Is Yoast SEO Premium really worth it?

SEO Reviews and Scams
1

I’m currently using the free version of Yoast, but I’m curious if upgrading to Premium makes a big difference. Anyone here using it?

2

Nope, not worth it.

3

Honestly, a plugin won’t magically rank your site higher. What Yoast does is make SEO tasks easier for non-tech folks, but that’s about it.

4

Depends on what you need. The free version works fine for most, but I paid for the Premium mainly to optimize for more keywords and use the advanced text analysis. It lets you use different keyword variations naturally in your writing.

For example, if your keyword is ‘can dogs eat cheese,’ you can also write ‘my dog loves cheese’ or ‘cheese is safe for dogs,’ and it will count. I tried Rank Math, but it forced me to write the exact keyphrase, which didn’t flow well. I don’t know if that’s changed since, but that’s why I went back to Yoast.

5

@Gene
Thanks, this makes a lot of sense.

6

@Gene
Just to clarify, the ‘focus keywords’ don’t actually change anything on your page. They’re just for the bullet points Yoast shows you. You could type one keyword, see the advice, then switch it out and check another one.

7

There’s no SEO plugin that will automatically rank your site. Stick with the free version of Yoast, it’s enough. No need to upgrade to Premium.

8

Not worth it in my opinion, but WP Rocket is!

9

Nope, try Rank Math instead—it’s much better than Yoast.

10

CathyGenesis said:
Nope, try Rank Math instead—it’s much better than Yoast.

Agreed. Rank Math has less bloat and better features.

11

CathyGenesis said:
Nope, try Rank Math instead—it’s much better than Yoast.

If I’ve got 160 posts using Yoast, is switching to Rank Math seamless?

12

Cairo said:

CathyGenesis said:
Nope, try Rank Math instead—it’s much better than Yoast.

If I’ve got 160 posts using Yoast, is switching to Rank Math seamless?

Totally! Keep Yoast installed, then add Rank Math. It will ask you to import everything from Yoast. Once that’s done, you can delete Yoast.

Don’t delete Yoast before the process completes, though, or you’ll lose your settings.

13

@CathyGenesis
Got it, thanks!

14

Cairo said:
@CathyGenesis
Got it, thanks!

Glad to help!

15

It makes no difference. No point in paying for an SEO plugin.

16

If you’ve tried the free version and aren’t sure, you probably don’t need the extra features right now. It might not be worth it for you at this point.

17

Premium SEO plugins are designed to make more technical SEO tasks easier for non-technical users. Instead of doing everything manually, you get a nice interface to manage it all.

18

Bright said:
Premium SEO plugins are designed to make more technical SEO tasks easier for non-technical users. Instead of doing everything manually, you get a nice interface to manage it all.

But that’s not true… Premium Yoast doesn’t actually do anything beyond what the free version does.

19

@Oscar
What doesn’t?

20

Bright said:
@Oscar
What doesn’t?

Yoast Premium. It doesn’t add anything technical beyond what the free version already offers.