Preface

I officially started to pay attention to SEO in late May of this year. Before that, because I had too few articles, I felt that it was not the right time to study SEO, so I simply set up Yoast SEO according to the basic tutorials on the Internet and ignored it (actually, it was because I was lazy ~, giving myself a reason not to bother with SEO. After all, it is still very troublesome for a newcomer to learn SEO from scratch). At that time, the structure of my blog article records found by the search engine was a mess, which looked very bad.

In late May, the number of articles reached a certain level (it seemed to have exceeded 100). At this time, the previous excuse of "too few articles" was no longer tenable. I had to cheer up and set up SEO seriously. I also changed the SEO plugin from Yoast SEO to AIOSEO (in fact, Yoast SEO is more powerful and has more settings, but AIOSEO is more friendly to novices, which I found easier to understand at the time). I verified and set up the items that could be set in AIOSEO, and adjusted the search appearance in AIOSEO based on the structure of the records searched by the Google search engine:

The actual results of searching for "tangwudi" in Google are as follows:

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SiteLink is a special display format in the search engine results page (SERP) that is used to display the main page or sub-page link of a website. These links usually appear below the search results of brands or high-authority websites to help users quickly navigate to important parts of the website. Take the official website search results of "Mercedes-Benz" as an example:

You can see that their SiteLink is very scientific.

SiteLink is automatically generated by search engines. SiteLinks of personal websites in Google search results are harder to appear and harder to control than those in Bing. For example, the search results for the keyword "tangwudi" in Bing are as follows:

As you can see, the generated SiteLink is much more scientific. Although it is still not the way I expected with technical classification as sub-links, it is at least much better than the SiteLink generated by Google.

One of the main reasons why I changed the SEO plug-in this time was because I was very dissatisfied with the SiteLink of my blog in Google search. However, the free version of AIOSEO did not seem to be of any specific help in the formation of SiteLink, so I wanted to try to see if there would be better results by switching to Rank math.

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Since the serious adjustment of SEO in May, there are still obvious results. The following are the data of the last 6 months:

Note 1: There are too many options in Rank Math. I cannot introduce them one by one (I have not used many of them). I can only try to summarize the main functions of some important function modules and option parameters. If you want to have a deeper understanding of the relevant concepts of SEO, you still need to learn on your own.

Note 2: Generally, after replacing the SEO plug-in, the original search results of each search engine will take a period of time to recalculate, including SiteLinks, which will be slowly regenerated, so generally do not replace the SEO plug-in easily.

Comparison of 3 commonly used WordPress SEO plugins

There are three most commonly used SEO plugins on WordPress: Rank Math,AIOSEO (All in One SEO Pack) and Yoast SEOThe following is a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the three SEO plug-ins from the perspectives of functionality, user experience, and applicable scenarios:

1. Rank Math

advantage:

• Comprehensive features: The free version integrates many advanced features, such as Schema structured data, 404 monitoring, redirect management, keyword ranking tracking, etc., which is very cost-effective; it supports up to 5 keywords Optimize (free version).

• Modern interface: The UI interface is clear and the wizard-style settings allow users to configure quickly.

• Integration with multi-tool: Built-in Google Search Console and Analytics data, no need to install additional plug-ins.

• Good performance optimization: Lightweight code design does not affect the website loading speed.

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

shortcoming:

• Slightly higher learning curve: Rich functions may cause confusion to novice users.

• Paid features have limited appeal: The free version is already very powerful, but the Pro features are mainly reports and more automated settings, which is not suitable for users who are already satisfied with the basic functions (I don’t think this is a disadvantage~).

Applicable scenarios:

• Suitable for users who have comprehensive functional requirements and pursue cost-effectiveness.

• Webmasters who want more flexibility in controlling SEO details but don’t want to pay extra (are you talking about me?).

2. AIOSEO (All in One SEO Pack)

advantage:

• Old plugin: As one of the earliest SEO plug-ins in the WordPress ecosystem, it has stable technical support and a long-term user base.

• Easy to use：The interface design is intuitive, and the setting options are relatively simple, which is suitable for SEO novices (so it was completely correct to choose AIOSEO when I was confused before ~).

