In this objective product and service review, our guest contributor, Shivansh Singh helps you decide between Rank Math SEO vs Yoast SEO plugins to help you optimize your site and rank high on Google!
You’ve created a self-hosted WordPress website, and although you have amazing content, your blog is an orphan. An island even! Nobody visits your website.
Though Google processes over 3.5 billion searches every day, your articles and posts do not rank anywhere near the front pages of Google.
So nobody clicks through to your site.
You’ve read somewhere that to rank your website on page #1 of Google you need to optimize your website. So you want to start by installing the best SEO plugin.
But which SEO plugin is best for you?
I guess, most of you are probably thinking it must be the Yoast SEO plugin and rightly so, as it is the award-winning plugin for WordPress SEO.
But, things constantly change with time, and change is the only constant in life. In fact, it was Herakleitos the Greek philosopher, who is credited with saying, “Everything changes and nothing stands still.”
Although relatively new to the SEO plugin scene, many WordPress users have switched to the Rank Math SEO plugin which is undoubtedly one of the best Yoast SEO Alternatives.
RankMath plugin has some vocal fans on Facebook and appears to be moving towards dominating the WordPress websites over Yoast SEO.
As an example, I used Yoast SEO almost for 1.5 Years before I made the switch. I’m currently using the Rank Math SEO Plugin and used it for the last 12 months.
Having used both SEO plugins extensively, I’m in a great place to tell you the differences between Yoast SEO vs Rank Math SEO.
So, if you’re ready, let’s get started.
Everything To Know About Rank Math SEO Vs Yoast SEO
First a bit of history.
Let’s take a quick look at the origins of these amazing SEO plugins.
Yoast SEO Plugin
This plugin was launched in 2010 by Joost de Valk. He was an SEO Consultant before launching Yoast SEO.
Yoast SEO comes with almost all the essential features with its free version. There was a time when everyone (Blogger) wanted to install Yoast SEO plugin for their website.
But, currently, there are pretty no. of good SEO plugins available in the online market like RankMath, SEOPress and All In One SEO, etc.
It is one of the most popular plugins for WordPress SEO with over +5 million total active installations till now.
It works on the freemium model. It means, You can try its free version and for more outstanding features you can buy its premium version.
Rank Math SEO Plugin
It is a new wordpress SEO plugin founded in 2019. Rank Math plugin has active installations from 0 to 700,000 sites in less than 2 Years which is very impressive for a new WordPress plugin.
This plugin is built by the team of MyThemeShop which is a well-known brand for wordpress plugins and themes.
In its initial days, It has only the free version which was enough for a beginner to start a website but recently in 2020, they have introduced their Pro Rank Math plugin which has unique features over Yoast SEO.
Now, Let’s take a deep look at Yoast SEO vs Rank Math SEO.
Rank Math SEO Vs Yoast SEO – An Unbiased Service Review.
1 – Features
I’m personally using the Rank Math SEO plugin for my website and, it works like a charm. Rank Math provides these fantastic features with its free plan:
Paid Version Features
These are the paid features you will get with the RankMath pro version. One thing that I feel good about RankMath is, these features are modular features which means, you can enable or disable these features anytime.
Same applies to Yoast SEO.
Yoast SEO also provides good features and, That’s why it is still on the top of the best SEO plugins list.
But it lacks in features as compared to the Rank Math SEO plugin.
Yoast SEO Plugin
Yoast SEO is undoubtedly on top of the best SEO plugins list with over 288 million downloads. It provides limited essential features in its free version.
These features are –
Paid Version Features
You can also optimize your content for different types of SEO with paid add-ons. Let’s say if you want to rank on the Google videos or you want to rank on the Google news then you can use these paid add-ons to rank higher.
These local features and add-ons are available in the premium version of the Yoast SEO plugin.
2 – Setup Configuration
User Interface is one of the most important factors for a product’s success. If you are providing a lot of good features in your plugin but your user interface is very tough to scroll then the audience will ignore your product.
But, Both Yoast SEO and Rank Math SEO plugin provide quite good and easy to use Interface. If you are a beginner then still you can use these plugins efficiently.
Rank Math SEO Plugin
When you will install and activate RankMath Plugin then automatically it will redirect you to the setup page.
You can also optionally link your free Rank Math account to activate some more features. A RankMath account is not necessary to use this plugin.
Now comes the setup.
As you can see from the image below, its setup wizard is quite simple and beginner-friendly.
If you have just started and you don’t have any SEO knowledge then you can select the “Easy” Interface while the “Advanced” Interface is for those who want to control every aspect of the SEO for their website.
In the setup wizard, You can set up the –
The above setting is for the Basic Users but, If you have selected the Advanced option in the setup wizard then you will land on a completely different page.
Advanced options will unlock some more options and steps. These Additional steps are as follows:
When you will finish with the Advance layout option then it will redirect you to the module manager page where you can control all the modules of the Rank Math SEO plugin.
Module Manager will help you to do the –
You will only get this option to enable or disable modules in Advanced mode.
Yoast SEO Plugin
Yoast SEO plugin also provides you the configuration wizard to help you to set up the plugin efficiently.
It’s setup wizard is beginner-friendly so whether you are a starter or a professional, You can easily set up the BASIC and ADVANCE SEO settings within the Yoast SEO plugin.
You can customize these settings in the configuration wizard –
Yoast SEO will also notify you if your website faces any SEO-related or bad configuration setting problems.
Yoast SEO also provides you the modular approach so that you can enable or disable any feature of it.
