorials to simply set up Yoast SEO and left it alone (actually, it was just out of laziness—giving myself an excuse not to mess with SEO, after all, it's quite troublesome for a beginner to learn SEO from scratch). At that time, the structure of my blog post records found by search engines was a complete mess, which looked very frustrating.

In late May, the number of articles reached a certain amount (seemingly breaking through 100). At this point, the previous excuse of ”too few articles” was no longer valid. I had to pull myself together and seriously configure the SEO settings. I also switched the SEO plugin from Yoast SEO to AIOSEO (actually, Yoast SEO is more powerful with more configurable options, but AIOSEO is more beginner-friendly, which I found easier to understand at the time). I carefully configured the settings that could be set in AIOSEO, and adjusted the search appearance in AIOSEO by referring to the structure of the records found in Google search:

The actual effect in Google search with ”tangwudi” as the keyword is as follows:

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SiteLink (website sub-links) is a special display format in Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) used to show links to the main pages or sub-pages of a website. These links usually appear below the search results of brand or high-authority websites, helping users quickly navigate to important parts of the site. Taking the official website search results of ”Mercedes-Benz” as an example:

You can see that their SiteLink is very logical.

SiteLinks are automatically generated by search engines. Among them, SiteLinks for personal websites in Google search results are harder to appear and more difficult to control than in Bing. For example, the search results in Bing with ”tangwudi” as the keyword are as follows:

As you can see, the generated SiteLinks are much more logical. Although they are still not categorized by technology as sub-links as I had hoped, they are at least much better than the SiteLinks generated by Google.

One of the main reasons I switched SEO plugins this time was also because I was very dissatisfied with this SiteLink of my blog in Google Search, but the free version of AIOSEO didn't seem to offer any concrete help with the formation of SiteLinks, which is why I wanted to try switching to Rank Math to see if it would yield better results.

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Since seriously adjusting the SEO in May, there has been a very obvious effect. Below is the data for the last 6 months:

Note 1: Rank Math has too many options, and I really cannot introduce them one by one (I haven't used many of them either). I can only, from an introductory perspective, try to briefly summarize the main functions of some feature modules and option parameters that I think are important. If you want to deeply understand SEO-related concepts, you still need to learn them on your own.

Note 2: Generally, after changing the SEO plugin, the original search results of various search engines will undergo a period of recalculation, and things like SiteLinks will slowly regenerate. Therefore, you should generally not change SEO plugins lightly.

Comparison of 3 Common WordPress SEO Plugins

There are three most commonly used SEO plugins on WordPress— Rank Math、AIOSEO (All in One SEO Pack) 和 Yoast SEO, the following is a comparison of the pros and cons of the 3 SEO plugins from the perspectives of features, user experience, and applicable scenarios:

Rank Math

Pros:

• Comprehensive Features: The free version integrates many advanced features, such as Schema structured data, 404 monitoring, redirection management, keyword rank tracking, etc., offering extremely high cost-effectiveness; it supports up to 5 keywords optimization (free version).

• Modern Interface: The UI interface is clear, and the wizard-style setup makes it easy for users to configure quickly.

• Integration with Multiple Tools: Built-in Google Search Console and Analytics data, no need to install extra plugins.

• Good Performance Optimization: Lightweight code design, does not affect website loading speed.

• Built-in AI Recommendations: The Pro version features AI recommendations to help improve content optimization.

Cons:

• Slightly Steep Learning Curve: The rich features may be overwhelming for beginners.

• Limited Appeal of Paid Features: The free version is already very powerful, but the Pro features are mainly reports and more automation settings, which are not suitable for users who are already satisfied with the basic features (I guess this isn't really a disadvantage~).

Applicable Scenarios:

• Suitable for users who need comprehensive features and seek high cost-effectiveness.

• Webmasters who want more flexible control over SEO details but don't want to pay extra (feels like they are talking about me?).

AIOSEO (All in One SEO Pack)

Pros:

• Established Plugin: As one of the earliest SEO plugins in the WordPress ecosystem, it has stable technical support and a long-term user base.

• Simple and Easy to Use: The interface design is intuitive, and the setup options are relatively simple, making it suitable for SEO beginners (so my choice of AIOSEO when I was still clueless was completely correct~).

• Flexible Extensibility: Supports feature modules such as WooCommerce, AMP, Video SEO, and RSS feeds, which can be enabled individually as needed.

• Moderate Pricing: The premium version is cheaper than Yoast, offering higher cost-effectiveness (not important to me, since I don't pay anyway~).

Cons:

• Modular Features: Some advanced features require additional add-on plugins, which users need to manage separately.

• Weaker Page Analysis Features: Not as rich as Yoast and Rank Math in providing real-time feedback for content optimization.

• More Restrictions in the Free Version: The free version has basic features, but many advanced features are only available in the paid version.

Applicable Scenarios:

• Suitable for small websites that need basic SEO features while pursuing stability and simple setup.

Yoast SEO

Pros:

• Industry Benchmark: The earliest plugin to popularize the concept of WordPress SEO, with mature technology and extensive tutorial support.

• Powerful Content Optimization: Real-time SEO and readability analysis, helping to optimize content through intuitive traffic light ratings.

• Timely Updates: The plugin is updated frequently, keeping up with changes in Google's algorithm.

• Multi-language Support: Integrates well with multilingual plugins (such as WPML, Polylang).

Cons:

• Free version has limited features: The free version only supports 1 keyword optimization; features like structured data and redirects require payment.

• Higher cost for paid versions: The premium version is relatively expensive, and functional modules require separate payment (such as Video SEO, News SEO, etc.).

• Performance issues: The plugin is relatively heavy and may slightly affect website loading speed.

Applicable Scenarios:

• Suitable for users who need powerful content analysis and long-term support.

• The first choice for large websites or brands pursuing stability and technical support.

Summary comparison table of the free versions of 3 SEO plugins:

Features	Rank Math Free Version	AIOSEO Free Version	Yoast SEO Free Version
Keyword Optimization	Maximum 5 keywords	1 keyword	1 keyword
Schema Support	Provides rich templates such as FAQ and products	Only basic structured data support	Only basic Schema
404 Monitor	Built-in support	Not supported	Not supported
Redirection Management	Built-in support	Not supported	Not supported
SEO Analysis	Provides comprehensive analysis	Provides basic analysis	Provides basic analysis
Sitemap Generation	Free support for XML, images, and videos	Supports XML	Supports XML
Image SEO Optimization	Automatic Alt addition, free	Not supported	Not supported
Content analysis and improvement suggestions	Provides basic content analysis	Provides improvement suggestions	Provides basic content analysis
WooCommerce Support	Provides basic optimization	Not supported	Not supported
Google Trends Support	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported
Price	Free	Free	Free

It can be seen that the features of the Rank Math free version completely crush the other two.

In the bonus round, comparing the Rank Math free version with the paid versions of the 3 SEO plugins (including itself), we find it is just as competitive:

Features	Rank Math Free Version	Rank Math Paid Version	AIOSEO Paid Version	Yoast SEO Paid Version
Keyword Optimization	Supports up to 5 keywords	Supports Unlimited keywords	Supports Unlimited keywords	Supports Unlimited keywords
Schema Structured Data	Offers multiple Schema templates (Articles, Products, FAQs, etc.)	Offers more Schema types, custom Schema	Supports more Schema types, custom Schema requires payment	Provides basic Schema, custom Schema requires payment
404 error monitoring	Built-in support, free	Provides advanced reporting and automation solutions	Requires payment to use	Requires paid installation of a redirection plugin
Redirection Management	Built-in support, free	Supports conditional logic and bulk redirects	Requires payment	Requires paid installation of a redirection plugin
SEO Analysis	Built-in comprehensive analysis (content analysis, keyword ranking suggestions)	Advanced analysis, supports data export	Provides optimization suggestions	Provides optimization suggestions
Sitemap	Free generation (XML, images, videos)	Enhanced support (e.g., video index control)	Free generation, but video requires payment	Free generation, but advanced video sitemap requires payment
Image SEO Optimization	Automatically add Alt and titles (Free)	Offers more rule customization	Provides Alt text optimization	Advanced features require payment
Multi-language Support	Supports Polylang and WPML	Advanced support, such as multilingual Schema	Supports Polylang and WPML	Supports Polylang and WPML
Rank tracking	Not supported	Supports rank tracking and history	Supported in Premium version	Not supported
Content readability analysis	Provides basic content scoring	Provides more detailed analysis and optimization suggestions	Provides optimization suggestions	Provides detailed readability scoring
WooCommerce Support	Free support for basic optimization	Enhanced support (e.g., product category Schema customization)	Provides advanced optimization features (e.g., product Schema optimization)	Provides advanced optimization features
Performance Optimization	Lightweight, fast loading speed	Equally lightweight	Slightly bloated	Heavy plugin, slightly larger impact on performance
Price (Single site/year)	Free	From $59	From $49.6	From $99

It also confirms the previous statement: Rank Math's own paid version has no obvious advantage over the Rank Math free version (for average users).

