A guide from Cider House Media to help small business owners (and new website editors) understand how to set up on-page SEO in WordPress using popular plugins like Rank Math, Yoast SEO, or All in One SEO (AIOSEO) — and how to use them wisely.
These tools are powerful, but they’re only as good as the content and structure you give them.
This guide explains how to set them up, what matters most, and how to interpret those famous “green scores” without losing sight of real-world SEO.
If your site is built on WordPress, you’ll need an SEO plugin to control your meta titles, descriptions, and schema markup.
The most popular options are:
These plugins help you manage key metadata, sitemaps, and structured data — but remember, tools can guide you, not replace thoughtful writing and clear structure.
Each works slightly differently, but the core setup process is similar:
If you’re working with a designer or agency, they can handle the initial setup and make sure it integrates cleanly with your theme and caching plugins.
💡 Cider House Note:
We generally recommend Rank Math for most new WordPress sites.
It offers strong schema support, built-in local SEO features, and an intuitive setup wizard that makes it easy to configure without bloating your site or overcomplicating your workflow.
All three plugins allow you to add Google Search Console verification directly from WordPress.
This helps Google confirm ownership of your site and start collecting performance data.
In your SEO plugin’s settings, look for Webmaster Tools Verification and paste the code provided by Google Search Console.
Once verified, you’ll start seeing impressions and click data within a few days.
Each plugin lets you set default meta titles and descriptions for pages, posts, and archives.
Use short, readable templates — not keyword stuffing.
Example for Rank Math or Yoast: