We’ve been working hard here at Yoast to offer you a Premium version of our WordPress SEO plugin with some really cool new features. But they’re not done yet. So we didn’t want to release WordPress SEO premium just yet either. However: more and more people are asking us for paid support on the plugin. So we’ve decided to do a pre-release: starting today you can buy WordPress SEO premium to get access to our support desk. We’ll be rolling out the beta for the premium plugin in the coming weeks to those who’ve bought the premium plugin and to a small set of trusted testers.
The pricing for what will be our main premium plugin is slightly over the Video SEO and Local SEO plugins: $89 for a single site, $169 for up to 5 sites, $329 for up to 20 sites, all of these per year. You get all the plugin upgrades and access to our email support desk.
So what are these Premium features?
We’re working hard on two things:
Google Webmaster Tools integration, which retrieves crawl errors from Google Webmaster Tools.
Redirect functionality, which allows you to solve the errors found in Google Webmaster Tools, and do any other redirects you need.
Especially the redirect functionality is not easy to do well. It’s not weird that the other plugins available to do redirects often bring down sites, we’ve found it’s one of the most complex things we’ve done with WordPress so far.
Do you need those features? In our opinion: yes. Of course. Otherwise we wouldn’t build them. Most people aren’t even aware of the errors Google finds on their site, finding and fixing them is one of those things you can do to stay ahead of your competition.
What does “support” mean?
In our case, support means that you can email us, and we’ll answer. We’ll help you set up the plugin on your site if something is not working and we’ll give you advice on specific settings you have questions about. If you find bugs, we’ll prioritize the fixing of bugs of paying customers over bugs of non-paying customers.
I don’t think you need more of a reason to buy the plugin, but over time, we’ll be adding more premium-only features.
Joost is an internet entrepreneur and the founder of Yoast. He has a long history in WordPress and digital marketing. On our blog, he has written a lot about SEO in general, technical SEO and important topics related to SEO.
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141 Responses to WordPress SEO Premium: (pre)-release
clemente lopes • 11 years ago
Comprei o plugin premium e o link não funciona, como faço para ter o plugin em meu site se spo tenho a licença e o arquivo eu não acho. Já mandei e-mail e ninguem me atende, alguem pode me ajudar?
Shahrad • 11 years ago
Hi Mr. Joost de Valk,
I’m from Iran and I need your help so much,
Can you help me?
Misix • 11 years ago
Hi Joost,
In the premium version, did you plan to delete the comment on HTML?
It is not a big deal for some but its looking not professionnal in some project.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Yeah I plan to make it an option to remove that.
Thomas N. Zickell • 11 years ago
Joost if I can get a clear answer please I have a client who I recommended your plug-in for not only for support but because of the 301 redirects primarily we have remade the page on the same domain however there are quite a few 404’s and your plug-in seems like the ideal solution. Is it out now and I have not seen it? I have to get before a force under control ASAP and I will simply need to use a different method like screaming frog if it’s going to be a lot long or I know that you’re building something entirely new however if you wouldn’t mind updating your timeline is 20 would be ready I would sincerely appreciate it I think others would too respectfully,
Thomas
Scott Hendison • 11 years ago
I guess the comment above mine “…we don’t want to load that much extra functionality when people don’t need it.” answers my question – sorry.
Separate licenses for all plugins really seems like overkill to me. I prefer to have clients pay for their own, putting any annual renewal on them, but buying all three plugins likely wont fly for most…
Scott Hendison • 11 years ago
Will this new premium plugin remain separate from the premium Local SEO plugin? So for a local business we’ll still need to use BOTH paid licenses?
scott mcfee • 11 years ago
This an excellent s.e.o. tool- HOWEVER it exposes a huge problem- I have GREAT difficulty getting the page analysis light green- my text usually scores 50 -60 (70 is needed for green) I must find software/ program that will show me how to correct my text for a 70 score HELP!!! I am not uploading any more pages until I can correct my text. Am I the only person who now knows he cannot write well? What are other people doing when they get a 30? a 40?
Joseph • 11 years ago
This is a positive development. I’m happy to pay if the features and support are forthcoming. What I would like even more is for you to integrate the video seo and local search features into this single plugin. Is there any plan to do so?
Thanks for all your great work! You ROCK!
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Now we’re not going to do that as we don’t want to load that much extra functionality when people don’t need it :) You can run them all alongside each other though!
Thomas Zickell • 11 years ago
Hey Joost,
You said
Is the launch date different when do you hope to have this out?