Recommended choice (Free version)

• Rank Math: Suitable for users with a limited budget who seek comprehensive features and ease of use (in plain English, users who have some understanding of SEO, are not satisfied with the basic features provided by the free versions of AIOSEO and Yoast SEO, want more powerful SEO features but don't want to pay for them—freeloaders, like me).

• AIOSEO: Suitable for beginners or small sites looking to easily manage SEO configurations.

• Yoast SEO: Suitable for large brands, advanced users, or users who need powerful content optimization tools.

At the same time, from the comparison above, it can be seen that the free version of Rank Math is really enough for individual bloggers.

Rank Math Plugin Installation and Initialization

Plugin Installation

Just like regular plugins, simply search for it in the marketplace and install it:

Then enable it directly (if you have previously installed the AIOSEO or Yoast SEO plugin, you need to disable the plugin first. Note that it is disable, not delete, because Rank Math can import previous configurations from the original AIOSEO or Yoast):

Plugin Initialization

For the initialization of Rank Math, you can directly refer to the following image tutorial:

Note 1: If you previously used the ”Site Kit by Google” plugin, you need to disable it here. I didn't disable it before, which caused the display here to be abnormal, probably due toGoogle Search Console和Google Analyticspermission conflicts.

Note 2: This step is relatively tedious to set up. You can also skip it during the plugin initialization and configure it later in the ”General Settings” - “Analytics” section.

At this point, the initialization of Rank Math is finally complete.

Note: The initialization process of Rank Math (Setup Wizard) is not a mandatory step. It is only for those who are unfamiliar with Rank Math. If you are already very familiar with it or do not need to configure the relevant content, you can directly use the ”Skip” button at the bottom left of the page to skip the corresponding steps, and then configure it directly within the Rank Math plugin.

Rank Math Settings

Dashboard

Feature Introduction

The Dashboard is the controller that determines which features Rank Math will display in the WordPress backend. Except for some of the most basic features, whether other additional features are displayed depends on whether they are enabled in the Dashboard. Taking the display of Rank Math features in my WordPress backend as an example, the features in the red box only appeared after I enabled them in the Dashboard:

The dashboard interface is as follows, and the red boxes indicate the feature modules I have enabled:

Note 1: Since Rank Math provides too many features and I have only enabled the few features in the red box in the image above, the following content can only cover these enabled features.

Note 2: SEO involves too many knowledge points (after all, it is an entire industry). I cannot explain all concepts one by one in a single article, so I can only briefly explain the ones I think are important. You can conduct in-depth research on the features you are interested in.

General Settings

Feature Introduction

General Settings(General Settings) is the core configuration part of the plugin, used to define and manage the website's basic SEO options. It covers multiple aspects to help users optimize their website's SEO performance according to their needs.

Links

The purpose of this tab is to optimize the website's link structure, improving user experience and SEO performance.

Main Options：

• Remove Base: Remove the category base path (e.g., category/).

• Redirect Attachments: Redirect media attachment pages to the original files.

• Redirect Orphan Media: Handle redirects for orphan media pages.

• Nofollow External Links: Add the nofollow attribute to external links to prevent link equity loss.

• Open External Links in New Tab: Open external links in a new tab to improve user experience.

Breadcrumbs

The purpose of this tab is to provide clear path navigation, making it easy for users and search engines to understand the hierarchical structure of the content.

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You actually see breadcrumb navigation quite often in daily life. It is commonly used by websites with many hierarchical levels, usually located at the top of the webpage content, for example:

Through this path navigation, everyone can clearly know the level where the current content is located.

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Main Options：

• Enable BreadcrumbsSeparator Icon

• Show Homepage LinkPrefix

• : Enable or disable breadcrumb navigation.: Customize the separator icon.

• : Whether to display the link to the homepage.: Add a prefix to the breadcrumb navigation (e.g., “You are here”).

Note: I feel that breadcrumb navigation is suitable for websites with a clear hierarchical structure, but it may not be appropriate for general personal blogs (unless hierarchical planning was adopted during the visual design). Of course, it is very suitable for e-commerce websites. Please judge and choose according to your actual situation.

Webmaster Tools

The purpose of this tab is to integrate the website with search engine webmaster tools (such as Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Baidu Webmaster Tools, etc.).

You need to fill in the verification HTML or ID of each webmaster tool in this option, as shown in the image below:

Note: In most cases, if you have already filled in the verification IDs for tools like Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools in the Webmaster Tools settings through the Rank Math plugin and saved the settings, the plugin will automatically add the verification code (such as <meta name="google-site-verification" content="your-id" />) to your WordPress site's <head> section, although there may be exceptions (such as theme or plugin conflicts) that cause the automatic addition to fail, in which case you can add it manually.

