Rank Math: Best SEO plugin
In today’s ever-changing digital world, standing out is crucial. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a fundamental part of driving qualified traffic to your site. Rank Math is a WordPress plugin that has established itself as a leader in this field. This article delves deeper into its features and benefits, while providing you with practical tips to maximize its use.
Table of contents
What is Rank Math?
Rank Math is a free SEO plugin designed specifically for WordPress. It allows users of all levels, from beginners to experts, to effectively manage their SEO optimization. This plugin stands out for its ease of use and advanced features. One of the most appreciated features of Rank Math is its setup wizard, which guides the user through the installation and configuration process. With this wizard, you can choose the options that best suit your site and your goals.
Rank Math SEO
- Rank Math is the most powerful way to add the BEST SEO tools for WordPress to your website.
In addition to its user-friendliness, Rank Math offers a host of built-in features, such as real-time SEO analysis, Schema integration, and rank tracking. This means that you don’t need multiple plugins to manage your SEO, making it easier to manage your site. In short, Rank Math is the ideal tool for anyone looking to optimize their site efficiently and professionally.
Key Features of Rank Math
Rank Math stands out with a set of features that make it easier to optimize your site. One of the most notable is real-time SEO analysis. As you write your content, Rank Math evaluates various elements such as keyword usage, readability, and tag structure. This allows you to adjust your content instantly, ensuring that it is optimized before it is even published.
Another essential feature is the ability to easily add Schema Markup tags. These tags help search engines understand the context of your content, thus promoting the display of rich snippets in search results. This can significantly increase your visibility and click-through rate. Additionally, Rank Math supports media optimization, allowing you to add alt tags and descriptions to your images, which is crucial for SEO.
The plugin is structured into different modules that you can access from your dashboard. These modules represent features that you can enable or disable depending on the needs of your site. For example, if you manage a blog, it is not necessary to enable the WooCommerce option. Similarly, if you already use the Redirection plugin, activating this option will not be necessary.
These modules must be activated to be used fully in your admin interface. There are 18 available for free, and 3 additional ones with the Pro version of Rank Math on WordPress (News Sitemap, Podcast and Video Sitemap).
Free Features:
- Setting up SEO titles and meta descriptions : Create templates that automatically apply to content and manually edit SEO titles and descriptions for each item.
- Definition of descriptions for social media: manage text and images for Facebook and Twitter.
- XML Sitemap: generate a more customizable XML sitemap than the one offered by default by WordPress.
- Structured Data/Schema: Implement Schema Markup across the entire site and control markup for specific content elements.
- Search Console: Connect your site to Google Search Console to automatically submit sitemaps and view analytics right in your WordPress dashboard.
- Image SEO: Improve image SEO and automatically set alt and title tags.
- Internal link suggestions: Rank Math will suggest other content for you to link to as you work in the editor.
- Breadcrumbs: integrate breadcrumbs into your site.
- Link counter: count the internal and external links present in your content.
- Redirects: Create and manage 301 and 302 redirects.
- Monitoring 404 errors: monitor your site for 404 errors and redirect them to other pages.
- Google Analytics: add the tracking code and view the data.
- Basic WooCommerce SEO : define product and store titles and descriptions.
Premium Features:
- Keyword Rank Tracking: Monitor your site's search engine rankings and keyword performance over the past 12 months (quite unique).
- Google Trends integration.
- Google Video SEO Sitemap.
- Google News SEO Sitemap.
- Multiple locations for local SEO.
- More predefined schema types (over 20).
- Google AdSense Earnings History.
- Automatic watermarking of images for social networks.
A nice feature of Rank Math is that all of these features are modular, allowing you to easily disable the ones you don't use.
Benefits of Rank Math Plugin
One of the main advantages of Rank Math is that it offers a extremely rich free version in features. Unlike other plugins that limit access to advanced tools without a paid subscription, Rank Math allows users to access a multitude of options at no cost. This makes it especially attractive to small businesses and bloggers who may not have the budget to invest in expensive tools.