Thanks,
Tom
Thomas Zickell • 11 years ago
PS sorry the Quotes did not work “By Joost de Valk on 10 September, 2013
I hope to have the beta ready end of this month at the latest… But it’s been rather a struggle :) The interface is done, this is one of the few instances were the actual coding is harder than doing the interface”
Nayesh • 11 years ago
Any idea as to when the beta will be able to be downloaded? I just purchased and I am looking forward to using the redirect feature ASAP thank you
James McBride • 11 years ago
Just wondering, if I buy this plugin and install it will it overwrite the current Yoast SEO plugin or do I need to uninstall the non-Pro version? Just curious how I can keep all my current settings.
scott mcfee • 11 years ago
I will replace your free s.e.o. plugin with your premium as soon as you release it. WHO has software to help me fix my text scores on your readability field? I score 50 -60 YOU want a 70- what to do ?? scott
Mike Vallez • 11 years ago
Joost,
I am interested in the WPSEO Premium, but my question is: I am using Synthesis Hosting with NGINX, will I be able to complete the redirects myself with the premium version?
Also, I have purchased the Video SEO plugin last year and am using the Fluid Video Embed plugin http://wordpress.org/plugins/fluid-video-embeds/ this is not listed as a compatible plugin, but I am taking advantage of the oEmbed feature while delivering a mobile responsive video correctly sized no matter the device.
thank you
Mike
Thomas Zickell • 11 years ago
Any idea as to when the beta will be able to be downloaded? I just purchased and I am looking forward to using the redirect feature ASAP thank you, Thomas
Kathy Dannel Vitcak • 11 years ago
I will GLADLY pay $89 to get support and the two options that are offered. This plug-in has helped me grow my business to the next level and I want to see them thrive and grow. Thank you for all you do! This upgrade is EXACTLY what I have been needing help with.
Thanks again,
Kathy
Thomas Zickell • 11 years ago
@yoast
This is exactly what I was looking for. Considering that the normal rule of thumb is more plug-ins slow your site down or at increased RAM and CPU requirements having your WordPress SEO plug-in already installed and knowing that a coder of your caliber built this I am very happy to see this type of very necessary plug-in exist on a premium level. people that are making money from their website will benefit for instance I am working to redirect all the 404’s after site redesign and I am with the managed WordPress hosting company that tells me I have to use the redirect plug-in I would rather use one plug-in and a much better plug-in than redirect plug-in. For $89 honestly it’s a bargain.
Good job,
Thomas
Greg • 11 years ago
Kudos Joost. A great plugin just got better. Personally I”m excited but probably will wait until I see a few more premium features available. Nonetheless looking forward to what’s in store! Cheers!
justin ziegler • 11 years ago
Yoast,
Firstly, you are awesome and I appreciate your plugins and look up to you in the SEO/internet marketing world. You are a pioneer in the SEO world. I also like the fact that you are honest. When I asked you about the local SEO plugin you gave me your honest opinion and didn’t push a sale for one second.
I am clueless as to whether I should buy this premium product. I earn my livelihood from the web and $169 won’t break the bank. I currently use Google Webmaster tools, your SEO plugin for my google sitemap, and use a plugin called Quick Redirect when I want to change a url that has been indexed.
Rather than ask you to elaborate with an article showing what the new plugin does, can you just tell me whether you recommend it for me? Thanks!
Thomas • 11 years ago
Unfortunately, I will not be able to purchase this plugin due to the pricing. I own a blog network multisite install. Many of my low tier sites will be free, and they pay-to-blog sites are only $5 a piece. Paying $1,100 a year would either put me under water or break even on 100 sites =/
You should really consider a different model for multisite installs. You can do a check against the wp-config.php to see if multisite is on.
Christophe • 11 years ago
Hi,
I’m using your seo tool for some days now and see my ranking go up, up.
I already use the webmaster tools for some time now.
My question: will your premium seo match the existing settings I already have on webmaster tools, or wll it overwrite and push the info from wordpress.
Looking forward to the end of September
Jocuri cu Tom • 11 years ago
I think the prices are higher than all expected. But then let’s see what are the other features.
Seo Lysiak • 11 years ago
I have used the yoast seo plugin and find it to be a valuable SEO tool and recommend it!
Dave • 11 years ago
Lesson 1 learned here ->don’t give too much value for free when you start off, , once people are used to that and you start charging for a premium version people will complain
Lesson 2 learned here -> lot of folks have no idea how much time (and $$) goes into the dev & maintenance of plugins
So can we stop this ridiculous pricing discussion and get back to work :) There’s nothing to complain about since you can still download the (valuable) free version.