If you are using a fast loading wordpress theme then a modular approach can also help your website to load fast as your SEO plugin works on less code.
More on the Review of Rank Math SEO Vs Yoast SEO
Here’s the rest of the review of these 2 amazing SEO plugins.
3 – Keyword Optimization Analysis
It is a very important analysis as it will directly affect your ranking in the search engine.
If you have optimized your content based on either the Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO recommendations, it doesn’t automatically guarantee you will rank on top of the Google search engine results pages (SERPs).
However, it means you have optimized your content well for the best SEO outcomes.
Rank Math gives you one distinct advantage over Yoast SEO in their free version. With Rank Math you can optimize your content for multiple keywords, while Yoast SEO allows optimization for only one keyword.
Rank Math Plugin
It offers the optimization recommendations for a maximum of 5 keywords in its free plan. All you have to do is enter your keyword(s) there.
Note: Do not focus on covering all the tips to make the SEO score 100. Just make sure it is more than 80.
Basic SEO, Additional SEO, and Title Readability are important in Rank Math SEO. You have to make all the ticks green.
Yoast SEO Plugin
I must say, Yoast SEO is a plugin trusted by millions of people trust and, which generally fulfills website owners’ expectations.
You can only optimize one keyword in the Yoast SEO free version. However, you can enter multiple key phrases in its free version.
It is important to bear in mind that SEO plugins almost follow the same ranking guidelines to make the content more SEO-friendly.
Yoast SEO recommends SEO guidelines which are basically the same as Rank Math SEO optimization.
It applies its SEO algorithm to your content and indicates it from three colors:
You don’t have to fulfill all their SEO recommendations but focus on making your content more natural and qualitative.
In my view, a quality post means:
Yoast SEO provides you the separate Readability Analysis for your content. It will suggest some basic things to make your content more readable.
On the next navigation, you can also setup the SCHEMA type for the individual piece of content.
4 – Price Plans
The Yoast SEO and RankMath SEO plugins are both available in the free version.
However, if you want to purchase their premium versions then both plugins have different pricing.
When Rank Math was launched in 2019, it’s free version provided all the important and essential features like multiple keyword optimization, etc.
But in 2020, it launched its paid version with some unique features to compete with the Yoast SEO premium plugin.
The Rank Math premium has some unique features that Yoast SEO doesn’t provide even in their paid plan.
I will discuss Rank Math’s unique features later on in this article.
So keep reading 🙂
As I said earlier, pricing is completely different for these 2 SEO plugins.
It is worth pointing out at the outset, that the Rank Math SEO plugin is more affordable than the Yoast SEO plugin.
Rank Math Plugin
Rank Math currently offers two price plans –
These pricing are currently under the offer and, If you miss their offer or if Rank Math ended their offer then it will charge you the below pricing.
I think, It is a very affordable pricing as compared to Yoast SEO. Let’s see the Yoast SEO pricing.
Yoast SEO Plugin
It provides you with 2 price plans. One is a single site license, while the other is a multiple site license. And you will also get some extra discount if you purchase multiple site licenses.
If you are buying Yoast SEO premium for a specific type of SEO, then there are also four premium extensions for the same –
Unique Features of Rank Math SEO Vs Yoast SEO
| Feature | Rank Math SEO | Yoast SEO |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics Integration | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Keyword Rank Tracker | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Import Schema From Any Website | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Google Trends Integration | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Track Top 5 Winning Keywords | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Track Top 5 Losing Keywords | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Google AdSense Earning History | ✔️ | ❌ |
As you can see from the above table, Rank Math SEO has many more unique features than even the Yoast SEO premium.
However, it is up to you which SEO plugin you want.
I recommend you install the Rank Math SEO plugin free version and, when you want to track your top performing and losing keywords then purchase its Premium License.
FAQs Related To Rank Math SEO vs Yoast SEO
Now to the frequently asked questions.
Q1. Is Rank Math Better Than Yoast?
If we compare features, then Rank Math has more features in both the free plan as well as paid plan, whereas Yoast SEO doesn’t even provide those features in the paid version.
Rank Math plugin is also cost effective. So on the basis of these parameters, Rank Math is better than Yoast SEO plugin.
Q2. Is Rank Math Free?
Rank Math SEO works on the FREEMIUM model, meaning it has both the free and paid versions.
You can use it for free for the complete SEO optimization of your website.
Q3. Which Plugin Offers More Features?
The Rank Math SEO plugin has more features in their free plan and paid plan respectively, in comparison to the Yoast SEO plugin.
Q4. Which Plugin Has Better Reviews?
Based on WordPress, both plugins have excellent reviews, although Yoast SEO has more reviews:
• Yoast SEO – 4.9-star rating on over 27,305 reviews.
• Rank Math – 4.9-star rating on over 2,379 reviews.
Q5. Is Rank Math Safe?
Rank Math SEO is a new plugin, as it was launched in 2019 while Yoast SEO has been around for many years.
So, people may question Rank Math plugin’s safety or privacy but it was built by the MyThemeShop team.
MyThemeShop is a well-known WordPress development company so, we can easily trust that the Rank Math plugin is safe to use.
You May Also Be Interested In…
Rank Math SEO Vs Yoast SEO – Your Turn
Are you a blogger or webmaster?
Which is your preferred SEO plugin? Do you use Yoast SEO or are you with Rank Math SEO?
Or perhaps you’re not with any of these 2, but you’re with one of the other 10 Yoast alternatives reviewed in our detailed product review on the best Yoast SEO Alternatives.
Why not join our conversation by leaving a comment?
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