• Flexible scalability: Supports functional modules such as WooCommerce, AMP, video SEO and RSS subscription, which can be enabled individually according to needs.

• Affordable: The price of the premium version is cheaper than Yoast and has a higher cost-effectiveness (it’s not important to me, since I don’t pay for it anyway~).

shortcoming:

• Functional modules：Some advanced features require additional extension plug-in support, and users need additional management.

• Page analysis function is weak: Not as rich as the real-time feedback provided by Yoast and Rank Math on content optimization.

• Free version has many limitations: 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 functions while pursuing stability and simple settings.

3. Yoast SEO

advantage:

• Industry benchmark: The earliest plug-in to popularize the concept of WordPress SEO, with mature technology and a large number of tutorials to support it.

• Powerful content optimization: Real-time SEO and readability analysis to help optimize content with intuitive traffic light scores.

• Update in time: The plugin is updated frequently to keep up with changes in Google algorithms.

• Multi-language support: Integrates well with multilingual plugins like WPML, Polylang.

shortcoming:

• Free version has limited features: The free version only supports 1 keyword optimization, and features such as structured data and redirection require payment.

• Higher payment costs: The premium version is relatively expensive, and the functional modules need to be paid for separately (such as video SEO, news SEO, etc.).

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

Applicable scenarios:

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

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

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

| Features | Rank Math Free | AIOSEO Free | Yoast SEO Free |
| —————- | ————– | ———– | ————- |
| Keyword Optimization| Most 5 keywords | 1 keyword | 1 keyword |
| Schema support | Provides rich templates such as FAQ and products | Only supports basic structured data | Only supports basic Schema |
| 404 Monitoring | Built-in Support | Not Supported | Not Supported |
| Redirect Management | Built-in Support | Not Supported | Not Supported |
| SEO Analysis| Provide comprehensive analysis| Provide basic analysis| Provide basic analysis |
| Sitemap Generation | Free Support for XML, Images and Videos | Support for XML | Support for XML |
| Image SEO Optimization | Automatic Alt Adding, Free | Not Supported | Not Supported |
| Content analysis and improvement suggestions | Provide basic content analysis | Provide improvement suggestions | Provide basic content analysis |
| WooCommerce supported | Basic optimization available | Not supported | Not supported |
| Google Trends Supported| Not supported| Not supported| Not supported |
| Price| Free| Free| Free|
It can be seen that the functions of the free version of Rank Math completely surpass the other two.

In the playoffs, I compared the free version of Rank Math with the paid versions of three SEO plugins, including my own, and found that they are equally effective:

Function	Rank Math Free	Rank Math Premium	AIOSEO Premium	Yoast SEO Premium
Keyword optimization	Support most 5 keywords	support Unlimited keywords	support Unlimited keywords	support Unlimited keywords
Schema structured data	Provides a variety of Schema templates (articles, products, FAQ, etc.)	Provide more Schema types and customize Schema	Supports more Schema types, customization requires payment	Provides basic Schema, customization requires payment
404 Error Monitoring	Built-in support, free	Provides advanced reporting and automation solutions	Fee required	You need to pay to install a redirect plugin
Redirect Management	Built-in support, free	Supports conditional logic and bulk redirection	Fees required	You need to pay to install a redirect plugin
SEO Analysis	Built-in comprehensive analysis (content analysis, keyword ranking suggestions)	Advanced analysis, support for exporting data	Provide optimization suggestions	Provide optimization suggestions
Sitemap	Free generation (XML, images, videos)	Enhanced support (such as video indexing control)	Free to generate, but videos are paid	Free to generate, but premium video maps are available for a fee
Image SEO Optimization	Automatically add Alt and title (free)	Provide more rule customization	Provide Alt text optimization	Premium features require payment
Multi-language support	Supports Polylang and WPML	Advanced support, such as multi-language Schema	Supports Polylang and WPML	Supports Polylang and WPML
Rank Tracking	Not supported	Support rank tracking and history	Premium Support	Not supported
Content readability analysis	Provide basic content rating	Provide more detailed analysis and optimization suggestions	Provide optimization suggestions	Provides detailed readability scores
WooCommerce Support	Free support for basic optimization	Enhanced support (such as product classification schema customization)	Provide advanced optimization features (such as product schema optimization)	Provides advanced optimization capabilities
Performance Optimization	Lightweight and fast loading	Also lightweight	Slightly bloated	The plugin is heavy and has a slightly greater impact on performance
Price (single site/year)	free	$59 onwards	$49.6 up	$99 up