Wiffle • 11 years ago
If you really care about your site and SEO, I think $89 is a bargain. In the long run, the support and knowledge from Yoast should quickly give you a huge return.
However, I do have a question about the “support” and I hope someone from the Yoast team can reply as soon as possible because I’m ready to pay the $89. I have absolutely NO knowledge or experience with coding or anything dealing with the backend. This stuff makes no sense to me so I’m willing to pay to hear from the experts. If my site has bugs, will the support team fix my problems or just tell me how to do it myself? I hope the “support” means that the Yoast team can fix things for me instead of just guiding me through things.
Andy Zen • 11 years ago
I use the free version of Yoast for all of my blogs as it’s a great SEO plugin that takes care of the many aspects required for a well structured site. I’m interested in learning more about this paid version.
Josh • 11 years ago
Soon as the redirect feature is available i’ll buy it.
Sean • 11 years ago
Price point isn’t bad. I do look forward the using the redirect feature because it’s going to make life a lot easier when dealing with tons of broken links, etc., that need attention.
Sean Gannon - HeadshotsUK • 11 years ago
I think the price is fine! I have had so much with the original plugin along with advice on this blog that I am more than happy to pay for an even better service!
Prasad Ajinkya • 11 years ago
You know what would be awesome, if you add support for easily integrating schemas (without going into mark-up) within the plug-in.
Your site runs on Genesis and it does have schema.org support, however a lot of WP publishers (who also use your plug-in) are not that savvy with mark-up.
Thinkcept • 11 years ago
Does support also mean providing recommendations to improve serp ranking for the particular website, or advise what is wrong ?
Alief • 11 years ago
If i buy this, the update version free ? or get discount ?
Rajesh • 11 years ago
You’ll get updates and support for one year. Then you need to upgrade license. Means you’ve to pay every year.
Joseph Chambers • 11 years ago
I would like to see the redirect functionality to have a option for wpengine to handle the redirects.. and they do it well, and cache.
Dave Jackson • 11 years ago
Will there be an affiliate program?
Rajesh • 11 years ago
Hello Joost,
For Video SEO plugin I’m facing one issue from last 12-14 days, Taco is still working on same, and nowadays no quick reply from him, why so?
Regards,
Rajesh
Larissa • 11 years ago
Hi Yoast, excellent steps forward. Would it be possible to buy a ‘single site’ first to test and experience what exactly will be approvements and then, for example within 2 or 3 months, when we buy/upgrade to the ’20 sites’ license, we get a discount for the amount of the single license? Ofcourse we will not ask to give discount because of the donation we did :-) Keep up the good work. Thanks.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Hi Larissa,
You can indeed upgrade. You’ll get a discount for the full amount of the license during the first month, and then a bit less each month gradually until the end of the year.
Larissa • 11 years ago
@yoast and, any particular advice or issues regarding to usage of your premium plugin, when before using “Redirection plugin” and some .htaccess 301 rules?
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Well the new functionality isn’t there yet but we’re working on Redirection import functionality.
JAL • 11 years ago
Joost… I am a huge fan of your SEO plugin! I think it set up reasonably well on my single site. I am more than slightly tech challenged.. If I purchase the premium plugin, will someone on your support team be willing to go into my WP dash and correctly set up the premium plugin, so it offers the maximum level of correct performance? If so, count me in as a buyer. Also, if it matters, I am a Genesis theme user and for hosting I am on VPS.net.
JAL • 11 years ago
Joost… I am a huge fan of your SEO plugin! I think it set up reasonably well on my single site. I am more than slightly tech challenged.. If I purchase the premium plugin, will someone on your support team be willing to go into my WP dash and correctly set up the premium plugin, so it offers the maximum level of correct performance? If so, count me in as a buyer.
Larissa • 11 years ago
@yoast excellent! thanks for the prompt reply
Arturo • 11 years ago
I personally think that this is overprising, It should instead try to fix/improve the free version and make it more user friendly and MORE EFFECTIVE. You know there are som issues allready concerning the free version. I.e. it brakes the whole site and our website DISAPPEAR FROM GOOGLE RANKING. The we have to pay a lot for a web site review.