Additionally, Rank Math's user interface is intuitive and user-friendly. Even if you don’t have technical SEO knowledge, you can easily navigate the plugin and understand how to optimize your content. The options are well organized, and the clear descriptions guide you through each step.
Another significant advantage is the comprehensive documentation and responsive customer support. Rank Math offers detailed tutorials, guides, and an active community that can help you troubleshoot issues or answer your questions. This allows you to get the most out of the tool, even if you are new to SEO.
- Fastest SEO Plugin
- SEO and schema on automation
- Dedicated Premium Support
- Affordable for everyone
- Enterprise-grade features
- Advanced Technical SEO
- Interface loaded
- Potential conflicts
- Limited support
Why Choose Rank Math?
Choosing Rank Math means choosing a tool that combines power, flexibility, and user-friendliness. This plugin is not limited to being a simple optimization tool; it offers you a complete strategy to improve your online visibility. With its advanced features, you can not only optimize your content for search engines, but also track your performance and adjust your strategy in real time.
By using Rank Math, you also benefit from regular feature updates, which means that the tool is constantly evolving to meet new SEO trends and requirements. This allows you to stay up to date and always use the best practices when it comes to optimization.
Finally, Rank Math is designed to integrate seamlessly with other WordPress tools and plugins, allowing you to create a cohesive digital ecosystem. Whether you are a blogger, entrepreneur, or marketing professional, Rank Math is the perfect ally to achieve your SEO goals and maximize your ROI.
How much does the SEO Rank Math plugin cost?
You can buy a separate plugin for each feature that Rank Math offers or you can be smart and get the plugin that does the job of 9 standalone paid plugins. To enjoy advanced features, it is necessary to choose one of the three Rank Math Pro licenses:
- Pro ($49/year, or €47) is intended for bloggers, individuals and solopreneurs;
- Business ($159/year, or €154) aimed at freelancers, businesses and agency owners;
- Agency ($399/year, or €386) is designed for agency owners who manage multiple locations.
How to setup Rank Math SEO plugin
Step 1: Download and install the plugin
To install Rank Math SEO PRO, start by purchasing the plugin from the official Rank Math website. Once you have made your purchase, you will receive a download link and a license key. Download the plugin ZIP file to your computer.
Next, log in to your WordPress dashboard. In the left menu, head to the Settings section. Extensions And click Add. From there, select the option Upload an extension at the top of the page. Choose the ZIP file you downloaded and click install now.
Once the installation is complete, activate the plugin by clicking on Enable. You will then be guided through a setup wizard that will help you define the basic settings of Rank Math. During this step, don't forget to enter your license key to unlock all the features of the plugin.
After following these steps, Rank Math SEO PRO will be installed and ready to use on your WordPress site. To get the most out of this plugin, check out Rank Math’s documentation to explore all the features it offers.
Step 2: Start the installer.
When you activate the extension, Rank Math will offer you to create a free account to take advantage of keyword suggestions from Google, as well as its SEO analysis tool. If you are interested, click on the " Launch the wizard».
To get started, Rank Math offers you 3 types of modes:
Easy Mode. Rank Math will take care of most of the settings for you. Opt for this mode if you are new to SEO (you can change modes later if you want).
Advanced Mode. Intended for those who want to master all aspects of their site's SEO. This is the default setting, which I will keep for this test.
Custom Mode. Exclusively for Rank Math Pro users, this mode allows you to choose whether you want to use a custom Rank Math settings file.
Just follow the instructions. You must select one of the following 7 categories to define your site: personal blog, community blog/news site, personal portfolio, small business site, online store, other personal site, or other business website.
It is recommended to stick to one of these 7 categories so that you can choose the options associated with it. For example, additional options are available for e-commerce sites, such as WooCommerce. Then, you will need to provide the following information: your site name and its alternative version, your company name, your logo, and a default sharing image for social networks.
Step 3: Link your Google services (Search Console and Analytics)
This is one of the key features of the plugin, allowing you to view Google Search Console and Google Analytics data directly from your WordPress interface. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it!