This also confirms the previous statement: Rank Math's own paid version has no obvious advantages over the free version of Rank Math (for ordinary users).

Recommended choice (free version)

• Rank Math：Suitable for users with limited budgets who pursue comprehensive functions and ease of use (in layman's terms, they have a certain understanding of SEO, are not satisfied with the basic functions provided by the free versions of AIOSEO and Yoast SEO, want more powerful SEO functions but don't want to pay for them, such as me).

• AIOSEO: Suitable for beginners or small sites that want to simply manage SEO configuration.

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

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

Rank Malt plugin installation and initialization

Plugin Installation

Just like regular plugins, you can search and install it in the market:

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

Plugin initialization

The initialization of Rank Math can be directly referred to the following picture tutorial:

Note 1: If you have used the "Site Kit by Google" plugin before, you need to disable it here. I didn't disable it before, which caused the display here to be abnormal. I guess it's becauseGoogle Search ConsoleandGoogle AnalyticsConflicts in permissions.

Note 2: This step is more complicated to set up. You can skip it when initializing the plugin and set it up in the "General Settings"-"Analytics" section later.

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

Note: The initialization process of Rank Math (start wizard) is not a necessary step. It is only for people who are not familiar with Rank Math. If you are familiar with it or do not need to set up related content, you can directly use the "Skip" button at the bottom left of the page to skip the corresponding steps, and then directly configure it in the Rank Math plug-in.

Rank Math Settings

Dashboard

Function Introduction

Dashboard is the controller of what functions Rank Math will display in the WordPress background. In addition to some of the most basic functions, whether other additional functions will be displayed depends on whether they are enabled in the Dashboard. Taking the display of the Rank Math function in my WordPress background as an example, the functions in the red box only appear after I enable them in the Dashboard:

The interface of the dashboard is as follows. The function modules in the red box are enabled by me:

Note 1: Since Rank Math provides too many functions, and I have only enabled the functions in the red box in the above picture, the content below can only talk about these enabled functions.

Note 2: SEO involves too many knowledge points (after all, it is an industry), and I cannot explain all the concepts one by one in one article, so I can only give a simple explanation of the ones I think are important. You can conduct in-depth research on the functions that interest you.

General Settings

Function Introduction

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

Links

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

Main options:

• Remove Base: Remove the base path of the category directory (such as category/).

• Redirect Attachments: Redirects the media attachment page to the original file.

• Redirect Orphan Media: Handle redirection of orphaned media pages.

• Nofollow External Links: Add nofollow attribute to external links to avoid weight loss.

• Open External Links in New Tab: External links are opened in new tabs to improve user experience.

Breadcrumbs

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

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Breadcrumb navigation is something you often see. It is commonly used on websites with many levels, usually located at the top of the web page content, such as:

Through this path navigation, everyone can clearly know the level of the current content.

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Main options:

• Enable Breadcrumbs: Enable or disable breadcrumb navigation.

• Separator Icon: Customize the separator icon.

• Show Homepage Link: Whether to display a link to the home page.

• Prefix: Add a prefix to the breadcrumb navigation (such as "Current Location").

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

Webmaster Tools

The purpose of this tab is to integrate the website with the search engine's 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 below:

Note: In most cases, if you have already filled in the verification ID of tools such as 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 <meta name="google-site-verification" content="your-id" />) to your WordPress site <head> area, but there may be exceptions (such as theme or plugin conflicts) that cause automatic addition to fail. At that time, you can add it manually.

Others

This tab contains some functional and auxiliary settings, which are mainly used to provide support or optimization for specific scenarios, especially those related to content display and variable processing (RSS).