Wrong or not, how come if we were ranking very high with other plugins, change to yoast, disappear from google ranking and yoast says that there are many wrong things on the website. Again, personally I suggest to better the free version in order to have more happy customers and customers of customers. FIX the video version that brakes site map and feed functionality. Better customer support and so on, and not fucous on a premium version in order for us, customers to pay more, swet more, and be more unsatisfied. I’m just giving a last shout at this plugin. I have already lost lots of money and won lots of disappoinment. Come on, impress me and do something REALLY GOOD ,-)
PS: This is good critic, my intension is not to attack yoast, just making him prioritize better ;-)
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Arturo, if you kept up to date with what we’re doing you’d see that we are constantly working very hard on keeping things up to date. I’m sorry to hear that you’re disappointed, but at the same time a bug you mentioned in our video SEO plugin has been fixed for weeks already.
If it’s not working for you and you’re a paying customer, email support and we’ll fix it. We respond to most support requests within 24 hours on workdays, which is surprising given we’re in another timezone than most of our clientele :)
So while I appreciate that it might be because your disappointed in something specifically, I think you’re selling us short now.
Arturo • 11 years ago
Yoast, your right, I haven’t kept up to date, since I uninstalled the video plugin. I’m a very bussy person and do not have too much time to keep on discussing about a plugin. I just need things to be done asap, and see results asap as well. When we buy a product, no matter if it’s free or not, we need support, premium or not premium. Especially if we are new to a product and do not make a living of that pruduct. Here I mentions generall solutions, seo, seo map, video. These two last ones have been uninstalled from my installation. Video was causing problems with site maps etc., seo map was not working (these two are payable products) and finally, the most important WP SEO have cost me alot, i’ve been suffering and i’m still suffering because I have lost all the hard work i’ve done concerning ranking on google. For me, for many others and perhaps for you too, it’s diificult to admidt there’s something wrong with your/our web sites when they’ve been working pretty awsom while using other seo alternatives, and asa we decide to use another solution/plugin, give it a try because we see is populær, people talk a lot about that seo provider, that seo provider rank very well on internet and, when we decide to make a change a be part of that trend then we miss/fail and everything begins becoming a nightmare. What I thnik is asa the plugin is free there should have been a descriptive and comprehensive guide on how integrate the seo plugin and not to miss when we decide to use your plugin. The solution, I thpersonally think, is not about paying or getting paid, the solution is finding an answer to the problem and resolve it right away. Free or paid support, you will always get lots of customers asking for support and asfa I know, you Ypast have lots of customers all ovver the planet, your not enough to satisfied all of them if all of them pay for getting support when they need it. Mainly those customers that are very busy and do not have time to spend on a waiting list.
Hard to see that i used to have 8 out of 10 organic positions on the first google page with a seo plugin and i never needed to contact the producer for support. Now I have nothing and this is killing me, i am loosing customers, reputation and who knows what.
I cannot really see the day when I finally get my google ranking back on track. It’s really hard to see that my competitors have gone long ahead over me without using a simple plugin. How come this is gonna happen? This is why i’m desappointed. I have followed lots of procedures, have checked evrything and the result, i’m still loosing. ;-)
Mickey • 11 years ago
Assuming we’re talking about malecontravel.com, I’d say part of the problem is your lack of fresh content. In the first three months of 2013 you wrote nine blog entries. Now you’ve gone nearly three months since your last one, and your last two posts were both less than 20 words each.
If your traffic has been going down lately, it certainly correlates closely with your fresh content disappearing. There may be other technical issues as well, but that’s perhaps part of it.
Arturo • 11 years ago
Not that site at all. I do not focus on that site but malecondans.no and it happen right after i decide to use yoast. More, after i changed i continued writting on this site more than i did before. So, i do not think this is the reason ;-)
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Site maps are for search engines to find content. If they don’t work, that doesn’t hurt your ranking. I think something else has gone wrong with your sites and that you shouldn’t blame any SEO plugin. That’s like blaming your car for the fact that you got a speed ticket.
Arturo • 11 years ago
site maps, feeds asfa they do not work you get punished by google. Video plugin was causing these two figures not to work propperly and asa i deactivated the video plugin then my site came right away on goodle second page, but unfurtunatly just one ranking and on second page ;-)
I do not blame nobody, I just need a solution to this. If I was blame somebody i would have change the plugin before, i continue using and want to find a solution. I tell you more, there was a time when i deactivated the whole yoast plugin and was working without seo plugin and my site started acting better. ;-)
Leo Aruta • 11 years ago
Ciao,
I’d to know if support for premium version will be only in english or multi-languages?