Here are the benefits of the connection offered by Rank Math: you can validate the ownership of your site on Google Search Console with a simple click. In addition, this connection allows you to track the ranking of your pages and keywords thanks to the advanced statistics module, directly on your WordPress dashboard.
You don’t need to install a third-party plugin (like Monster Insights) to set up Google Analytics on WordPress. Finally, you’ll be able to automatically submit your sitemaps to Google Search Console. To get started, click the “Connect Google Services” button:
A new window will open displaying your Google account. Select your account by clicking on it. Rank Math will then have connected your site, or will ask you to choose the website and Analytics property you wish to associate with your WordPress site.
Step 4: Select your sitemaps configuration
A sitemap is a document that lists all the content on your site in order to optimize its indexing by Google. It is important to note that Yoast creates it automatically, without you having to intervene.
The post types to be indexed are pre-selected. You can uncheck the content types that do not need to be indexed. Carefully select the content types relevant to your site that should be indexed.
Step 5: Improve SEO settings
This section will save you a lot of time. If the jargon intimidates you, you can keep the default settings. Let's look at the different options:
- Empty Category and Tag Archives Noindex: This prevents taxonomy pages without articles from being indexed. Enable this option;
- Nofollow external links: This tells search engines not to follow any outbound links (backlinks) in your content. Disable this option;
- Open link in new tab/window is self explanatory. Set this option to “off” to maintain flexibility when writing your content.
Rank Math User Interface
If you’re using WordPress’ block editor (Gutenberg), Rank Math integrates seamlessly into that editor. This means you won’t be resorting to the “meta box” approach you find with the classic editor. You can access Rank Math’s settings by clicking its icon in the toolbar. The settings sidebar is organized into four tabs:
General – edit snippet information, set a primary keyword, and view analytics.
Advanced – configure meta information for robots, such as adding a noindex tag.
Diagram – implement schema markup/structured data.
Social – configure social graph information for Facebook and Twitter.
Another distinctive feature of Rank Math is its analytics interface. Depending on whether you use the free or pro version, you will have the ability to track different elements.
In the free version, you can access Search Console reports, which include data such as search impressions and keyword positions. On the other hand, the pro version allows you to track keyword rankings as well as performance, which is a paid service.
Additionally, Rank Math offers the ability toanalyze traffic statistics from Google Analytics, also as part of a paid subscription. The tool will associate these statistics with the SEO score of each content, thus facilitating the optimization of your site.
analytics
I generally do not recommend Rank Math analyses for the following reasons:
- You can get this data directly in Search Console, Analytics, and AdSense.
- Statistics are known to cause database overload and can slow down your site.
Sure, I think it’s a good idea to track keywords, ranking position, and CTR. In my opinion, the most important metric is to know which pages are losing positions so you can go back and improve the content. But otherwise, I would disable the analytics module and just use Search Console.
Redirections
Manage redirects and see how many visits they have received. Don't forget to enable the "Automatic redirection of publications" in General Settings → Redirects so that they are created automatically when a URL is changed.
Article to read: GiveWP: Successful Donation Collection on WordPress
Conclusion
Buying the plugin alone will not improve SEO. It is essential to leverage its additional features to take full advantage of it. For my part, I was able to remove several plugins (Yoast, Schema Pro, Redirections, Auto Image Attributes) and use Rank Math to manage everything. I am also in the process of converting the FAQ schema from Structured Content to Rank Math.
All in One SEO Pack
- Easily add title tags, meta descriptions, keywords and everything you need for proper on-page SEO optimization.
But what probably had the biggest impact was schema. I use Rank Math’s article, FAQ, video, and software (for reviews) schemas on my posts to improve CTR. It also has features for local SEO, video, and WooCommerce, which allows you to have all the features of Yoast’s premium plugins. This makes other SEO plugins obsolete: Yoast, WP Schema Pro, All In One Schema, Auto Image Attributes, and all of Yoast’s premium plugins.
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