Guide · WordPress SEO plugins

Yoast to Rank Math: a step-by-step migration, with the checks that matter

By Giovanni Rasulo Updated 6 October 2026 Sources checked October 2026

Short answer

Migrating takes five stages: back up the site, install Rank Math and run its import, check a sample of pages, fix any partial import and recalculate scores, then clean out Yoast's data and delete the plugin. Rank Math's import carries titles, descriptions, focus keywords and schema, plus Yoast Premium's redirects and Local, News and Video settings. Two steps cannot be undone, the block converter and the cleanup, so take a full backup first and run both last.

This is a documented walkthrough, not a test. It is built from Rank Math's own migration guide and its official tutorial video, with a few practical tips from a third-party walkthrough, each marked as such. CheaperStack has not run this migration on a live site and does not claim to. Menu names can change between plugin versions, so read the screen as you go.

If you are still deciding whether to move, start with Rank Math vs Yoast. The short version: the two cost almost the same for one site, but Rank Math covers unlimited personal sites on Pro and Yoast charges per site.

What carries over, and what does not

If you simply deactivate one plugin and activate the other, the post editor shows none of your old titles, descriptions, focus keywords or schema, and features such as redirects and Local, News and Video SEO settings are lost. The import is what prevents that.

What Rank Math imports from Yoast SEO and how
Yoast data	What happens in Rank Math	Source
Titles, descriptions, focus keywords, schema	Imported by the Setup Wizard or the Import & Export tool	Rank Math guide and video
Redirects (Yoast Premium)	Imported by both methods	Rank Math video
Local, News and Video SEO settings	Imported by both methods	Rank Math video
FAQ and HowTo blocks	Not part of the main import; converted separately with the Yoast Block Converter, which is irreversible	Rank Math guide
SEO scores	Recalculated afterwards, for published posts that have a focus keyword	Rank Math documentation

Rank Math's guide does not say whether redirects, sitemaps or schema are automatically checked after the move, and it documents no rollback procedure. The checks and the rollback notes below are ours.

Before you start

Take a full backup, files and database. Rank Math's guide opens with this, and it is the only way back from the two irreversible steps. Use your host's backup tool, and if you can, do the whole migration on a staging copy first.
Record what you have now. For ten pages (the home page, your top five posts by clicks in Search Console, a standard page, a product or category page), copy the title, meta description, focus keyword and robots setting into a spreadsheet. This is your before picture.
List the Yoast Premium features you use: redirects, Local SEO, News SEO, Video SEO, the Google Docs integration. You will check each one afterwards. The Google Docs add-on has no Rank Math equivalent, so decide now whether you can live without it.
Pick a quiet day. Avoid a launch or a peak sales period, and make no other plugin or theme changes at the same time, so any problem has one cause.

The migration, step by step

Step 1: install Rank Math

In WordPress, go to Plugins, Add New, install Rank Math SEO and activate it. The setup asks you to connect a free Rank Math account; Rank Math's setup guide says you can skip it with "Skip Now", though it recommends connecting for full functionality.

Step 2: open the Setup Wizard and choose a mode

Go to Rank Math SEO, Dashboard, Setup Wizard. It starts by itself the first time you install the plugin. Choose Easy or Advanced mode; you can switch modes later. In Advanced mode, make sure the modules matching what you used in Yoast, such as redirects and the Local, News and Video sitemaps, are switched on before you finish.

Step 3: deactivate Yoast from the compatibility check

The wizard checks for conflicting plugins. Open "More" and, if Yoast is listed, deactivate it there; Rank Math says this is safe. Deactivating does not delete anything, so your Yoast data is still in the database for the import to read. Then click Start Wizard.

Step 4: run the import

On the Import step, Rank Math will have detected Yoast, including Yoast Premium data. Click Start Import. You can tick the option to recalculate SEO scores at the same time. Wait until the progress bar shows 100% completed, then click Continue and go through the remaining settings. Check each one is correct as you go. Rank Math notes that the recalculation in this step only updates posts whose score is shown as N/A.

Step 5: check a sample of pages

Open a few posts and pages in the editor and look at the Rank Math panel. Rank Math recommends this, and the checklist below turns it into something you can repeat.

Step 6: fix a partial import, if you see one

If the Wizard reports errors, or you open pages and find focus keywords missing, run the second method. Go to Rank Math SEO, Status & Tools, then the Import & Export tab, and scroll to Other Plugins. On the Yoast SEO tab, tick all the data you want to import and click Import, then confirm. If you hit errors, Rank Math suggests unticking "Calculate SEO Scores" and recalculating afterwards (Step 8). A third-party walkthrough found that re-running this import filled in focus keywords the first pass had missed, which is a reasonable first thing to try.

Step 7: convert FAQ and HowTo blocks

Go to Status & Tools, then the Database Tools tab. If the tab is missing, enable Advanced Mode first. Find the Yoast Block Converter, click Convert Blocks and confirm. Rank Math warns this action is irreversible, so only do it after the backup, and then open a post that had a Yoast FAQ or HowTo block and confirm it is now a Rank Math block. Converting blocks one at a time in the editor also works, but Rank Math reserves it for special cases and does not recommend it.

Step 8: recalculate the SEO scores

In Database Tools, use Recalculate Scores. It recalculates the score for published posts where a focus keyword is set, and takes longer on a big site. Posts with no focus keyword will not get a score, which is expected. The same page has a Clear SEO Analysis button that deletes stored analyzer history; it is optional here. If the recalculation shows an error, a third-party walkthrough fixed it by opening Settings, Permalinks and clicking Save Changes twice without altering anything, then running it again. That tip is not in Rank Math's documentation, so treat it as something to try, not a guarantee.

