When designing a website and populating it with content, it is vital to consider the multiple purposes that any element serves. Not only do text, images, and videos help your customers navigate through your website, this content also tells search engines what your website (or a particular cornerstone content page) is about.
Search engines follow a set of rules that allow them to index, and essentially understand, the purpose of your content.
One of the most popular (freemium) blogging softwares available today is WordPress. WordPress has dominated the market for quick and easy content creation for more than two decades. In this time, a number of companies have created additional software solutions (plugins) that can be used in conjunction with WordPress. One of the most vital functions they serve is improving SEO.
Search engine optimization plugins give the user tips and tricks on whether or not the content would be understood by a search engine (like Google or Bing), correctly.
The most widely used SEO plugin for WordPress, Yoast SEO, just got some intense competition in the form of Rank Math. We’ve been using it for a while and would like to share our experiences about what works and why we like it.
If you need help selecting the right tool or plugin for your content management system, click here to reach out and set up a call with one of our SEO consultants.
About Rank Math
A Search Engine Optimization plugin for WordPress, Rank Math is a newer player to the game compared to other SEO tools like Yoast. Building on the strong points of those that have gone before it, though, it is a highly accessible online tool that makes it easy for anyone to optimize their content with built-in suggestions based on widely accepted best practices from SEO experts. Not to mention, their interface makes it simple to customize important SEO settings, control which pages are indexable, and determine precisely how you want your website to appear in search with Structured data.
Overall, it has a lot to offer and is excellent support for those new to the world of SEO and those looking to refine their approach. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the reasons we love it.
Feature highlights:
- More than 15 modules you can enable and configure based on your requirements.
- Ability to measure and track keyword ranking to keep tabs on your SEO success.
- Capacity to run a detailed SEO analysis to identify issues based on 30 known factors.
- Easy one-click imports for seamless migrations from other SEO plugins.
- Full compatibility with both the WordPress Gutenberg and Classic Editors.
- Win rich snippets with support for 20+ Schema types (including. FAQ & HowTo).
Rank Math vs. Yoast
Yoast is another SEO tool that we’ve used and found really helpful. Both Rank Math and Yoast SEO are available for free at WordPress.org and, likewise, can each be upgraded to premium versions with more features.
This is a relatively new development for Rank Math as, for a long time, it only came in a free version. However, the developer launched the Pro version of the plugin in November 2020. And for those willing to shell out for a premium version, Rank Math does seem to offer more value. Overall:
- Rank Math’s top-level prices are currently lower than Yoast SEO.
- In addition, rank Math’s premium plan supports unlimited websites, while Yoast SEO doesn’t offer an unlimited license.
- Rank Math has a single premium plan with all the features, while Yoast SEO has multiple premium extensions. So, for example, if you want to add Local SEO support, that’s a separate purchase.
Is Rank Math safe?
Since Rank Math is a newer plugin while Yoast SEO has been around for years, some people worry about the safety of Rank Math. They shouldn’t, though. Rank Math still comes from an established WordPress development team (MyThemeShop), and it’s also built up a good reputation in the time that it’s been available.
Tips for getting the most out of Rank Math:
Think you might be up for giving Rank Math a try? Stephanie Gerfin, one of our Junior Marketeers who supports clients with their content marketing (SEO) and (organic) social media activities, offers her take on Rank Math in the points below:
The tool makes it very easy to optimize the SEO for a website. There is a whole list of things you could improve, and the tool even explains what is missing or what should be changed. The rating (from 1 to 100) is shown by a “traffic light” system where the score appears in either red, yellow, or green (above 80).
- Use the keyword research option. The tool itself offers data on the relevance/frequency of search queries of a keyword. Therefore choosing a keyword to be the main focus of the content is easy.
- Ensure the keyword is in the title, the URL, the meta-description, and the hero picture’s alt text. The tool also shows how often your keyword is in the text and whether or not it is too often or not often enough.
- Tip: A number in the title is considered a plus, so a good strategy is to include the year.
- Google is a fan of articles being updated with new information. So it would be wise to do so in the next year and then change the year in the title (from 2021 -> 2022).
- Tip: If the URL is too long, even after shortening the title, you might need to consider choosing one category from a higher level so the URL is shorter.
Example:- short: yourfirm.ch/category/yourcontent
- long: yourfirm.ch/category/subcategory/(…)/yourcontent
Developing a comprehensive digital strategy
Tools like Rank Math are just one ingredient in a mix of things you need to make sure your online content stands out. From content marketing to social media and pay-per-click advertising, there are many ways you can help your organization evolve from a digital viewpoint. Get in touch to talk with one of our experts about how we can help. Likewise, if you like staying up to date on current social media trends and growth marketing hacks, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for the latest digital marketing news.
