=== WordPress SEO Plugin - Rank Math ===
Contributors: rankmath
Plugin link: https://s.rankmath.com/homepage
Tags: seo, sitemap, google search console, schema, redirection
Tested up to: 5.2.2
Requires at least: 4.6.0
Requires PHP: 5.6
Stable tag: 1.0.27.4
License: GPL-2.0+
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.txt

Rank Math is a revolutionary SEO plugin that combines the features of many SEO tools in a single package & helps you multiply your traffic.

== Description ==

**SEO Plugin For WordPress**
★★★★★<br>

**SEO is the most consistent source of traffic for any website.** We created <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/seo" target="_blank">**Rank Math, a WordPress SEO plugin**</a>, to help every website owner get access to the SEO tools they need to improve their SEO and attract more traffic to their website.
## <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/demo" target="_blank">Try The Demo</a> ##

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgeaqIy2OB0]

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/suitefeatures" target="_blank">Features</a> | <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/whyseosuite" target="_blank">Why Choose Rank Math?</a> | <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/compare" target="_blank">Compare</a> | <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/screenshots" target="_blank">Screenshots</a> | <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/benefits" target="_blank">Benefits</a>

SEO might be the best and most **consistent source of traffic** for one's website, but it's not without its quirks. The constant process of optimizing your posts can sometimes take more time than actually writing the content. **If you always feel that you can do more on the SEO** front for your website but don't have the time, *then Rank Math is what you're looking for.

Its host of **intelligent features** brings SEO capabilities in your hands that were previously out of reach. The **smart automation** features give you the **power of an entire SEO team** with just a few clicks. A **well thought out design, powerful features, and years of development** by the MyThemeShop squad make Rank Math a game-changing SEO plugin that will level the SEO playing field in your favor.

###  Rank Math beats the competition with hands tied behind its back. ###

See the features which are exclusive to Rank Math SEO plugin and to understand why Rank Math is possibly the **Best SEO Plugin for WordPress**.

* **Setup Wizard (Easy to follow)**
Rank Math practically configures itself. Rank Math features a step-by-step installation and configuration wizard that sets up SEO for WordPress perfectly.

* **Google Schema Markup aka Rich Snippets Integrated**
Configuring Google Schema Markup aka Rich Snippets is now easy, thanks to Rank Math. With support for 14 types of rich snippets, you’ll be able to optimize your posts in just a few clicks.

* **Optimize Upto 5 Keywords**
Unlike other plugins, Rank Math lets you optimize your posts for 5 focus keywords per post.

* **Google Search Console Integration**
Rank Math saves you a ton of time by integrating with Google Search Console and displaying important information about your website right inside WordPress.

* **Google Keyword Ranking**
With Rank Math SEO Plugin you can track your keyword rankings in the Google.

* **Optimal Settings Pre-Selected**
Configuring an SEO plugin takes time, and can be confusing. Rank Math saves you the trouble with its optimal default settings which are ideal for most websites, and if needed can be changed.


* **LSI Keyword Tool Integrated**
Rank Math's integrated LSI keyword tool gives you multiple keyword variations of your focus keyword, which helps you attract more traffic to your posts.

* **Add Overlay Icons On Social Images**
Rank Math makes social thumbnails click magnets by giving you the option of overlaying a GIF or a video icon on the thumbnail.

* **Advanced SEO Analysis Tool**
With just a single click, Rank Math can perform an SEO audit of your website.

* **40 Detailed SEO Tests**
Rank Math is designed to completely supercharge your website's SEO with its 40 detailed SEO test.

* **Module Based System**
Rank Math has been designed with a module based system, each of which can be enabled or disabled as per your needs, giving you extra speed and control.

* **Smart Redirection Manager**
Rank Math's built-in smart redirection manager will help you create, manage, delete, enable, or disable redirects at scale.

* **Local Business SEO**
Rank Math is designed to be used by Global websites and local websites alike. With its local SEO features, local sites can stand out in the SERPs and attract more traffic.

