Plugin warnings
Yoast and Rank Math Warnings Explained
What each Yoast SEO and Rank Math analysis check actually measures, when the warning matters, and when it is safe to ignore it.
Yoast SEO 17
- Consecutive sentences: Yoast's repeated sentence opener checkYoast goes red when three or more sentences in a row start with the same word. How it finds the first word, when repetition is deliberate, and simple fixes.
- Flesch reading ease in Yoast: what the number measuresYoast's Flesch reading ease score now lives in the Insights tab. Learn how the 1948 formula works, what its score bands mean, and how much weight to give it.
- Yoast internal links: why one link passes and what that missesYoast's internal links check passes with one followed link to your own site. What it tests, its competing links sibling, and how to link with purpose.
- Yoast's image keyphrase check: alt text for people firstHow Yoast's keyphrase in image alt attributes check scores images, why it caps keyword use at 75 percent, and how to write alt text that serves both jobs.
- Yoast's keyphrase in introduction check, explainedWhat Yoast's keyphrase in introduction check tests, why the first paragraph matters to readers more than to Google, and how to pass it without clumsy writing.
- Keyphrase in subheading: what Yoast counts and when to ignore itYoast wants 30 to 75 percent of your H2 and H3 headings to reflect the keyphrase. Here is how the match works, the ranking reality, and when to leave it red.
- Yoast keyphrase length: why four content words is the targetYoast wants a focus keyphrase of one to four content words. Learn how it counts them, why long keyphrases break other checks, and how to choose a better one.
- Yoast's outbound links check: citing sources, not chasing a scoreYoast turns red when a post links to no other site and orange when every outbound link is nofollow. What it tests, the ranking truth, and when orange is fine.
- Yoast paragraph length: the 150 word ceiling and how to meet itYoast warns about any paragraph over 150 words and turns red past 200. Why the limit exists, which paragraphs can stay long, and quick ways to split the rest.
- Yoast's passive voice check: the 10 percent limit, explainedYoast flags passive voice in more than 10 percent of sentences. How the check works, where the advice comes from, and when passive is the better choice.
- Previously used keyphrase: Yoast's cannibalization warningYoast flags a focus keyphrase already used on another post. What it compares, what keyword cannibalization really is, and when two posts can share a phrase.
- Yoast sentence length: 20 words, 25 percent, and whyYoast flags your text when more than 25 percent of sentences pass 20 words. The per-language limits, the reasoning, and how to shorten without choppiness.
- Yoast SEO title width: the 600 pixel rule and what it missesYoast measures your SEO title in pixels and turns red past 600. See what the check includes, what it leaves out, and when a longer title is the right call.
- Yoast's single title check and the one H1 conventionYoast's single title check flags two or more H1 headings in your post content. What it can see, what Google says about multiple H1s, and how to fix it.
- Subheading distribution in Yoast: a heading every 300 wordsYoast flags any stretch over 300 words without a subheading, including a long intro. How the check works, why skimmers need it, and how to add good headings.
- Yoast text length: the 300 word minimum, and why it is not Google'sYoast wants at least 300 words on a post and 900 on cornerstone content. How the scoring works, what Google says about word counts, and when short is right.
- Transition words in Yoast: the 30 percent target and its limitsYoast wants transition words in 30 percent of sentences once a text passes 200 words. How the check counts them, why, and how to add flow without filler.
Rank Math 12
- Rank Math content length: 600 words to pass, 2,500 for full pointsRank Math's content length test passes at 600 words but saves full points for 2,500. See the tiers, where the idea came from, and how to judge post length.
- Rank Math's external link tests and the end of PageRank sculptingRank Math runs two external link tests: any outbound link, and a followed one. What each checks, the PageRank sculpting story, and when nofollow is correct.
- "Focus Keyword doesn't appear at the beginning of your content"Rank Math checks the first 10 percent of your post for the exact focus keyword. How the window works, why plurals behave oddly, and when to let the test fail.
- "Focus Keyword not found in your SEO Meta Description"Rank Math checks your meta description for the exact focus keyword. What it matches, how Google uses descriptions, and how to write one that earns clicks.
- Rank Math's SEO title keyword tests: in the title, and near the startRank Math runs two title keyword tests, one for presence and one for position. How each is scored, why one weighs more, and when keyword-first titles fail.
- Rank Math's "Focus Keyword not found in the URL" testRank Math checks that your URL contains the focus keyword. How it treats stop words and hyphens, how small the ranking effect is, and when to leave it alone.
- Rank Math's media test: what counts as an image or videoRank Math wants images or videos in your post, with full points at four images. What it counts, including the featured image, and when media is worth adding.
- "Your title doesn't contain a power word": Rank Math's test explainedRank Math's power word test looks for a word from its copywriting list in your title. How the match works, why punctuation breaks it, and when to skip hype.
- Rank Math's sentiment in title test: how a word list reads emotionRank Math scores title sentiment with a word list and fails neutral titles. How the score works, why it misreads titles, and when neutral is the better call.
- "At least one paragraph is long": Rank Math's 120 word limitOne paragraph over 120 words fails Rank Math's short paragraphs test. How the pass or fail rule works, how to find the culprit, and when long is justified.
- "You don't seem to be using a Table of Contents plugin": Rank Math's TOC testRank Math's TOC test checks for an active TOC plugin or its own TOC block, not a TOC on the post. How detection works and when a table of contents helps.
- Rank Math URL length: why your domain counts toward 75 charactersRank Math fails URLs over 75 characters, counting https and your domain. See the math, what Google says about URL length, and which fixes are worth the risk.