Others

The purpose of this tab is to provide some functional and auxiliary settings, mainly to provide support or optimization for specific scenarios, especially features related to content display and variable processing (RSS).

The following is a detailed explanation of its specific functions:

Headless CMS Support

Features: Enable support for websites using a Headless CMS.

Role：

• Suitable for sites that only use WordPress as a backend API (with the frontend fully driven by JavaScript frameworks like React or Vue).

• Provides SEO-related metadata support to ensure frontend content can interact correctly with search engines.

Show SEO Score to Visitors

Features: Allows visitors to view the SEO score of each article.

Role：

• Publicly displays SEO scores to visitors to enhance transparency, especially suitable for educational websites or SEO service providers.

• Increases user trust (provided the score is high).

• Can be disabled as needed to avoid any negative impact of displaying SEO scores on user experience.

RSS Before Content

Features: Inserts custom content before the content of each article in the RSS Feed.

Role：

• Can add copyright notices, brand promotions, or specific call-to-actions (such as linking back to your site).

• Protects original content, reducing the risk of content being scraped by other platforms without attribution.

RSS After Content

Features: Inserts custom content after the content of each article in the RSS Feed.

Role：

• Adds marketing content, subscription prompts, or advertising information to optimize the commercial value of RSS subscriptions.

• Also suitable for copyright protection and brand promotion.

Available Variables

This section provides some dynamic variables that can be used in RSS content (“RSS Before Content” and “RSS After Content”). The purpose of these variables is to dynamically generate information related to the article or site, enhancing the flexibility and practicality of RSS content.

Supports the following dynamic variables:

1. %AUTHORLINK%

Features: Inserts a link to the article author's page.

Role：

• Dynamically adds author info links, allowing subscribers to visit the author's page to learn more.

• Enhances the author's personal brand influence, suitable for multi-author websites.

2. %POSTLINK%

Features: Inserts a link to the current article.

Role：

• Directly guides subscribers to visit the full content of the article, increasing website traffic.

• Ensures that the content scraped in RSS subscriptions is linked to the original article, protecting originality.

3. %BLOGDESCLINK%

Features: Inserts the site description and its link.

Role：

• Used to display the core positioning or functional description of the website (e.g., “Focusing on tech news and reviews”).

• Gives subscribers a more intuitive understanding of the site's content, attracting more long-term users.

4. %BLOGLINK%

Features: Inserts a link to the site's homepage.

Role：

• Makes it easy for subscribers to quickly access the website's homepage.

• Enhances the brand exposure of the site, especially appealing to first-time subscribers.

5. %FEATUREDIMAGE%

Features: Inserts a link to the article's featured image.

Role：

• Displays the article's thumbnail or main image in RSS subscriptions, enhancing the visual appeal of the content.

• Attracts subscribers to click the article link, increasing traffic and engagement.

Summary

In Rank Math, “Others” the core role of the option is to:

1. Provide support for specific website architectures (such as headless CMS) to ensure compatibility of SEO features.

2. Flexibly insert copyright notices, brand promotions, or dynamic variables in RSS content to improve the practicality and marketing effectiveness of subscription content.

3. Provide a visitor-visible SEO score feature to enhance website content transparency or serve as a promotional tool.

The features of this tab are relatively niche, but for users with specific needs, they can significantly optimize work efficiency and user experience.

Edit Robots.txt

The purpose of this tab is to manage and edit the website's robots.txt file through an intuitive interface, controlling search engine crawler behavior.

Main Functions：

• Define directories or files that are allowed or forbidden to be crawled.

• Quickly update without having to manually edit server files.

Edit .htaccess

The purpose of this tab is to manage the .htaccess file directly through Rank Math.

Purpose：

• Set up permanent redirects.

• Configure caching rules.

• Enhance security.

Blocks

This tab is mainly used to configure the behavior and appearance of content blocks provided by Rank Math, especially when integrating with the block features provided by Rank Math when using WordPress's block editor (Gutenberg). Changes to these settings will affect the default behavior of the “Table of Contents” block provided by Rank Math across the entire website, making it convenient for users without having to adjust it manually every time:

Below is a detailed explanation of three of these settings:

Table of Contents Title

Role: Set the default title for the “Table of Contents” block.

Purpose: When you insert the “Table of Contents” block provided by Rank Math into a page or post, the title configured here will automatically be displayed as the title of the table of contents.

• Default Value: Usually “Table of Contents” or the corresponding translated language.

• Customizable: You can change it to a title that better suits your needs, such as “Article Navigation” or “Table of Contents”, to better fit your website style.

Table of Contents List Style

Role: Control the style of the heading list in the table of contents.