* **SEO Optimized Breadcrumbs**
Rank Math can display SEO optimized Breadcrumbs on all websites, even if the theme doesn't support it.

* **404 Monitor**
Rank Math has built-in 404 error monitor that helps you find and resolve 404 errors for better user experience.

* **Deep Content Analysis Tests**
On-Page SEO is no longer a mystery with Rank Math's deep content analysis and precise SEO recommendations.

* **Internal Linking Suggestions**
Rank Math intelligently suggests other posts from your website for internal linking from your current posts, improving the chances of ranking higher in the SERPs.

* **Role Manager**
Even if you have multiple employees manage your website, you can precisely control what each of them has to access to in Rank Math with its role manager.

* **and only 30k Lines of Code compared to over 50k in other plugins.**
Even with significantly more features than other plugins, Rank Math still consists of just 30 thousand lines of code.

### Why is Rank Math such a game-changer? ###

* **Auto Configuration** — All you have to do is set a few options, and Rank Math will configure itself perfectly for your website.

* **Super Fast SEO Plugin** — Even after packing so many features, Rank Math has a negligible load on your server.

* **New SEO Analyzer** — Rank Math's built-in SEO analysis will give you SEO recommendations that you'd normally spend hundreds of dollars to get.

* **Optimize 5 Keywords At Once** — You can optimize your post for up to 5 different keywords with Rank Math.

* **1-Click Import From Yoast** — With a single click of your mouse, Rank Math can import all your settings from Yoast SEO to itself. The transfer is instant, and you don't lose any SERP rankings as a result.

* **1-Click Import From AIO SEO** — Rank Math can also import all your settings from AIO SEO in a single click. The transfer is instant, and you don't lose any SERP rankings as a result.

* **1-Click Import From All In One Schema Rich Snippets** — Rank Math can also import all of AIO's Rich Snippet settings in a few clicks, which help preserve your rich rankings when moving to Rank Math.

* **1-Click Import From SEOPress SEO** — With a single click of your mouse, Rank Math can import all your settings from SEOPress & SEOPress Pro SEO plugin to itself. The transfer is instant, and you don't lose any SERP rankings as a result.

* **Google Keyword Suggestion** — When deciding on focus keywords, Rank Math can help you discover more keywords by pulling in keyword suggestions from Google.

### Who Can Benefit From Rank Math? ###

#### Rank Math SEO Plugin is perfect for: ####
✔ Bloggers
✔ eCommerce Store Owners
✔ Niche Sites
✔ Businesses
✔ Local Businesses
✔ Startups
✔ The Real Estate
✔ Artists & Photographers
✔ The Solution Offerer
✔ Directories
✔ Or any WordPress Website