Tanks
Leo from Italy
Taco Verdonschot • 11 years ago
I’m afraid I’m limited to English, Dutch and a tiny bit of German. So we’ll stick with Dutch and English for now.
Rajesh • 11 years ago
Nice move Joost, using your Video SEO plugin and I’m happy with the results. Thinking to buy this plugin too :)
Carl • 11 years ago
I just bought the upgrade! Where can I post my question (get support) because every time I click my XML sitemap button; I get an error loading stylesheet message? When I make changes to see the XML sitemaps listed; two pages do not load content…HELP!
Leo • 11 years ago
Btw, what are the renewal fees ? Do we need to purchase a new license, or do we get it at 50% off?
Thanks!
Ruairi Phelan • 11 years ago
Joost
You could perhaps bundle, local SEO, video SEO and the new premium SEO for $189 +. Personally, I would prefer that, as opposed to the five website licence. Would that be an viable option for you?
Irregardless, I’ll be going premium!
Thanks :)
Kasper • 11 years ago
I know you don’t consider this option currently, but I’ll second the ‘Unlimited Premium with no support’. We would love the features and gladly pay a higher price for this model, but managing per year licenses across all customer domains isn’t realistic for us.
Hopefully you’ll reconsider.
Lisa • 11 years ago
I’ve wanted a premium version and support for awhile.
Will we be able to import redirects created through another plugin?
Clint Butler • 11 years ago
I love it, pay for support is cool because questions will actually get answered.
My only question is do you have a buy button to pick up this, the local seo plugin and the video plug in all at one time?
Regards,
Clint
John • 11 years ago
I also support an unlimited version or a price for 100 sites with NO support. I would also pay per support ticket when needed but typically I self support.
I really think support and the number of sites could be their own products/service. Support could be a monthly and the actual plugin with updates could be a fixed price. Just a thought.
Angie • 11 years ago
Love the plugin.
The paid support will be a great option if/when we get stuck. Just hope the introduction of the Premium version will not affected the free one?
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Absolutely not.
Dave • 11 years ago
I’ll throw my hat in the “Needs a price for no support but buys the plugin with extra features” group.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
To be honest I wouldn’t hold your breath…
Tuana • 11 years ago
Everything you and your team have created have been very been very helpful. The price is high. But if I just get one client it have paid the price and more. The free version works greqt and I hope you add more great features.
Thank you!
swanie • 11 years ago
Hi Joost, question about how the plugin works … I’m currently using Genesis themes and Web Synthesis … they recommend writing redirects at the server level … so, right now, I submit all of my redirects to them and they implement them. How does this plugin work with that setup?
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
I’m on Synthesis and Genesis too, so I’ll make sure it works nicely with them.
Surajit Sen Sharma • 11 years ago
I don’t have the money right now, but I hope I’d be able to buy next month.
I deal with these headaches every day – and I’d pay for the premium features – and Joost knows what he’s doing – the Google webmaster integration and the hassle of redirects can save us so much headache.
It’s one of the primary points of pain with many.
David • 11 years ago
IMO is fair enough to charge for support and some new features. But I hope you keep the free version running smoothly and without those annoying ‘go premium’ ads that we usually find in plugins with the possibility to get premium version.
Maxwell Duchaine • 11 years ago
Hey Joost, I really like the redirect functionality, great idea! I’m also glad to hear you’ll be continuing to develop the free plugin. Can’t wait to see some more new SEO features :)
Michael Quinn • 11 years ago
(not sure if my earlier attempt to comment failed)
Is there any way to see a screenshot or demo of the Google Webmaster Features? What exactly do you pull in? And will it be updated when Google decides to change their mind on what Webmaster shows?
A peak at the Redirect function would be nice too. Not really sure when / why I would need it. Can’t say it’s really come up – maybe I am missing something?
Can you confirm the a single license is all that’s needed for all sites on a MU Network install?
Happy with the pricing. Discount for bulk 20x bundles seems a good idea but really at that price per site it’s pretty cheap.
Alex • 11 years ago
Ho ! Seriously, Is these features needed? We may get a clear idea of the features if you explain some more about what paid customers get other than the frees.
But I should say the free version itself is the best SEO plugin I have ever dealt with.
Charlie Gilkey • 11 years ago
You can tell I’m new to the fan club when I don’t know whether to say Yoast or Joost. Either way, great work and I’m with Boris that I find the pricing discussion pretty awful.
Though I recently started using the plugin based on the Synthesis’ team recommendation, I know you’ve been at it for a long time. $90 – $329 for support is completely reasonable and it’s not like you’ve gimped the free version. I’m happy you ‘ve enabled a new way to receive back some of the value you’ve given.