The following is a detailed explanation of its specific functions:

1. Headless CMS Support

Function: Enable support for sites using a headless CMS.

effect:

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

• Provide SEO-related metadata support to ensure that front-end content can interact with search engines correctly.

2. Show SEO Score to Visitors

Function: Allow visitors to view the SEO score of each article.

effect:

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

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

• Can be disabled on demand to avoid negative impact on user experience by displaying SEO scores.

3. RSS Before Content

Function: Insert custom content before each article content in the RSS feed.

effect:

• You can add a copyright notice, branding, or specific lead-in text (such as a link back to your site).

• Protect original content and reduce the risk of content being scraped by other platforms without indicating the source.

4. RSS After Content

Function: Insert custom content after each article content in the RSS feed.

effect:

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

• Same applies to copyright protection and branding.

5. Available Variables

This section provides some dynamic variables that can be used in RSS content ("RSS Before Content" and "RSS After Content"). These variables are used to dynamically generate information related to articles or sites, improving the flexibility and practicality of RSS content.

The following dynamic variables are supported:

1. %AUTHORLINK%

Function: Insert a link to the article's author page.

effect:

• Dynamically add author information links so subscribers can visit the author page to learn more.

• Enhance the author’s personal brand influence, suitable for multi-author websites.

2. %POSTLINK%

Function: Insert a link to the current article.

effect:

• Direct subscribers to access the full content of the article and increase website traffic.

• Ensure that the content captured in RSS subscriptions is linked to the original article to protect originality.

3. %BLOGDESCLINK%

Function: Insert a description of the site and its link.

effect:

• Used to display the core positioning or functional description of the website (for example: "Focus on technology news and reviews").

• Allow subscribers to have a more intuitive understanding of site content and attract more long-term users.

4. %BLOGLINK%

Function: Insert a link to the site's home page.

effect:

• Provide subscribers with quick access to the website homepage.

• Enhance the site's brand exposure, especially for first-time subscribers.

5. %FEATUREDIMAGE%

Function: Insert a link to the article's featured image.

effect:

• Display article thumbnails or main images in your RSS feeds to enhance the visual appeal of your content.

• Attract subscribers to click on article links to increase traffic and engagement.

Summarize

Rank Math “Others” The core functions of options are:

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

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

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

The functions of this tab are relatively detailed, but for users with specific needs, it 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 to control the behavior of search engine crawlers.

Key Features:

• Define directories or files that are allowed and prohibited from crawling.

• Quick updates without manually editing server files.

Edit .htaccess

This tab is used to manage .htaccess files directly through Rank Math.

use:

• Set up permanent redirects.

• Configure caching rules.

• Enhanced security.

Blocks

This tab is mainly used to configure the behavior and appearance of the content blocks (Blocks) provided by Rank Math, especially when using the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg) and integrating with the block functions provided by Rank Math. Changes to these settings will affect the default performance of the "Directory" block provided by Rank Math on the entire website, so that users do not need to adjust it manually every time:

The following is a detailed explanation of three of the settings:

1. Table of Contents Title

effect: Set the default title for the "Table of Contents" block.

use: When you insert the "Table of Contents" block provided by Rank Math into a page or article, the title configured here will automatically appear as the title of the table of contents.

• default value: Usually "Table of Contents" or translated into the corresponding language.

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

2. Table of Contents List Style

effect: Controls the style of the heading list in the table of contents.

Options:

• Unordered List: Displayed as a dot symbol (●).

• Ordered List: Displayed as a numerical sequence (1., 2., 3.).

• use：Choose a more suitable directory style according to the design style and layout requirements of the website. For example, technical articles may be more suitable for ordered lists, while blogs that are easy to read are more suitable for unordered lists.

3. Table of Contents Exclude Headings

effect: Allows you to exclude specific titles from appearing in the table of contents.

How to use:

• Enter the title text to exclude, using commas to separate multiple titles (eg Introduction, Conclusion).

• Alternatively, use a regular expression to exclude matching headers (for example, .Example. matches all titles containing "Example").