### Take a sneak peek into Rank Math’s features ###

#### 5 Minute Setup Tutorial ####
Coming Soon!

### List of Best Rank Math SEO Features ###

* Clean, & Simple User Interface
* **Optimal Settings Pre-Selected**
* Simple Setup Wizard
	* Compatibility Check
* **Auto Canonical URLs**
* **LSI Keyword Tool Integrated**
* **Google Search Console Integration**
* **Google Keyword Ranking**
* **Import Other Plugin Settings**
	* 1 Click Import From <strong>Yoast SEO Plugin</strong>
	* 1 Click Import From <strong>AIO SEO</strong>
	* 1 Click Import From All In One Schema Rich Snippets
	* 1 Click Import From Redirection Plugin
* **Role Manager**
* **Google Schema Rich Snippets Integrated**
	* <strong>Article Rich Snippet</strong>
	* <strong>Review Rich Snippet</strong>
	* Book Rich Snippet
	* Course Rich Snippet
	* Event Rich Snippet
	* Job Posting Rich Snippet
	* <strong>Local Business Rich Snippet</strong>
	* <strong>193 Local Business Types</strong>
	* Music Rich Snippet
	* Person Rich Snippet
	* Product Rich Snippet
	* Recipe Rich Snippet
	* Restaurant Rich Snippet
	* Service Rich Snippet
	* Software Application Rich Snippet
	* Video Rich Snippet
* **Social Media Optimization**
	* **Add Overlay Icons On Social Images**
	* Default OpenGraph Thumbnail
	* **Auto Facebook Open Graph**
	* Facebook Authorship
	* Facebook Open Graph for Homepage
	* **Automatic Twitter Meta Cards**
	* Twitter Card for Homepage
	* Default Twitter Card Type
	* **Social Previews**
* More **Website Verification Options**
	* Google+ Page URL for SERPs
	* LinkedIn Page URL for SERPs
	* Instagram Page URL for SERPs
	* <strong>YouTube Page URL for SERPs</strong>
	* Pinterest Page URL for SERPs
	* SoundCloud Page URL for SERPs
	* Tumblr Page URL for SERPs
	* Myspace Page URL for SERPs
* Add **Knowledge Graph**
	* Represent site as a Person
	* Represent site as a Company
	* Set a Site Logo
* **Advanced SEO Analysis Tool**
	* **40 Detailed SEO Tests**
	* SEO Analysis Score
* **Automated Image SEO**
* **Powerful Post Optimization**
	* **Add SEO Meta Box to all post types**
	* **Bulk Edit Titles & Descriptions**
	* **Post Preview on Google**
	* Content Analysis
	* Control SEO For Single Pages
	* Control The Title
	* Control Meta Description
	* **Auto Add Additional Meta Data**
	* Control ROBOTS Meta
	* **Choose a Primary Category**
* Single Post/page Optimization
	* **Focus Keyword**
	* **Google Keyword Suggestion**
	* **Optimize Upto 5 Keywords**
	* Choose Pillar Posts & Pages
	* Internal Linking Suggestions
	* Capitalize Titles
	* SEO Failed Tests
	* SEO Warnings
* **<strong>XML Sitemap (New!)</strong>**
* Module Based System
* Choose Any Separator Character
* Modify Global Meta
* **Search Engine Verification Tools**
	* Bing Site Verification
	* Baidu Site Verification
	* Alexa Site Verification
	* Yandex Site Verification
	* **Google Site Verification**
	* Pinterest Site Verification
	* Norton Safe Web Site Verification
* Advanced **Redirection Manager**
	* **Smart & Automatic Post Redirects**
	* 301 Redirection Type
	* 302 Redirection Type
	* 307 Redirection Type
	* 410 Redirection Type
	* 451 Redirection Type
	* **Support for REGEX**
	* Debug Redirections
* Simple **404 Monitor**
	* Advanced 404 Monitor
* Advanced SEO Breadcrumbs
	* Auto Show SEO Breadcrumbs
* **Advanced Link Options**
	* Nofollow All External Image Links
	* <strong>Nofollow All External Links</strong>
	* Open External Links in New Tab/Window
	* Redirect Attachments to Parent
	* <strong>Strip Category Base</strong>
* Remove Stopwords from Permalinks
* **Ping Search Engines**
* **Local SEO Optimization**
	* Contact Info Shortcode
* **Deep Support For WooCommerce**
* **Compatible with EDD**
* **Only 30k Lines of Code**
	* PSR-4 Coding Standards (wherever possible)
* **Optimize Different Archives**
	* Optimize Author Archive Pages
	* Optimize Date Archive Pages
	* Optimize Archive Pages
* **.htaccess Editor**
* **Robots.txt Editor**
* **Import/Export Settings**
* Import/Export Redirections
* Add Content Before the RSS Feed
* Add Content After the RSS Feed
* **Detailed Documentation**
	* Contextual Help

### Bloggers Are Raving About Us ###
<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/suganthan" target="_blank">Rank Math SEO Plugin Review from an SEO Consultant</a>

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/ankitreview" target="_blank">Rank Math SEO Plugin – The Stormbreaker to Win SEO Infinity War</a>

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/jacksonreview" target="_blank">Rank Math SEO Plugin Review</a>