Option：

• Unordered List: Displayed as bullet points (●).

• Ordered List: Displayed as numbered lists (1., 2., 3.).

• Purpose: Choose a more suitable table of contents style based on the website's design style and layout needs. For example, technical articles may be more suitable for ordered lists, while light-reading blogs are more suitable for unordered lists.

Table of Contents Exclude Headings

Role: Allows you to exclude specific headings so they do not appear in the table of contents.

How to use：

• Enter the heading text to be excluded, supporting comma-separated multiple headings (e.g., Introduction, Conclusion).

• Alternatively, use regular expressions to exclude matching headings (e.g., .Example. matches all headings containing “Example”).

• Purpose: If certain headings are unimportant or repetitive and you do not want them to appear in the table of contents, you can exclude them through this setting.

404 Monitor

This tab mainly monitors the website's 404 error pages, making it easy to fix broken links.

Analytics

This tab integrates Google Analytics and Google Search Console to provide website performance and traffic reports. Once successfully configured, there is no need to manually add code to the relevant pages (it can also be configured during the Rank Math plugin initialization process):

AdSense feature requires the Pro version:

Once Analytics is correctly configured here, you can see the data in the Analytics statistics section inside Rank Math:

Note 1: Recently, rankings in all aspects have dropped a lot~.

Note 2: The prerequisite for successful configuration here is that you have already registered Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and even
Google AdSense (Pro version).

Redirections

The purpose of this tab is to set up and manage URL redirects:

Sitemap

What is a Sitemap?

In SEO (Search Engine Optimization), a ”Sitemap” is an important tool that helps search engines better crawl and understand website content in a structured way:

Help search engines crawl website content

A sitemap provides search engines with a complete overview of the website structure, helping crawlers discover the following content:

• New content: When a website publishes a new page or post, the sitemap can notify search engines to crawl this content.

• Deep-level content: For pages with deep hierarchies or fewer links, the sitemap ensures they are discovered by search engines.

Improve indexing efficiency

By explicitly listing priority and update frequency (changefreq) in the sitemap, search engines can understand which pages are more important and need to be indexed more frequently, thereby optimizing the allocation of crawl resources.

Support multimedia and multilingual content

• Multimedia content: Through the extended sitemap protocol, detailed information about images, videos, and other content can be provided to search engines (such as video duration, resolution, hashtags, etc.).

• Multi-language Support: For sites that support multiple languages, the sitemap can mark pages in different language versions, allowing search engines to correctly identify and display them.

Handle dynamic content or complex structures

For dynamically generated content or websites rendered using JavaScript (such as Single Page Applications - SPAs), the sitemap can make up for the difficulty crawlers have in crawling by directly providing all URLs.

Improve website visibility

一个精心制作的sitemap有助于：

• 加快新页面的收录：尤其是对于规模较大或更新频繁的网站。

• 改善SEO表现：通过提供清晰的页面信息，提高搜索引擎对网站内容的理解，进而提升排名机会。

6. 支持错误排查

通过Google Search Console或Bing Webmaster工具提交并分析sitemap，可以发现：

• 未被抓取或索引的问题页面。

• 存在的抓取错误（如404页面或重复内容）。

Classification of Sitemaps

1. XML Sitemap：为搜索引擎设计的结构化文档，其实就是以xml文件的格式提供网站的内容，比如Rank Math默认提供的”https://blog.tangwudi.com/sitemap_index.xml“，就是我的博客的站点地图，其内容如下：
   
   
   
   以上面的”https://blog.tangwudi.com/post-sitemap.xml“为例，其内容如下：
   
   
   
   从上图中的内容可以看出，各种语种版本都在文章对应的站点地图中列了出来，这样搜索引擎可以一目了然的看到所有的文章。

2. HTML Sitemap：为用户设计，提供导航帮助，类似我的Sitemap，不过却要简陋得多，我有点看不上～。以下实际的效果：

   

讲道理还是可以的，不过和我的”网站地图”比就要差那么一点点～。

不过HTML Sitemap有个最大的好处，就是不用像我现在一样，每次有新文章发布都需要手动在”网站地图”里添加，它是自动添加的，这点我还是蛮喜欢的，可惜了～。

3. 图片和视频Sitemap：专注于多媒体内容(没玩过)。

4. 新闻Sitemap：适用于新闻网站或经常更新的内容(没玩过)。

Sitemap的使用中需要注意以下几点：

• 保持动态更新：确保sitemap实时反映网站的最新结构(有SEO插件的就由插件负责)。

• 文件大小和数量：每个sitemap文件大小不得超过50MB，最多包含50,000个URL。

• 提交工具：在Google Search Console或Bing Webmaster中提交并监控sitemap的表现。

Sitemap Settings

Accessing the Sitemap Settings Interface

在Dashboard中的Sitemap模块开启Sitemap，并从Settings按钮进入设置界面：

General

一般来讲这个界面保持默认值就可以了，关于”Images in Sitemaps”这个选项，我也打开试过，但是貌似对文章图片是使用的外界图床的方式无效，所以我后来又关掉了：