Christopher Simmons • 11 years ago
HI, Joost
looks good to me. Fair pricing for those who make a living from the web, and use your tools to help do that. The “free economy” will always want tons of free stuff and hours of free help and bitch about it all the time. For most of us, this is great because you are sort of combining the support ticket, donation and “extra goodies” in one bundle, and that way you can offer some more technicaly stuff that the “I have one blog how do I login” folks don’t need or even understand – so they won’t need those tools anyway. For example, we need help in connecting our syndicated child sites which have a user data field identifying the syndication source from the mothership site, and no way to do that to populate the original source field in Yoast in the META data — most people using your pack would go “huh?” but for some of us (who were – ahem- trying to find the old pay for support link or hire you for stuff link — and couldn’t find it) this is the golden ticket. So, thumbs up, yay, and yeehah … and hopefully an option to turn off the ad banners on my own sites ;-) Peace out. -Chris
Sisir • 11 years ago
You gave so much on the free plugin I think there is very little left to add on premium plugin LoL! :)
Redirection looks interesting but I personally don’t need it right now. But I will look into it when I need it. Always appreciate your work.
Good luck. Wish your success!
L_sander • 11 years ago
I will be looking into this… cause I was using a redirect plugin and it was just a mess.. So this function in Yoast’s plugin is a plus.
Max Rice • 11 years ago
Bravo, really happy to see the GWT redirection feature, that is a killer feature for me. The price is a bit too low IMO — definitely think this belongs at $99+ :)
Leo Koo • 11 years ago
Easy for you to say. As you’re running your own plugins shop :D
Leslie • 11 years ago
I’ll be buying it as soon as I get off my work run. Everything you guys have done for my pages are awesome. Thank you and I’ll be back to purchase in a couple weeks at the latest.
Matt Sells • 11 years ago
If you can’t afford this, you do not have the money to be in business. If you are not in business and own a hobby blog, then you do not need an SEO plugin.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Well in fact Matt, the free plugin will go a long way :)
Matt • 11 years ago
Yes it will, you are a saint;)
But if you need support, this is a very good deal.
Kristof • 11 years ago
Love that you’re releasing a premium version with more features. And I’d definitely pay for a more advanced plugin. But from the comments I’m reading, I think the issue stems from bundling support into the plugin price. For me, $89 isn’t expensive for the plugin. But $89 a year is expensive when I never need/use support.
Have you considered offering a separate support option? For example; one flat price for just the plugin, and another for the plugin + support. Heck, I’m surprised you don’t offer support as a completely separate option; A. free support via forums (we’ll get to you when we can) and, B. Paid option for expedited support.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
I think you’d quickly find European & Dutch law doesn’t allow for me not to support a product :-)
Kristof • 11 years ago
Oh, I didn’t mean to imply not supporting it, just suggesting offering two options;
1. free support via forums (like other plugins) for a one-time price, or
2. Paid/yearly price option that provides expedited support.
Of course, the free support you’ve offered in the past might, becoming a huge time suck that you’re looking to, understandably, move away from.
BTW, appreciate all you’ve given to the community.
Arun • 11 years ago
For most of the people it looks pricey… but the best part is Support, that you will get with this premium plugin.
Pieter ten Cate • 11 years ago
Hey guys,
Great news from your part, and I totally agree with Boris on the pricing discussion. I’m really looking forward to seeing a video of all the new features of this great addition to the legendary WordPress Yoast SEO tool.
Keep it up!
Pieter
Boris Czizikowski • 11 years ago
Hi,
great move!
I have to say, that I find this pricing discussion really awful!
1.) There is a free version
2.) The paid version includes support and new features, and more to come.
Be thankful! Or stay with the free version. Simple isn’t it?
But huffing and puffing around, that this is a ripoff, is just embarrassing.
So thanks again to the Yoast-Team for listening to your customers! (I was one of those who where asking for support)
Best,
Boris
Kathy Drewien • 11 years ago
Amen! Where do we get the idea that open source software means free unlimited access forevermore? I’ll upgrade simply because I have been using Yoast plugins since 2007 and never contributed a penny to his business. Oh, and because I want the two bonus features. And, access to support.
Duncan Edwards • 11 years ago
Isn’t over optimising bad now? We need SEO plugins that tell us we have done too much.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
The plugin actually does that Duncan: if your keyword density becomes ridiculous it’ll give you a big red flag…
Chinwendu Igbaji • 11 years ago
Not when you stock keywords which google panda is against. It’ll pat you on the back and say WELL DONE with that GREEN LIGHT.