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/bloginwpreview" target="_blank">Rank Math WordPress SEO Plugin review</a>

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/lokenderreview" target="_blank">Rank Math SEO Plugin Review</a>

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/malikreview" target="_blank">Rank Math SEO Review</a>

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/onewhitereview" target="_blank">Rank Math – The Best SEO Plugin Review</a>

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/santanureview" target="_blank">#1 SEO Plugin - Rank Math</a>

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/wmmrm" target="_blank">Detailed setup tutorial</a>


## CONNECT WITH THE TEAM AND SEO EXPERTS ##

**<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/groupfb" target="_blank">JOIN FACEBOOK GROUP COMMUNITY</a>**: The purpose of this Facebook group is to have a collective place where the community can help each other, and we can get some feedback to improve Rank Math as well. Joining the group is also a great way to connect with like-minded people and share your SEO experience.

= Branding Guideline =
Rank Math® is a registered trademark. Please use the following format when mentioning Rank Math SEO plugin anywhere.
* Rank Math [correct]
* rank math [incorrect]
* Rank math [incorrect]
* rank Math [incorrect]
* RankMath [incorrect]
* Rankmath [incorrect]
* rankmath [incorrect]
* rankMath [incorrect]

= Getting Started: =
**<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/setuprm" target="_blank">1. How to Setup Rank Math:</a>** Once you install Rank Math for the first time, you will be greeted with the Setup Wizard which is discussed in detail here.

**<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/groupfb" target="_blank">2. Facebook Group:</a>** In this group, you will find the team of Rank Math SEO plugin fairly active and ready to answer your SEO related queries.

**<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/documentation" target="_blank">3. User Documentation:</a>** Although Rank Math is already easy to set up, we've put together tutorials, guides, and some knowledge bases to help you set up and get started with Rank Math.

**<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/wp-errors-fixes" target="_blank">4. Fixing Common Errors:</a>** Sometimes avoidable or common issues can get you stuck. We’ve created a common guide where we discuss all the common issues and how to fix them.

**<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/support" target="_blank">5. Support Ticket Forum:</a>** Our dedicated forum is where you can get support for any issues that you face with Rank Math. In the forum, we'll also try to answer some SEO queries. User experience is important to us, and our aim is to answer all the queries on the forum in a timely manner.

**[6. Frequently Asked Questions:](#faq-header)** Here we’ve answered the most commonly asked questions about Rank Math. The questions are related to features, pricing, and others.

== Installation ==
=== From within WordPress ===

1. Visit 'Plugins > Add New'
2. Search for 'Rank Math'
3. Install Rank Math once it appears
4. Activate Rank Math from your Plugins page.
5. Go to "after activation" below.

=== Manually ===

1. Upload the `seo-by-rank-math` folder to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory
2. Activate the Rank Math plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
3. Go to "after activation" below.

=== After activation ===

1. You should see the Rank Math setup wizard.
2. Go through the setup wizard and set up the plugin for your site.
3. You're done!

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Do you guarantee that the traffic will increase? =
Quite honestly - no one can give you a guarantee that your traffic will increase. If anyone does, they have an agenda and you should stay as far away from them as possible.

SEO is an ever-changing game and what works today might not work tomorrow. With that said, we do guarantee that our plugin is the best SEO plugin there is and it gives you the best chance of ranking higher in Google than any other SEO plugin available right now.


= Can I transfer my SEO & Redirection settings from another plugin to Rank Math? =
Absolutely. Rank Math has a built-in feature to import SEO settings from the most popular SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, Yoast SEO Premium, AIO SEO Pack, All In One Schema Rich Snippets, and Redirection. Once you install Rank Math and run the setup wizard, you'll see a dedicated step where you'll get to import all your SEO settings to Rank Math.

= What themes does Rank Math support? =
Rank Math has been tested with many WordPress themes and supports all major WordPress themes. Since we follow WordPress' plugin development guidelines, you can rest assured that Rank Math will work perfectly, no matter what theme you use. If you've installed Rank Math and are facing issues, it might not be because of a theme incompatibility. Please get in touch with the support team by opening a support ticket in our support forum, and we will fix it for you.