• use: If some titles are unimportant or duplicate and you do not want them to appear in the directory, you can exclude them through this setting.

404 Monitor

This tab mainly monitors the 404 error page of the website to facilitate the repair of invalid links.

Analytics

This tab integrates Google Analytics and Google Search Console to provide website performance and traffic reports. After successful configuration, you no longer need to manually add code to the relevant pages (it can also be configured during the initialization of the Rank Math plugin):

AdSense functionality requires the pro version:

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

Note 1: My rankings in all aspects have dropped a lot recently.

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

Redirections

This tab is used to set up and manage URL redirection:

Sitemap

What is a Sitemap?

In SEO (search engine optimization), a "sitemap" is an important tool that helps search engines better crawl and understand the content of a website in a structured way:

1. Help search engines crawl website content

A sitemap provides search engines with a complete overview of your site’s structure, helping crawlers discover:

• What's New：When a website publishes new pages or new articles, the sitemap can notify search engines to crawl these contents.

• In-depth content: For pages with deep hierarchies or few links, sitemaps can ensure that they are discovered by search engines.

2. Improve indexing efficiency

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

3. Support multimedia and multilingual content

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

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

4. Handling dynamic content or complex structures

For websites with dynamically generated content or rendered with JavaScript (such as single-page applications SPA), sitemap can make up for the shortcomings of crawlers that are difficult to crawl and directly provide all URLs.

5. Improve website visibility

A well-crafted sitemap helps to:

• Speed up the inclusion of new pages: Especially for large or frequently updated websites.

• Improve SEO performance：By providing clear page information, it improves search engines’ understanding of website content and thus increases ranking opportunities.

6. Support error troubleshooting

Submitting and analyzing your sitemap via Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools will reveal:

• Problem pages that are not being crawled or indexed.

• Any crawl errors that exist (such as 404 pages or duplicate content).

Sitemap categories

1. XML Sitemap: A structured document designed for search engines, which actually provides the content of the website in the format of an XML file, such as the one provided by Rank Math by default.https://blog.tangwudi.com/sitemap_index.xml" is my blog's site map, which reads as follows:
   
   
   
   With the above"https://blog.tangwudi.com/post-sitemap.xml"For example, its content is as follows:
   
   
   
   As can be seen from the content in the above picture, various language versions are listed in the site map corresponding to the article, so that search engines can see all the articles at a glance.

2. HTML Sitemap: Designed for users, providing navigation assistance, similar to mineSitemap, but it is much simpler, I don't like it. The following is the actual effect:

   

It's OK to be honest, but it's a little bit worse than my "site map".

However, the biggest advantage of HTML Sitemap is that you don’t have to manually add a new article to the “Sitemap” every time you publish it, as I do now. It is added automatically, which I quite like. What a pity~.

3. Image and Video Sitemap: Focus on multimedia content (never played it).

4. News Sitemap: Suitable for news websites or frequently updated content (not tried).

The following points should be noted when using Sitemap:

• Stay updated: Ensure that the sitemap reflects the latest structure of the website in real time (if there is an SEO plug-in, the plug-in will be responsible for this).

• File size and number: Each sitemap file must not exceed 50MB in size and contain a maximum of 50,000 URLs.

• Submission Tool: Submit and monitor your sitemap’s performance in Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster.

Sitemap Settings

Enter the Sitemap settings interface

Enable Sitemap in the Sitemap module in the Dashboard and enter the settings interface from the Settings button:

General

Generally speaking, this interface can be kept at the default value. Regarding the "Images in Sitemaps" option, I also tried to turn it on, but it seems that the external image hosting method for article images is ineffective, so I turned it off later:

HTML Sitemap

As shown below:

Note: After HTML Sitemap is enabled, there will be an option switch in the articles, pages, comments, and category directories to let you choose whether to include the content in the HTML Sitemap. You can choose according to your needs, which is very user-friendly.