Igor • 11 years ago
Hi Yoast,
Agreed for a Personal use it’s quite expensive!
And from a SEO perspective and Google’s endless changes of rules, it’s impossible to say will the plugin be effective? And why?
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
We’re always on top of the last changes in Google and we’ll keep doing that. Several Googlers and ex Googlers from Google’s search quality team use our plugin, I think that’s a pretty strong recommendation, don’t you? :)
n3tho • 11 years ago
The “Personal – Single Site” goes for wordpress multisite?
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Yes, as the update works for that single master install.
Ivon Georgieva • 11 years ago
I thin he will focus now mainly on the premium plugin. I hope he still create new cool features for wordpress seo by yoast
Hemant Aggarwal • 11 years ago
All your plugins are great but this plugin is less on features and more on cost. Will buy it once you add more features to it :)
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
You’re missing the point I think: we’re pre-releasing this for a reason: people were asking for the support. If you don’t need that, by all means don’t buy it :)
Mike Whaling • 11 years ago
Add my vote for a license for unlimited sites!
Arturo • 11 years ago
Unlimited sites :-)
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
As said above Mike, I’m sorry but that won’t happen as it doesn’t allow us to estimate our growth in support.
Shalu Sharma • 11 years ago
I am using the free version but seems as if the premium version could be something that I might consider. Thanks
Furqan Hameed • 11 years ago
I love to buy your plugin but it is too expensive for me.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
You don’t have to buy it :) the core plugin is and will remain free.
Leo Koo • 11 years ago
Why don’t you sell extensions, like WooCommerce, and keep the main plugin free? =) And not all of us need support.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
I don’t get your comment; what difference does it make?
Alexander Gieg • 11 years ago
I think the problem people are seeing is in conflating additional software features with a full professional support package. It’s usual for software companies to provide both as independent options, where you can purchase the software with web-only support and, if needed, add high level support to it as an extra, charged for much more than the software itself.
Let’s say, something like this (I haven’t done the math on whether the values below make sense, but you get the idea):
Basic: $20/year for 1 site, $10/year per additional site, no support.
A la carte support (basic): $15 per incident.
Agency: $170/year for 5 sites and 10 support incidents, $8/year per additional site.
A la carte support (agency): $10 per incident.
Enterprise: $370/year for 20 sites and 20 support incidents, $5/year per additional site.
A la carte support (enterprise): $5 per incident.
This way you can plan for support and plan for software development independently, and customers can plan their expenses on both things also independently.
Michael • 11 years ago
Some of us don’t care about support and just want the Premium features.
Why would you do that? The plugin is still available for free and is better than All In One IMO… The Pro Version offers a couple more features but also includes support.
If you don’t need the support then just use the free version.
Maarten • 11 years ago
I don’t think it’s expensive at all. Most of us have multiple sites. And even if you go for the “Personal – Single Site” plan: if it saves two hours of work a year, it’s already payed itself off.
Robert Boersma • 11 years ago
You guys are missing the point. It’s not the extra features that make the price. It’s mainly the support as I see it.
I think that’s too expensive for a personal one. $49 would be better
Thomas Laleman • 11 years ago
For an Agency I think the price is right.
But $89 for a Personal site I guess is a bit too much.
;-)
Keith Malone • 11 years ago
Nice one Joost! I’m particularly pleased to see a redirect functionality straight from GWT. The premium plugin will be worth it for this feature alone! :)
Are we talking about a 2014 release date or late 2013?
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
I hope to have the beta ready end of this month at the latest… But it’s been rather a struggle :) The interface is done, this is one of the few instances were the actual coding is harder than doing the interface.
Jillian Windle • 11 years ago
Will there be an “Unlimited Sites” license available for more money? I would pay more to not have to worry about surpassing the 20 site limit at some point with all my clients.
Mickey • 11 years ago
This. I’d love some kind of unlimited option.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Thinking about this a bit more, as you can see from my previous comment above; if we offered a discount to you when you buy your 2nd / 3rd / 4th etc. agency license, would that “ease the pain”? How many sites would you need?
Brandon • 11 years ago
While a discount for additional agency license is great, I think it still won’t meet the needs of some. Our company hosts around 100 sites and growing, managing keys across clients/sites can be a pain, especially if we have clients coming and going all the time. Maybe offering some kind of unlimited sites with NO SUPPORT, and then one-time charges for any support questions.
