Rank Math is one of the most powerful and feature-rich SEO plugins available for WordPress. It’s designed to help users optimize their websites for search engines, offering a range of advanced settings and features to fine-tune your SEO strategy.
With so many features and options, it can be a bit overwhelming for new users to configure Rank Math properly.
In this guide, we will walk through the best Rank Math settings to ensure your website is optimized for SEO, performance, and user experience.
This step-by-step approach will help you maximize the plugin’s potential without missing any crucial settings.
1. Install and Set Up Rank Math
Before diving into the settings, make sure you’ve installed the Rank Math plugin from the WordPress repository.
- Go to your WordPress dashboard.
- Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
- Search for “Rank Math,” then install and activate the plugin.
Once activated, you’ll be greeted by Rank Math’s setup wizard, which simplifies the initial configuration. Follow these steps for an optimal setup.
2. Rank Math Setup Wizard
The Rank Math setup wizard helps configure key SEO settings based on your website type and preferences. Let’s go over each step in detail.
Choose the Setup Mode
- Easy: Ideal for beginners who want basic settings.
- Advanced: Recommended if you want to dive into advanced SEO features.
Choose Advanced to access all features and settings.
Connect Your Rank Math Account
- To use Rank Math’s full range of features, you’ll need to connect to a free Rank Math account. This allows you to unlock features like keyword suggestions, analytics, and more.
Site Type
- Choose your site type (e.g., blog, portfolio, business site, eCommerce).
- This will help Rank Math apply settings relevant to your site’s goals.
SEO Optimization Options
- Enable the following settings for the best SEO results:
- Noindex Empty Category and Tag Archives: Prevents empty categories or tag archives from being indexed by search engines.
- Nofollow External Links: Prevents link juice from being passed to external sites.
- Open External Links in New Tab: Ensures external links open in a new tab, keeping users on your site longer.
Google Search Console Integration
- Sign in to your Google Search Console account and link it to Rank Math. This integration allows Rank Math to pull data directly from Search Console, giving you insights into your website’s SEO performance.
Sitemap Configuration
- Enable sitemaps. Rank Math generates XML sitemaps automatically, which help search engines index your content.
- Keep the default options for post types and taxonomies to include all relevant pages and posts in your sitemap.
Optimize SEO Titles and Descriptions
- Set up templates for SEO titles and meta descriptions. These act as a default for any new content that doesn’t have custom titles or meta descriptions.
- Title: Use a combination of variables like
%title% | %sitename%. - Meta Description: Use
%excerpt%or write a default description for better click-through rates.
- Title: Use a combination of variables like
Once the setup wizard is complete, Rank Math is configured with basic settings, and now you can move on to fine-tuning individual options.
3. General Settings
To access the general settings:
- Go to your WordPress dashboard.
- Navigate to Rank Math > General Settings.
Links
- Strip Category Base: Enable this option to remove the
/category/from URLs. This can help make URLs cleaner and more user-friendly. - Redirect Attachments: Enable this to redirect attachment URLs to the post they are attached to. This prevents low-value pages from being indexed by Google.
- Redirect Orphan Media: Turn this on to avoid indexation of orphaned media files that are not linked to any post or page.
Breadcrumbs
- Enable breadcrumbs to improve site navigation. Breadcrumbs are great for user experience and can also help search engines understand your site’s structure.
- Configure the position where breadcrumbs will be displayed (most often right below the header).
4. Titles & Meta Settings
Rank Math allows you to define how search engines see your pages. The title and meta settings help you create SEO-friendly titles and descriptions for your entire site.
To access:
- Navigate to Rank Math > Titles & Meta.
Homepage Title & Meta Description
- Set an SEO-friendly title for your homepage:
- Use keywords that reflect your brand and what you do.
- Example:
%sitename% | Top [Keyword] Services.
- Write a compelling meta description that includes your main focus keywords:
- Example:
Welcome to %sitename%, your go-to source for [Keyword]. Learn more about our services and expertise today.
- Example:
Global Meta Settings
- Robots Meta Settings: Enable the following:
- Index: Allow search engines to index all your content unless specifically blocked.
- Follow: Let search engines follow your internal links.
- No Archive: Disable archive pages to avoid duplicate content issues.