= What plugins is Rank Math compatible with? =
Rank Math has been designed using WordPress' strict plugin development guidelines and therefore, is compatible with majority of plugins. However, if you use another SEO plugin that performs any of the functions that Rank Math does, then you might get unexpected results. We recommend that you disable or delete other SEO plugins for best results.

= Will my website slow down if I Install Rank Math? =
No. Rank Math's code has been created and optimized for maximum performance. That is why using Rank Math on your website will not slow down your website. On the contrary, there is a good chance that your website will perform better than ever with Rank Math, as it does the job of multiple plugins. Once you remove the unnecessary plugins from your website, your website's performance is sure to get better.

= Will you setup Rank Math on my website? =
Rank Math is pretty easy to setup on your website. Apart from detailed instructions on how to install Rank Math on your website, we've built in a user-friendly setup wizard that will help you setup and configure Rank Math perfectly for your website. If you face any issues even after using the setup wizard, please get in touch with the support team by sending an email to support@rankmath.com

= Do I have to remove other SEO plugins if I install Rank Math? =
That is preferred. Rank Math is designed to be an all in one SEO plugin that takes care of everything SEO-related. If you use other SEO plugins with Rank Math on your website, not only will the performance of your website be negatively affected, but both plugins working together can produce unexpected SEO results.

= I already use an SEO plugin. Can I use Rank Math on top of that plugin? =
You can, but we don't recommend it. Rank Math has all the functionalities that you would need in an SEO plugin. If you still prefer using another plugin for a specific feature, you can do that. But, we would recommend that you turn off that functionality of Rank Math to avoid potential issues.

= Will I lose my rankings if I switch to Rank Math? =
No, you won't. When you install Rank Math, it will seamlessly import your settings from your current SEO plugin. Once the process is complete, the search engines won't even notice a change on your website.

If you setup Rank Math from scratch, then your search engine rankings will depend on how you configure it. But please be advised that Google and other search engines prefer good, useful content over anything else.

= What are the technical requirements for using Rank Math? =
Rank Math requires at least PHP 5.6, cURL lib, cron jobs, to be installed and enabled on the server. Those things are mostly installed on every good hosting server. When you initiate Rank Math's setup process, Rank Math will also perform a compatibility check to confirm if your server can run Rank Math. If your server has a lower configuration of any Software, please ask your hosting to update it to the latest version.

= Can I use Rank Math on a WordPress.com website? =
Yes, as the plugin is provided through WordPress.org, it is available on WordPress.com as well.

= Which Schema type is best for coupon websites? =
There’s no real Schema Markup designed specifically for separate discount codes. We would suggest not to use any Schema Markup and choose ‘None’ option for coupon codes because not doing so might get your site penalized.

= Why are my images not getting indexed? =
It is completely normal for Google to not index your submitted images. Sometimes, not even a single submitted images is indexed by Google.

Google is almost never willing to index all the pages and images available on a site. The number of pages and images that get indexed is based on the site's reputation and the quality of the content among others.

= How do I noindex inner paginated posts of a website? =

<a href="https://s.rankmath.com/googlepaginatedcontent" target="_blank">According to Google</a>, they treat the pagination pages with `rel="prev"` & `rel="next"` very similar to canonical and only show when it matches a certain query that another page in your site doesn't fit, so duplication of meta descriptions and titles should not be an issue as Google says they will treat the series of pages as consolidated content, and links will be consolidated to the first page. However, you do get warnings in webmaster tools for duplication and it is safe to ignore them.

Google understands and honors the `rel="next"` and `rel="prev"` tags on the archive pages. Like the inner pages of your homepage and there is no need to add noindex tag to them.

= The tag "rel=canonical" appears more than once in the document =
That must be coming from the theme's code or some other SEO/AMP plugin as the Rank Math plugin adds only one canonical URL per page.

You should try disabling all other plugins and/or switch to a different theme and check.

