How to Change Your Website Title and SEO Meta Data in WordPress using Yoast SEO

If you're a content creator that relies heavily on search engine optimization (SEO) to drive traffic to your website, understanding how to optimize your website's title and meta data is crucial. This article will guide you through the process of changing your website title and SEO metadata using the renowned plugin, Yoast SEO, in WordPress.

Changing Your Website Title in WordPress

After you've logged into your WordPress dashboard, navigating to the Theme Options within the Appearance section will allow you to customize your website title. However, if you wish to change your website title specifically for SEO purposes, you'll want to follow these steps:

Navigate to your WordPress dashboard. Go to Appearance - Customize or Theme Options. Look for the Title Settings section. Enter your desired website title in the appropriate field.

Changing Your SEO Title in Yoast SEO

Once you have the right content on your website, it's essential to optimize each page and post for maximum SEO effectiveness. Here's how you can change the SEO title for each specific post or page:

Navigate to the specific page or post you wish to edit in your WordPress dashboard. Scroll down to the Yoast SEO meta box below the content editor. Click on the title field and enter your desired SEO title. Click on the Publish button to save your changes.

Accessing MyYoast for Advanced Settings

For users who are not familiar with all the settings within the WordPress dashboard, MyYoast offers a more user-friendly interface to manage their SEO settings. Here's how you can access and make changes through MyYoast:

Log in to MyYoast with your account. Navigate to the account section by clicking on Account in the sidebar. Here, you can change your first and last name. Click on the Save changes button.

Using All in One SEO Pack for SEO Title and Description

All in One SEO Pack is another popular SEO plugin that can be used for optimizing your website. Here's how to set the SEO title and description using this plugin:

Log in to your WordPress dashboard. Click on Pages or Posts depending on which one you want to set the SEO title for. Select the specific Page or Post and click the Edit button. Scroll down to the All in One SEO Pack area and enter your SEO title. You will see a preview of how it will look on search engines. Fill in the SEO description below the title. Click the Update button to save your changes.

Setting Your Site to Autogenerate Descriptions

Setting up automatic generation of descriptions can save you a lot of time, especially if you're managing a large number of pages and posts. Here’s how you can enable autogeneration in All in One SEO Pack:

Go to the All in One SEO section in your WordPress dashboard. Click on the General Settings within the All in One SEO Pack area. Scroll down to the Advanced Settings section and check the box for Autogenerate Description. Customize the additional settings such as: Use Content for Autogenerated Descriptions: This option will auto-generate your meta descriptions from your post content instead of your post excerpt. Enable this if you want to use your content for your generated meta descriptions. Run Shortcodes in Autogenerated Descriptions: Check this box to use shortcodes for descriptions generated from content. Exclude Descriptions from Paginated Pages: If you want to exclude descriptions from paginated content, check this box. Never Shorten Long Descriptions: Check this to prevent your descriptions from being shortened, regardless of their length.

By optimizing your website title and meta data, you can significantly improve your website's visibility in search engine results, driving more organic traffic to your site. Whether you use Yoast SEO, All in One SEO Pack, or another plugin, these steps will help you achieve better results.