Post Types and Taxonomies

The parameters under these two categories mainly control what content is in the XML Sitemap. From the previous content, we can know that in the first-level Sitemap"https://blog.tangwudi.com/sitemap_index.xmlThere will be 4 secondary sitemaps, corresponding to: articles, pages, comments and categories. The options under Post Types control whether the three secondary sitemaps of "articles", "pages" and "comments" are generated (all three are generated by default); the options under Taxonomies control whether the secondary sitemap corresponding to "categories" is generated (also generated by default). Because the settings are similar, I will only take the article page settings page as an example:

One thing to note here is: even if an option is not generated in the Sitemap, the search engine can still crawl it when crawling all the pages, but the efficiency is not high. The Sitemap only makes it easier for the search engine to index more efficiently.

Instant Indexing

Function Introduction

Instant IndexingThe function is a tool designed to improve the efficiency of fast indexing of web page content on search engines. Its main function is to integrate with Google or Bing API so that the content of the website (such as articles, pages, products, etc.) can be indexed and updated by search engines more quickly. The specific functions and effects are as follows:

1. Speed up content indexing

• Traditional indexing methodRelying on search engine crawlers to visit the site regularly, indexing is slower.

• Instant IndexingSend notifications directly to search engines via the API to inform them of new content releases or updates to existing content, significantly speeding up indexing.

2. Supported search engines

• Google: Instant Indexing is not widely supported yet (mainly for news content or specific types of websites).

• Bing: Fully supports API instant submission and can quickly respond to content changes.

3. Main Application

• Rapid inclusion of new content: For example, newly published blog posts, product pages, etc.

• Re-indexing of updated content: Used to update indexed content in a timely manner to ensure that search engines display the latest version.

• Notice of content removal: Promptly inform search engines that certain content has been removed to prevent users from accessing invalid pages through search engines.

4. SEO Advantages

• Ranking Benefits of Time-Sensitive Content: Such as news articles, promotional information, etc., can quickly make content visible in search engines.

• Reduce indexing lag: Avoid content update delays due to long crawler access intervals.

• Improve content coverage: Increase the overall indexability of your website content, especially for large sites.

Submission method

Rank Math's Instant Indexing supports two ways to submit content to search engines:

1. Manual submission

2. Automatic submission

Titles & Meta

Function Introduction

The content set in the "Titles & Meta" tab is one of the core functions of Rank Math, which is used to optimize the title (Title), meta description (Meta Description) and related SEO settings across the entire site. Through 8 sub-modules, users can manage different types of pages, content and social media meta information in detail to ensure the best performance of the website on search engines and social platforms.

1. Global Meta (global meta information settings)

Control the global SEO behavior of the website:

Feature highlights:

• Noindex Blank Page: Avoid indexing of empty categories, tags or pages without content, and reduce the impact of low-quality content.

• Automatically add nofollow to external links: Prevent weight loss due to too many external links, and you can choose whether to open it in a new tab.

• Controlling paging and archive pages: Set noindex for date archives, author archives, and paginated content to avoid duplicate content affecting SEO.

• Adjusting Meta Robots: Flexibly manage page indexing behaviors, such as index, follow, noindex, etc.

2. Local SEO (Local SEO Settings)

For business websites with physical stores or regional services, help optimize local search results:

Feature highlights (the following features require the Local SEO module to be enabled in Doshboard):

• Set up business information: Includes company name, address, phone (NAP) format to improve Google Maps and local search performance.

• Select Business Type: Supports multiple business types (such as restaurants, service companies) and provides more relevant structured data support.

• Opening hours: Set working hours so that they can be displayed in search results.

3. Social Meta (social media meta information settings)

Optimize the website sharing effect on social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Feature highlights:

• Facebook Open Graph Settings: Control the title, description, and image when sharing a page.

• Default shared image: If your content lacks a featured image, set a global default image to ensure consistent visuals across shares.

• Twitter Card Support: Select the display format (summary card or large image summary card) to increase click-through rate.

• Pinterest Verification: Provides site verification metadata for Pinterest.

4. Homepage (Homepage settings)

Optimize the homepage title, meta description and information displayed on social media (mainly Facebook and X, unfortunately it doesn’t work for me):

Feature highlights:

• Title Format: Use dynamic variables to set the home page title, for example %sitename% | %tagline%.

• Meta description：Provide a clear and attractive description for the homepage to increase the search engine click-through rate (CTR).

• Open Graph Support: Set the title, description, and image for sharing your homepage on social media.

• Schema settings: You can enable organizational or business structured data for your homepage.

5. Authors (Author page settings)

Suitable for multi-author blogs to optimize the SEO performance of each author's archive page.

Feature highlights:

• Disable single author pages: For single-author blogs, you can disable the author page completely to avoid duplicate content being indexed.

• Dynamic title and description: Set the page title through variables such as %name% (author name), for example "Article by %name% | %sitename%".

• Setting up Noindex: If the author page does not contribute much to SEO, you can set noindex.

6. Misc Pages (Misc Page Settings)

SEO settings for non-primary pages, such as 404 error pages and search results pages.

Feature highlights:

• 404 Page Title: Set a title and description for the error page, for example "Page Not Found | %sitename%".

• Site search page: You can choose whether to allow search engines to index the search results pages on your site.

• Category Description Meta: Enable support for meta descriptions of category and tag pages to improve category page optimization.

7. Post Types (content type settings)

Setting the title and meta description rules for different content types (articles, pages, attachments, comments, etc.), taking articles as an example (the settings for pages and comments are the same):

Feature highlights:

• Posts:

• Set the default title format (such as %title% | %sitename%) and description (such as %excerpt%).

• Enable structured data Schema for each article (such as a blog post).

• Controls whether the release date is displayed.

• Pages: Set the title and description template for individual pages and select the appropriate Schema type.

• Attachments: Supports redirecting attachment pages to actual file URLs to avoid generating useless low-quality pages.

• Status: If the theme supports microblog-style short content, you can set title and description rules for it.

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This part of the content also corresponds to the "Schema (Structured Data)" functional module in the Dashboard, that is, "Schema (Structured Data)":

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8. Post (taxonomy settings)

Used to optimize the page performance of categories and tags.

Feature highlights:

Categories:

• Set dynamic title templates (such as %term% | Category Directory | %sitename%) and description templates.

• Controls whether category pages are allowed to be indexed.

Tags:

• Format the tab title and description (eg %term%tab – %sitename%).

• If there are too many tags and they are of low quality, it is recommended to set noindex to prevent duplicate content from affecting SEO.

Summarize

Rank Math “Titles & Meta” The module provides site-wide SEO control capabilities through these 8 sub-modules.

1. Title Optimization: Dynamic variables + batch rules to simplify SEO operations.

2. Meta description management: Improve CTR (click-through rate) and search engine friendliness.

3. Social media performance: Customize sharing effects to increase brand exposure.

4. Duplicate content management: Reduce the impact of low-quality content through noindex and redirection.

5. Structured data support：Select Schema according to the page type to improve search engines’ understanding of the content.

SEO Analyzer

SEO Analyzer It is a very useful tool for analyzing and optimizing your website's SEO performance. The first time you use it, you need to do a test on your website:

Then the score is given:

The test results will also be analyzed:


There are also test items in the "Advanced SEO", "Performance", and "Security" sections:

Specifically, the functions of SEO Analyzer include the following:

1. Overall SEO health check of the website

• Analyze technical issues of the website, such as page loading speed, mobile optimization, meta tag settings, etc.

• Provide a comprehensive SEO analysis report to help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your current optimization.

2. Find and fix potential problems

• Check if there isMissing meta tags(e.g. title, description).

• DetectionALT attribute of the image, to ensure that the image content is search engine friendly.

• analyzeBroken Links(Broken Link) or404 Error Page, ensuring a good user experience.

• Make sure your site complies withSEO Best Practices(such as Schema markup, open graph markup, etc.).

3. Keyword and content optimization suggestions

• Identify ifKeyword stuffing problemOr lack of relevant keywords.

• Provide suggestions on content length, headings, and paragraph structure.

4. Analyze the external and internal link structure

• Make sure your website has enough internal links to support the information architecture.

• Check if outbound links are correct and have appropriate nofollow attributes.

5. Competitor Analysis (Premium Version Feature)

• If you are using Rank Math Pro, SEO Analyzer can also help analyze competitor websites and provide more targeted optimization suggestions.

6. Generate an optimization list

• Automatically generates an easy-to-follow SEO improvement checklist to help you optimize your website step by step.

Through SEO Analyzer, users can clearly know the strengths and weaknesses of their own websites, so as to carry out targeted optimization and improve the performance of the website in search engines.

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One thing to note is that if you use WAF and there is a problem with the policy settings, it will affect the SEO Analyzer test. I previously allowed SEO Analyzer to always have "API 400" errors. After studying it for a long time, I found that it was blocked by Cloudflare's WAF, as follows:

Therefore, you need to skip the test packets sent from the IP "46.30.211.100" used by SEO Analyzer in Cloudflare WAF (if you are worried, you can also add requirements for UA). Everyone should pay attention to this issue.

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Status & Tools

This tab contains four specific tabs:Version Control,Database Tools,System Status and Import & Export.

1. Version Control

effect: This tab helps you manage versions of the Rank Math plugin. The Rank Math plugin will display the currently installed version and allow you to check if there are any updates for the plugin. If you want to use a specific previous version, you can roll back here.

Function:

• View the current plug-in version.

• Check if there are any updates for the plug-in.

• Roll back to a previous version.

2. Database Tools

effect: This tab allows you to manage the Rank Math plugin's database and optimize its data storage. As the content of your website changes, Rank Math will store a lot of SEO-related data in the database, such as settings, metadata, analysis, etc. This tool helps clean, rebuild and optimize this data.

Function:

• Cleaning up the database: Delete data that is no longer needed, such as metadata of deleted pages, temporarily stored SEO data, etc.

• Rebuilding the database: If some data tables are damaged or plug-ins behave abnormally, you can use this function to rebuild the database tables and resume normal operations.

• Clean up unused SEO settings: For example, cleaning up unused SEO metadata.

3. System Status

• effect: This tab displays technical information about your website and server, helping you diagnose whether the Rank Math plugin is compatible with your current environment. System Status provides an overview of the basic configuration of your server and website, helping you troubleshoot any issues that may affect the normal operation of the plugin.

Function:

• Review the server and PHP configuration (eg PHP version, memory limit, etc.).

• Check the versions of WordPress and Rank Math plugin.

• Ensure compatibility of Rank Math plugin with other plugins and themes.

• Check if the current environment meets the minimum requirements for the Rank Math plugin.

4. Import & Export

effect: This tab allows you to import or export the settings of the Rank Math plugin, making it easier to migrate and synchronize settings between multiple websites; at the same time, you can also import the configuration of other SEO plugins (Yoast SEO or ALLinSEO) here:

Function:

• Export Settings: You can export the Rank Math settings on the current website as a file and then import it on other websites.

• Import Settings: If you have configured Rank Math settings on other websites, you can import the settings file to the new website so that you can quickly copy and apply the same SEO settings; you can also import the settings of the SEO plugin you used before.

General SEO Use

The previous section talked about settings, and these settings will basically not be changed after the initial configuration. The rest are some operations that you will come into contact with when writing articles:

In addition: A very troublesome thing I am facing now is that Rank Math supports 5 keywords (the direct ALLinOne SEO free version only supports 1). So, if I want to achieve the best effect, I now need to add keywords to the nearly 160 previous articles one by one. This workload is a bit heavy and I am worried.

Afterword

Finally finished writing it. Rank Math is so conscientious. The free version provides so many functions. According to my usual explanation habits, I like to explain it in detail and take complete screenshots. However, this time, there was too much content and I was almost exhausted.

However, through this article, I have sorted out all the functional modules of Rank Math, and basically understood some SEO concepts that I didn’t quite understand before. Of course, there are still some that are still vague, because I don’t use them and have no actual experience.

Now all that’s left is to wait for a while and see the results. Every time I change an SEO plugin, I feel like there will be a period of fluctuation (the first time I changed from Yoast SEO to ALLinOne SEO), so I really don’t want to change SEO plugins. This time, switching to Rank Math should be the last time I change SEO plugins.