HTML Sitemap

As shown in the figure below:

注：HTML Sitemap启用之后，在文章、页面、说说、分类目录这些部分都会多出是否将该部分内容包括在HTML Sitemap里面的选项开关，大家可以根据自己的需求进行选择，这点还是非常友好的。

Post Types and Taxonomies

这2个类别下面的参数主要是控制XML Sitemap里有哪些内容，由前面的内容可以知道，在一级Sitemap”https://blog.tangwudi.com/sitemap_index.xml“会有4个二级Sitemap，分别对应：文章、页面、说说和分类，Post Types下的选项就是控制”文章”、”页面”、”说说”这3个二级Sitemap是否生成(默认是3个都生成)；Taxonomies下的选项就是控制”分类”对应的二级Sitemap是否生成(默认也是生成)。因为设置项都类似，我只以文章的页面设置页面举例：

这里有一点要注意：就算某个选项没有在Sitemap中生成，搜索引擎在爬取所有页面的时候一样能够爬取到，只是效率不高而已，Sitemap只是方便搜索引擎更高效的收录。

Instant Indexing

Feature Introduction

Instant Indexing功能是一种专为提升网页内容在搜索引擎上的快速索引效率而设计的工具。它的主要作用是通过与Google或Bing的API集成，让网站的内容（如文章、页面、产品等）可以更快速地被搜索引擎收录和更新，具体功能和作用的如下：

1. 加快内容索引速度

• 传统索引方式依赖于搜索引擎的爬虫定期访问网站，索引速度较慢。

• Instant Indexing通过API直接向搜索引擎发送通知，告诉它们有新内容发布或现有内容更新，显著加快索引速度。

2. 支持的搜索引擎

• Google：目前并未广泛支持Instant Indexing功能（主要面向新闻内容或特定类型网站）。

• Bing：完全支持API即时提交，能够快速响应内容变更。

3. 主要用途

• 新内容的快速收录：例如新发布的博客文章、产品页面等。

• 更新内容的重新索引：用于及时更新已经被索引的内容，确保搜索引擎显示的是最新版本。

• 删除内容的通知：及时告知搜索引擎某些内容已被移除，避免用户通过搜索引擎访问无效页面。

4. SEO优势

• 时间敏感内容的排名优势：如新闻文章、促销信息等，可以快速让内容在搜索引擎中可见。

• 减少索引滞后：避免因为爬虫访问间隔过长导致内容更新延迟的情况。

• 提高内容覆盖率：增加网站内容的整体索引率，尤其是大型网站。

Submission Methods

Rank Math的Instant Indexing支持2种提交内容到搜索引擎的方式：

1、手动提交

2、自动提交

Titles & Meta

Feature Introduction

“Titles & Meta”选项卡设置的内容是 Rank Math 的核心功能之一，用于全站范围内优化标题（Title）、元描述（Meta Description）以及相关的 SEO 设置。通过8个子模块，用户可以细化管理不同类型的页面、内容和社交媒体元信息，确保网站在搜索引擎和社交平台上的表现最佳。

