Is Yoast still one of the best SEO plugins or are there better options?

I’m helping a friend build a website and noticed that most of his competitors use the Yoast plugin. Is it still a top choice for SEO, or are there better alternatives now?

It’s definitely one of the most bloated ones.

Ramon said:
It’s definitely one of the most bloated ones.

What would you recommend instead?

Trent said:

Ramon said:
It’s definitely one of the most bloated ones.

What would you recommend instead?

RankMath is a good alternative.

Darryl said:

Trent said:
Ramon said:
It’s definitely one of the most bloated ones.

What would you recommend instead?

RankMath is a good alternative.

RankMath is actually even more bloated than Yoast. Check the plugin sizes.

Darryl said:

Trent said:
Ramon said:
It’s definitely one of the most bloated ones.

What would you recommend instead?

RankMath is a good alternative.

I had issues with RankMath. A bug started writing endless rows to my database, and I had to remove it just to keep WordPress running. I reported it, but it stayed unresolved for a month. Just sharing my experience.

Trent said:

Ramon said:
It’s definitely one of the most bloated ones.

What would you recommend instead?

Most people here will suggest RankMath or SEO Framework. Personally, I use SEO Framework.

@Ramon
I switched from Yoast to SEO Framework recently. The one thing I miss is the SEO recommendations Yoast used to provide. SEO Framework feels minimal, and I’m not sure if I’m following best practices. Any thoughts?

@Trent
I had the same issue. SEO Framework is good, but if you want more guidance, RankMath does a better job.

Shawn said:
@Trent
I had the same issue. SEO Framework is good, but if you want more guidance, RankMath does a better job.

Good to know. I’ve used Yoast for years, but I’ve been thinking about switching to RankMath.

@Tracy
Go for it! It’s user-friendly and has good guidance on content quality and schema markup.

@Trent
If you like Yoast’s recommendations but want to avoid its bloat, you can just toggle its features on and off. Use it when writing, then turn off the suggestions when done.

Trent said:

Ramon said:
It’s definitely one of the most bloated ones.

What would you recommend instead?

If you’re looking for a lightweight alternative, Zynith is the smallest plugin I’ve seen.

I don’t like Yoast. I use SEO Framework on all my sites. It’s simple, no unnecessary configurations, and still allows custom settings for each page.

Eric said:
I don’t like Yoast. I use SEO Framework on all my sites. It’s simple, no unnecessary configurations, and still allows custom settings for each page.

I can’t find where to add focus keywords in SEO Framework. Am I missing something?

@Tanner
You don’t really need focus keywords anymore. Google doesn’t use them. Just focus on writing a strong title and meta description.

Nicholas said:
@Tanner
You don’t really need focus keywords anymore. Google doesn’t use them. Just focus on writing a strong title and meta description.

I think they meant Yoast’s focus keyword feature that gives SEO advice. If you know what you’re doing, it’s not needed.

@Ramon
Yeah, I don’t think we need to focus on keywords like we used to. Google is smarter about understanding context.

@Tanner
In SEO Framework, you can set keywords under the Meta Description section. Also, if you edit a post or page, scroll down and you’ll see the SEO settings there.

I stopped using Yoast years ago after it had major security issues twice in a short period.

I’ve been using All In One SEO since then without issues.