When it comes to SEO plugins the top two choices are Rank Math and Yoast. How do you decide Rank Math vs Yoast for your blog? This article will break down the reasons I went with Rank Math.
You don’t need to have an SEO plug-in on your site to rank on Google. They are there to help guide you and can help you rank better but they aren’t required. However, I do highly recommend you use one.
There are a few out there but the main two are Yoast and Rank Math. Both are great for bloggers but they do have very different features and it is important to research which is best for your blog.
I have used both Yoast and Rank Math over the years on multiple blogs. I’ve also used both plugins on WordPress Gutenberg and the classic editor so my thoughts are from using it on both so no matter what you are currently using my opinion is the same.
Let’s first talk about the history of the two plugins and then we will get into what features they both have and other details that can help you choose.
What is Yoast SEO?
Yoast SEO was called WordPress SEO when it first launched in 2010 and also when I first used the plugin. The creator of the plugin, Joost de Talk, originally created multiple small SEO plugins that he eventually turned into what we now know as Yoast SEO. It’s a very popular app with over 18 million users. And it currently averages 5 stars on WordPress with over 27,000 reviews.
What is Rank Math?
Rank Math is a much newer plugin, it was created in 2018. They now have over 1.8 million users. While this is many fewer users than Yoast that is to be expected with how much newer the plugin is. The growth has been steady since its launch. It currently has an average of 5 stars on WordPress with over 5,000 reviews.
Rank Math vs Yoast: Reasons I Picked Rank Math
I used Yoast SEO for many years. I had it on my first two blogs Retro Housewife Goes Green and Green Oklahoma. I had been overall happy with it for years, until 2018. March 2018 Yoast released an update that caused “thin content” to be indexed, each media & attachment URL was indexed as a page.
This bug didn’t impact all users but for the ones it did, it caused a big hit in rankings for many. I was hit on both of my sites at the time. You can see it best on my site Green Oklahoma.
I had been seeing large growth on that site before March but as soon as the bug hit it started falling until I caught it around June 2018 and fixed it. It kept falling for a while and slowly picked up again.
Understandably this left a bad taste in my mouth. At the time I didn’t know of any good alternatives so I kept using it. In 2020 I learned about Rank Math and switched one blog to it and quickly found it to be a much better experience. I’ve now put it on all my sites and I have a pro subscription.
Most of you won’t have to worry about the Yoast bug so that alone is not likely going to help you decide to switch or not so let’s talk about the reasons I love Rank Math.
1. Site Speed
Site speed is important for SEO and user experience. Yoast was the largest and slowest plugin I was using when I used it and it’s overall a very bloated plugin. You can check plugin speed with the Query Monitor plugin to see how it is doing on your site. Let’s look at the numbers (these numbers are as of April 2022).
- Rank Math uses 61.1k lines of code and Yoast uses 97.1k
- Rank Math’s plugin folder size is 11.8 MB and Yoast’s is 32.4 MB
- Rank Math’s memory usage is +0.35 MB and Yoast’s is +1.62 MB
- Rank Math’s page speed is +0.01s and Yoast’s is +0.18s
There is a pretty clear winner when it comes to site speed and it’s Rank Math.
2. Better Features
Yoast is pretty limited in their features even when you choose Yoast SEO Premium. Rank Math has a full list of its features on its site and the list is extensive. Some features that Rank Math has that not even Yoast SEO Premium has are more advanced schema markup, better analytics and SEO tracking, and many others.
3. Better Price
Yoast SEO Premium is currently $99 a year and you need it to access several features included in Rank Math’s free version. Rank Math starts at $59 a year and with that plan you can use it on unlimited personal websites while Yoast charges more for each website. I have 6 blogs so Yoast would cost me $594 a year!
4. Redirect Manager
I used to have a second plugin to deal with redirects because you have to buy Yoast SEO Premium to get a redirect manager. Rank Math offers this even in their free version.
It works really well. As soon as you delete a post it will ask you if you want to create a redirect and if you change a URL it will automatically create a redirect.
5. Better Data
The green light on Yoast is meant to tell you that you are meeting a lot of their criteria for a good post and while this should just be a guide anyway it really doesn’t give you a lot to go on.
Rank Math uses a number system instead which can give you even more context. It’s still just a guide but I find their data to provide more value and the number gives me a better idea of how I’m doing than just the three colors Yoast gives you.
6. Switching is VERY Easy
I was nervous when making the switch from Yoast to Rank Math but it was very painless and there was no negative impact on my SEO rankings.
This is a basic step-by-step guide to how you make the switch. I’ve now switched multiple blogs and have never had any issues.
- Download Rank Math from the plugin menu on WordPress or their website.
- Sign up for Rank Math and connect your account.
- Use the Rank Math start wizard, which is very user-friendly.
- Import data from Yoast.
- Configure the settings (Rank Math has good info on setting this up).
- Delete the Yoast plugin.
- Join the Rank Math Facebook group.
If you ever have trouble with Rank Math you can reach out to customer service or check the Rank Math Facebook group. I’ve often found the answers I need there quickly. It’s a great group both for Rank Math and SEO in general.
Rank Math vs Yoast Summary
Overall I’ve been very happy with Rank Math after years of using Yoast. I recently tried Yoast again when it was installed on a blog I purchased and it confirmed my opinion that Rank Math is the better option.
I currently have the Rank Math Pro plan and feel like for me the cost is worth it but you can start with the free version to test it out yourself.
More Blogging Resources
Looking for more information on blogging? Check out some of the other blog-related articles on this site.
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