Global Meta Settings

控制网站全局性的 SEO 行为：

功能亮点：

• Noindex 空白页面：避免空的分类、标签或无内容页面被索引，减少低质量内容影响。

• 自动为外链添加 nofollow：防止外部链接过多导致权重流失，同时可以选择是否在新标签页打开。

• 控制分页和归档页面：为日期归档、作者归档和分页内容设置 noindex，以避免重复内容影响 SEO。

• 调整 Meta Robots：灵活管理页面索引行为，如 index、follow、noindex 等。

Local SEO Settings

适用于有实体店或区域服务的企业网站，帮助优化本地搜索结果：

功能亮点(以下功能需要在Doshboard中开启Local SEO模块)：

• 设置商业信息：包括公司名称、地址、电话（NAP）格式，提升 Google 地图和本地搜索表现。

• 选择商业类型：支持多种商业类型（如餐馆、服务公司），提供更相关的结构化数据支持。

• 营业时间：设置工作时间，便于在搜索结果中显示。

Social Meta Settings

优化网站在 Facebook、Twitter 等社交平台上的分享效果。

功能亮点：

• Facebook Open Graph 设置：控制页面分享时的标题、描述和图片。

• 默认分享图片：如果内容缺少特色图片，设置一个全局默认图片以确保分享视觉效果一致。

• Twitter Card 支持：选择展示形式（摘要卡或大图摘要卡），提升点击率。

• Pinterest 验证：为 Pinterest 提供站点验证元数据。

Homepage Settings

优化首页的标题、元描述和在社交媒体(主要是facebook和X，可惜对我没用)上显示的信息：

功能亮点：

• 标题格式：使用动态变量设置首页标题，例如 %sitename% | %tagline%。

• 元描述：为首页提供清晰且吸引人的描述，提升搜索引擎点击率（CTR）。

• Open Graph 支持：设置首页在社交媒体上分享时的标题、描述和图片。

• Schema 设置：可以为首页启用组织或企业结构化数据。

Authors Page Settings

适用于多作者博客，优化每位作者存档页面的 SEO 表现。

功能亮点：

• 禁用单作者页面：对于单作者博客，可以完全禁用作者页面，避免重复内容被索引。

• 动态标题和描述：通过变量如 %name%（作者名）设置页面标题，例如“%name% 的文章 | %sitename%”。

• 设置 Noindex：如果作者页面对 SEO 贡献不大，可设置 noindex。

Misc Pages Settings

用于非主要页面的 SEO 设置，如 404 错误页面和搜索结果页面。

功能亮点：

• 404 页面标题：为错误页面设置标题和描述，例如“页面未找到 | %sitename%”。

• 站内搜索页面：可以选择是否允许搜索引擎索引站内搜索结果页面。

• 分类描述 Meta：为分类和标签页面的元描述启用支持，提升分类页优化。

Post Types Settings

针对不同内容类型（文章、页面、附件、说说等）的标题和元描述规则设置，以文章为例(页面、说说设置项都一样)：

功能亮点：

• 文章（Posts）：

• 设置默认标题格式（如 %title% | %sitename%）和描述（如 %excerpt%）。

• 为每篇文章启用结构化数据 Schema（如博客文章）。

• 控制是否显示发布日期。

• 页面（Pages）：设置单独页面的标题和描述模板，并选择适合的 Schema 类型。

• 附件（Attachments）：支持将附件页面重定向到实际文件 URL，避免生成无用的低质量页面。

• 说说（Status）：如果主题支持微博式短内容，可以为其设置标题和描述规则。

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该部分内容同时对应Dashboard中的”Schema (Structured Data)”功能模块，既”模式(结构化数据)”：

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Post (Taxonomy Settings)