Step 9: run the full checks

Do not clean anything yet. Use this table on your ten sample pages.

Checks to run after a Yoast to Rank Math migration
Check	Where to look	Pass looks like
Titles and descriptions	The page source, or the Rank Math panel	Identical to your spreadsheet
Focus keyword	The Rank Math panel in the editor	Present wherever Yoast had one
Schema	Google's Rich Results Test on a sample page	The same types as before the move
Redirects	Rank Math SEO, Redirections; then try three old URLs in a browser	The list matches Yoast Premium's, and old URLs still redirect
Sitemap	Open your sitemap URL	It loads and lists your posts and pages
Robots settings	The page source, for the robots meta tag	Key pages are indexable and noindex pages stay noindex
FAQ and HowTo blocks	A post that used them	Now shown as Rank Math blocks
Local, News and Video	The matching Rank Math modules	Settings present, if you used them

This checklist is CheaperStack's, not Rank Math's. Rank Math itself recommends opening a few pages and posts, and checking redirections and the Video, Local and News settings, before cleaning.

Step 10: clean Yoast's data and delete the plugin

Only when every check has passed, and ideally after a few days of watching Search Console, go to Status & Tools, Import & Export, scroll to Other Plugins, open the Yoast tab and click Clean. Treat it as destructive: a third-party walkthrough states that the only way to recover the data afterwards is a hosting backup. Then return to the Plugins page and delete Yoast SEO.

Step 11: watch Search Console

For the next few weeks, check the Pages report for new "Excluded by noindex" or "Not found" entries and the Performance report for sudden drops on your top pages. If your sitemap URL changed, submit the new one. Nothing in Rank Math's documents promises that rankings will not move, and the same is true of any plugin change.

If something goes wrong

Common problems after migrating from Yoast to Rank Math and what to do
What you see	Try	Source
Scores show N/A	Database Tools, then Recalculate Scores	Rank Math documentation
The Setup Wizard import errors	Use Import & Export instead, with "Calculate SEO Scores" unticked, and recalculate afterwards	Rank Math guide
Focus keywords show "not set"	Re-run the Yoast import in Import & Export with everything ticked	Third-party walkthrough
Database Tools tab is missing	Enable Advanced Mode	Rank Math guide
Recalculation error	Settings, Permalinks, Save Changes twice, then retry	Third-party walkthrough
FAQ blocks are still Yoast's	Run the Yoast Block Converter	Rank Math guide
Data missing after you ran Clean	Restore your host's backup	Third-party walkthrough

Rolling back. Rank Math documents no rollback. Our reading: the import copies data and Yoast's own data stays in place until you click Clean, so reactivating Yoast and deactivating Rank Math should restore the old state if you have not run the block converter or the cleanup. Edits you made in Rank Math in the meantime will not carry back. If in any doubt, restore the backup you took at the start.

Who should not migrate

One site that uses Yoast Premium's extras. If you rely on its Google Docs integration, or its bundled Local, News and Video plugins on a single domain, there is no price reason to move.
Sites with custom code that calls Yoast. If your theme or a developer's snippets use Yoast functions or filters, test on staging first and expect to change them.
A site in the middle of a launch or a sale. Wait for a quiet period.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you sign up through one and later make an eligible purchase, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Do you need Pro?

Not for the migration. Rank Math's guide and video describe the import without a Pro requirement, and it covers Yoast Premium data such as redirects. Pro becomes relevant afterwards: it is $107.88 a year for unlimited personal sites, against $118.80 a year for each single site on Yoast Premium, and it adds a keyword rank tracker and the advanced schema generator. Client sites need the Business or Agency plans. The full pricing is in Rank Math alternatives. If you run more than one site, see Rank Math Pro (affiliate link); otherwise start on the free plugin and upgrade only if you need to.

The verdict, by situation

What to do by situation when moving from Yoast to Rank Math
If you are…	Do this
A small site on free Yoast	Use the Setup Wizard, check ten pages, then clean up. Free Rank Math is enough.
A site with Yoast Premium redirects	Import, then compare the redirect lists and test old URLs before cleaning.
A site with many FAQ or HowTo blocks	Back up, then run the Block Converter once.
An agency with several client sites	Migrate one on staging first and write down what you changed.
Unsure about moving at all	Read Rank Math vs Yoast first.

Frequently asked questions

Will I lose rankings if I switch from Yoast to Rank Math?

Rank Math's import carries over titles, descriptions, focus keywords and schema, so the on-page signals should stay the same, but nobody can promise that rankings will not move. Check a sample of pages against what you recorded before, and watch Google Search Console for a few weeks afterwards.

Can I run Yoast and Rank Math at the same time?

Rank Math discourages running two SEO plugins together. Its Setup Wizard's compatibility check offers to deactivate Yoast, and deactivating does not delete Yoast's data, so the import can still read it.

Do I need Rank Math Pro to migrate?

Rank Math's migration guide and tutorial video describe the import without mentioning a Pro requirement, and the import covers Yoast Premium data such as redirects. Pro matters later, for example for unlimited personal sites, not for the move itself.

What cannot be undone during the migration?

Two things: the Yoast Block Converter, which Rank Math says is irreversible, and the Clean button that deletes Yoast's data, where the only way back is a backup from your hosting provider. Take a full backup first and run both only after you have checked the import.

Sources

Rank Math's migration guide, its setup guide, its Status and Tools page and its official tutorial video on migrating from Yoast; plus a third-party video walkthrough, whose tips are marked above. Rank Math updates its plugin often, so check the on-screen labels against these pages before you start.