- Open Graph: Enable Open Graph data for better sharing on social media platforms. This ensures that your content looks great when shared on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
Post Types & Taxonomies
- Configure your default title and meta templates for posts, pages, and custom post types.
- Post Title:
%title% | %sitename%. - Meta Description:
%excerpt%. - Noindex Tag Archives: It’s generally a good idea to noindex tags, as they can lead to thin or duplicate content issues.
- Post Title:
5. Sitemap Settings
Sitemaps play a critical role in helping search engines crawl and index your site efficiently.
To access:
- Go to Rank Math > Sitemap Settings.
General Sitemap Settings
- Include Images: Enable this to include images in your sitemap, which can help improve your rankings in Google’s image search.
- Public Post Types: Ensure that posts, pages, and custom post types are enabled in your sitemap.
- Public Taxonomies: Enable categories but disable tags. Categories usually offer more SEO value, while tags can create unnecessary duplication.
Individual Post Sitemaps
- Post/Page Priorities: Keep this setting to “auto” unless you have a reason to manually assign priority levels to posts and pages.
6. Schema Markup Settings
Rank Math excels with its built-in schema markup capabilities. Schema helps search engines understand your content and can improve your chances of getting rich results in SERPs.
To access:
- Go to Rank Math > Titles & Meta > Schema Markup.
Default Schema Types
- Set default schema types for different content types:
- Posts: Article.
- Pages: Article or WebPage.
- Products: Product (if you run an eCommerce store).
Advanced Schema Types
- Rank Math offers 20+ schema types, including Review, Event, Recipe, and FAQ. Use these based on the type of content you publish. For example:
- If you publish recipes, use the Recipe schema.
- If you run a business with events, use Event schema for pages dedicated to event details.
7. Analytics Settings
Rank Math includes a built-in analytics feature that helps track SEO performance without relying on additional plugins.
To enable:
- Go to Rank Math > General Settings > Analytics.
- Connect your Google Analytics account, allowing Rank Math to pull in data directly.
SEO Performance Monitoring
- Once linked, you’ll be able to track your keyword rankings, impressions, clicks, and other SEO metrics within the WordPress dashboard.
- Review this data to make informed decisions about your content strategy and identify opportunities for improvement.
8. Social Media Optimization
To improve how your content appears on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, configure Rank Math’s social media settings.
To access:
- Navigate to Rank Math > Titles & Meta > Social Meta.
Facebook Open Graph & Twitter Cards
- Open Graph for Facebook: Enable this to generate metadata that helps format your content when shared on Facebook.
- Twitter Card Type: Set this to Summary with Large Image to ensure a visually appealing thumbnail and excerpt when your content is shared on Twitter.
Custom Images
- You can set default images for posts and pages that lack featured images. This ensures that when content is shared, it still looks professional and clickable.
9. Advanced Settings
Rank Math also offers advanced settings for even more control over your SEO.
To access:
- Go to Rank Math > General Settings > Advanced Settings.
404 Monitor
- Enable 404 monitoring to track broken links on your website. Rank Math will alert you whenever visitors land on a 404 error page.
- This can help you fix broken links, ensuring a better user experience and avoiding potential SEO penalties from too many 404 errors.
Redirections
- Enable the redirections module to manage 301 redirects directly within Rank Math. Redirecting broken or outdated pages to relevant content helps preserve your link equity and keeps your site user-friendly.
Role Manager
- If multiple people manage your site, enable the role manager to control who has access to specific SEO settings. This is particularly useful for larger teams.
10. Rank Math Pro Features (Optional)
If you’re considering upgrading to Rank Math Pro, here are some additional settings and features you can take advantage of:
Advanced Keyword Tracking
- Track up to 500 keywords and get detailed insights on how your keywords are performing over time.
Image SEO
- Enable advanced image SEO options that automatically add ALT text and titles to your images, which helps improve your rankings in image search.
Google Trends Integration
- Get real-time data on trending keywords to ensure your content remains relevant to search queries.
Conclusion
Configuring Rank Math for optimal SEO performance requires attention to detail, but once set up properly, it can significantly improve your website’s visibility and rankings. From keyword optimization to schema markup and social media integration, Rank Math provides an all-in-one solution for WordPress SEO.
By following this guide, you’ve now implemented the best Rank Math settings to ensure your website is optimized for search engines and delivering the best possible user experience.