= What's the difference between various Schema tags? =
There are mainly two types of Schema entities, Article and BlogPosting. Article Schema is mainly used for articles as the name suggests. It can also be used for pieces of investigative reports, newspaper articles, magazine articles, research papers, etc..

On the contrary, BlogPosting Schema is used for blog posts. They can be personal or commercial in nature. Most of the non-professional blogs you see online use this Schema type.

= Why is Google not showing the Schema data? =
For the Rich Snippet data, Rank Math plugin adds the necessary markup for rich snippets. It may take some time before they show up in the search results. Please allow a few days for Google to pick up the new information.

Google WILL NOT necessarily show the Schema data though. They check a few things first and may choose not to show your rich schema. For instance, they check the overall quality of the site, and if the Schema content is representative of the main content of the page or not.

Here is a quote from one of Google's help article:
`We perform algorithmic and manual quality checks to ensure that structured data meets relevancy standards. In cases where we see structured data that does not comply with these standards, we reserve the right to disable rich snippets for a site in order to maintain a high-quality search experience for our users. Read our webmaster guidelines for more details.`

Link: <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/googlestructureddata" target="_blank">https://s.rankmath.com/googlestructureddata</a>

= Why is the Carousel or Data Highlighter Not Working? =
Google can actually extract contents from your pages and display as a rich carousel (AMP or not).

But to make it easier, the best you can do is to use the Data Highlighter option in your Search Appearance tab in Webmaster Tools for your important pages (especially the pillar posts) but not on all content types. Rank Math makes it extremely convenient to do so.

To learn more about using this feature, visit <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/googledatahighlighter" target="_blank">https://s.rankmath.com/googledatahighlighter</a>

= How to enter Meta Keywords in the plugin? =
Google does not use the keywords meta tag in web ranking. Here's a video supporting that:
https://youtu.be/jK7IPbnmvVU
Bing also mentioned the following statement
Today, it's pretty clear the meta keyword tag is dead in terms of SEO value. Sure, it might have value for contextual ad systems or serve as a signal to bots plying the web looking for topics to target, but as far as search goes, that tag flatlined years ago as a booster.

Because of these reasons, we do not have an option to add Meta Keywords to your posts. But, this is for your benefit as it has absolutely no effect on your SERPs or SERP rankings.

= Why am I getting a 'Not Found' Error on my Sitemaps? =

We are extremely sorry that you are facing this issue.

Please try the following and see if it helps:
1. Head over to WP Dashboard >> Settings >> Permalinks (wp-admin/options-permalink.php) and click on the 'Save Changes' button without making any change to the settings.
2. Make sure you have at least one piece of content published and you haven't excluded it from being included in the Sitemap.

You can read more about the possible Sitemap errors and the solutions on this page: <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/sitemapissues" target="_blank">Sitemap Errors & Fixes</a>

These steps will sort your issue in 9 out of 10 cases. If not, please open a new support ticket here: <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/support" target="_blank">https://s.rankmath.com/support</a>

You do not need to register separately and can even use your free account to open a ticket.

We look forward to helping you.

== Screenshots ==

1. Optimize Content without any hassle.
2. Analyze your website's SEO with one click and fix the issues.
3. Simple Setup Wizard with 1-Click Importer.
4. Support for 12+ Rich Snippet types.
5. No need to pay any service when you can track keyword ranking change from our own Search Console.
6. Comes with in-built options for social media optimization.
7. Rank Math Comes with 404 monitor and easy to use Redirection Manager.
8. Comes with 1-Click Importer for many SEO plugins.
9. Powerful XML Sitemap.
10. Role Manager gives you full control. Useful for multi-author sites.
11. Rank Math Comes with 10+ FREE Module.

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.27.4 [Jun 25, 2019] =
* Fixed redirections not working on some installations
* Fixed ‘500 error’ appearing on some installations after updating the plugin settings

Full changelog can be found here - **[Rank Math SEO changelog](https://rankmath.com/changelog)**