用于优化分类目录（Categories）和标签（Tags）的页面表现。

功能亮点：

分类目录（Categories）：

• 设置动态标题模板（如 %term% | 分类目录 | %sitename%）和描述模板。

• 控制分类目录页面是否允许索引。

标签（Tags）：

• 设置标签页标题和描述格式（如 %term% 标签 – %sitename%）。

• 如果标签过多且质量较低，建议设置 noindex 以防止重复内容影响 SEO。

Summary

Rank Math 的 “Titles & Meta” 模块通过这8个子模块，提供了全站范围内的 SEO 控制能力。

1. 标题优化：动态变量+批量规则，简化 SEO 操作。

2. 元描述管理：提升 CTR（点击率）和搜索引擎友好度。

3. 社交媒体表现：自定义分享效果，增加品牌曝光率。

4. 重复内容管理：通过 noindex 和重定向减少低质量内容影响。

5. 结构化数据支持：根据页面类型选择 Schema，提升搜索引擎对内容的理解。

SEO Analyzer

SEO Analyzer 是一个非常有用的工具，用于分析和优化你的网站 SEO 表现。第一次使用的使用需要对网站进行一个测试：

然后会给出分数：

同时会对测试结果进行分析：


还有”Advanced SEO”、”Performance”、”Security”部分的测试项：

具体来说，SEO Analyzer 的作用包括以下几点：

1. 网站整体SEO健康检查

• 对网站的技术性问题进行分析，例如页面加载速度、移动端优化、元标记设置等。

• 提供一份全面的 SEO 分析报告，帮助你了解当前优化的优劣势。

2. 发现和修复潜在问题

• 检查是否有缺失的元标记（如标题、描述）。

• 检测图片的ALT属性，以确保图片内容对搜索引擎友好。

• 分析Broken Links（断链）或404错误页面，确保良好的用户体验。

• 确保你的站点符合SEO最佳实践（如 Schema 标记、开放图标记等）。

3. 关键词和内容优化建议

• 识别是否存在关键词填充问题或缺乏相关关键词。

• 提供关于内容长度、标题和段落结构的建议。

4. 分析外链和内链结构

• 确保你的网站有足够的内部链接来支持信息架构。

• 检测出站链接是否正确，并带有适当的 nofollow 属性。

5. 竞争对手分析（高级版功能）

• 如果你使用的是 Rank Math Pro，SEO Analyzer 还可以帮助分析竞争对手网站，提供更有针对性的优化建议。

6. 生成优化清单

• 自动生成一个易于执行的 SEO 改进清单，帮助你逐步优化网站。

通过 SEO Analyzer，用户可以清楚地知道自己网站的强项和薄弱环节，从而有针对性地进行优化，提升网站在搜索引擎中的表现。

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有一点需要注意的是，如果有使用WAF且策略设置有问题，是会影响到SEO Analyzer的测试，我之前允许SEO Analyzer老是出现”API 400″的错误，后来研究了半天，发现是被cloudflare的WAF拦截下来了，如下：

所以需要在cloudflare WAF里针对SEO Analyzer使用的IP”46.30.211.100″发来的测试包进行跳过操作(不放心的话同时还可以加上对UA的要求)，大家要注意下这个问题。

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Status & Tools

该选项卡包含四个具体的选项卡：Version Control、Database Tools、System Status 和 Import & Export。

Version Control

Role：这个选项卡帮助你管理Rank Math插件的版本。Rank Math 插件会显示当前安装的版本，并允许你查看插件是否有更新。如果你想使用之前某个特定版本，可以在这里进行回退。

Features：

• 查看当前插件版本。

• 确认插件是否有更新。

• 回退到之前某个版本。

Database Tools

Role：这个选项卡允许你对 Rank Math 插件的数据库进行管理，优化其数据存储。随着网站内容的不断变化，Rank Math 会在数据库中存储很多SEO相关的数据，如设置、元数据、分析等。这个工具帮助清理、重建和优化这些数据。

Features：

• 清理数据库：删除不再需要的数据，例如已删除页面的元数据、临时存储的SEO数据等。

• 重建数据库：如果某些数据表损坏或插件出现异常，你可以使用这个功能重新构建数据库表，恢复正常操作。

• 清理未使用的SEO设置：例如，清理未使用的SEO元数据。

System Status

• Role：该选项卡显示有关你网站和服务器的技术信息，帮助你诊断 Rank Math 插件是否与当前环境兼容。系统状态提供了一个概览，列出了服务器和网站的基本配置，帮助你排除任何可能影响插件正常运行的问题。

Features：

• 查看服务器和 PHP 配置（例如 PHP 版本、内存限制等）。

• 查看 WordPress 和 Rank Math 插件的版本。

• 确保 Rank Math 插件与其他插件、主题的兼容性。

• 检查当前环境是否满足 Rank Math 插件的最低要求。

Import & Export

Role：这个选项卡允许你导入或导出 Rank Math 插件的设置，使得在多个网站之间迁移和同步设置变得更加简单；同时，也在在这里导入其他SEO插件的配置(Yoast SEO或者ALLinSEO)：

Features：

• 导出设置：你可以将当前网站上的 Rank Math 设置导出为文件，然后在其他网站中导入。

• 导入设置：如果你在其他网站上已配置好 Rank Math 设置，可以将设置文件导入到新网站上，这样可以快速复制和应用相同的SEO设置；也可以导入之前使用的SEO插件的设置。

General SEO Usage

前面讲的都是设置，而这些设置在初次完成配置后基本就不会再动了，剩下的，就是平时写文章的时候接触到到一些操作了：

另：现在我面临的一个很麻烦的事，就是Rank Math支持5个关键字(直接的ALLinOne SEO免费版只支持1个)，于是乎，如果要达到最佳效果，我现在需要将以前的将近160篇文章，挨着去补关键字～～～～～，这个工作量有点大啊，犯愁。

Afterword

终于写完了，Rank Math太良心了，免费版提供这么多功能，按照我一贯的讲解习惯，喜欢尽量讲得详细，截图截完整，这次却因为内容太多差点把我累死了～。

不过通过这次的文章，把Rank Math所有功能模块都梳理了一遍，算是把之前一些似懂非懂的SEO概念基本搞清楚了，当然，还是有一些仍旧模糊，因为用不上，就没有实际的体验了。

现在剩下的事就是等一段时间之后看效果了，每次换SEO插件，感觉都会有一段时间的抖动期(第一次从Yoast SEO换到ALLinOne SEO就是)，所以我没事是很不想换SEO插件的，这次换成Rank Math应该是我最后一次更换SEO插件了。