Gabe • 11 years ago
A NO SUPPORT option would be great for those of use who mange 100+ sites, but don’t need support frequently. In this case, if I ever needed support I’d be happy to pay per ticket.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
We’re not going to do that, sorry. It just doesn’t allow us to properly estimate our growth.
Elias Manos • 11 years ago
I think that is too expensive :)
Yoosuf • 11 years ago
So do i, its so pricey and i would recommend $20 for the lowest cost.
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
We’re happy with our current pricing, so don’t expect us to lower the prices. If anything, we’ll raise them.
david • 11 years ago
expensive…. ; yoast has been providing the best available SEO plugins for free for years now. Nothing wrong with asking a few dollars for it. If you don’t want it, don’t get it. Nice one Joost.
Byron Fabrizio • 11 years ago
I totally agree with you, I think the work done Yoast.com, is of great value for the price premium is a small amount for the value they bring to our website.
Congratulations Yoast
Niels Bosch • 11 years ago
So, 2 new things? You charge 90$ for that?
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
I think it’s a fair price. It’s a pre-release for a reason: people wanted to buy the support, so we’re offering it :) If you don’t want to buy it: don’t buy it.
Steve Woody • 11 years ago
I think its expensive for some and cheap for others. Depends on how much you rate SEO to drive traffic to your website.
If this can increase business then I see it paying for itself and therefore being a great investment.
One thing that did stop my buying it at this stage was the lack of a developer option. As a website builder I want to offer this service to my clients as added value. Is this something you are considering ?
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
Hi Steve,
no, sorry, we’re not going to go back to unlimited licenses. Those made it impossible for us to forecast our support needs and they were actually heavily abused by some group buying schemes, which was rather stupid to see…
I understand the need though, and I’ve heard more people voice the same concern in the comments below. So I’m thinking that what we could do is offer a discount for people who buy multiple agency packages. Would be curious to hear what you think you’d need?
Gabe • 11 years ago
I understand the abuse of unlimited sites in the group buying schemes, but is it possible to enable unlimited use on a single multisite network? It’s hard to justify paying so much for 20 sites that get hardly any traffic, but I can justify it for the network of minisites.
With a multisite option the support options should only be available to the multisite network owner, not every individual site owner.
Thoughts Joost?
Thanks!
Ragnar Karlsson • 11 years ago
Two features to make further integration with your SEO simpler may not seem valuable, but I think support from the company who make the plugin could be very attractive. Particularly if you consider them experts then their advice and assistance on getting the full use out of the plugin is where the value lies.
Tim • 11 years ago
“…but over time, we’ll be adding more premium-only features.”
I don’t think they’re stopping at just 2.
Leo • 11 years ago
Thanks Joost! Will you continue developing the free version or must we purchase in order to obtain support?
^ Post author
Joost de Valk • 11 years ago
We will continue developing, but if you want support from us you’ll have to pay.
Leo • 11 years ago
Thanks. Not able to verify any emails from you though. Also, should we buy now to get locked in to future prices? How much for updates? 50% off? =) Can single users or small time users get a smaller price?
Niels Bosch • 11 years ago
Still, 2 features are not enough to make me pay 90$ at launch. There is no confirmation on what these other features are or when they will be added. If i am spending my hard earned money i want to know what i am going to get and when i am getting it. Not let features that make the premium plugin premium come “later on”
Comprei o plugin premium e o link não funciona, como faço para ter o plugin em meu site se spo tenho a licença e o arquivo eu não acho. Já mandei e-mail e ninguem me atende, alguem pode me ajudar?
Hi Mr. Joost de Valk,
I’m from Iran and I need your help so much,
Can you help me?
Hi Joost,
In the premium version, did you plan to delete the comment on HTML?
It is not a big deal for some but its looking not professionnal in some project.
Yeah I plan to make it an option to remove that.
Joost if I can get a clear answer please I have a client who I recommended your plug-in for not only for support but because of the 301 redirects primarily we have remade the page on the same domain however there are quite a few 404’s and your plug-in seems like the ideal solution. Is it out now and I have not seen it? I have to get before a force under control ASAP and I will simply need to use a different method like screaming frog if it’s going to be a lot long or I know that you’re building something entirely new however if you wouldn’t mind updating your timeline is 20 would be ready I would sincerely appreciate it I think others would too respectfully,
Thomas
I guess the comment above mine “…we don’t want to load that much extra functionality when people don’t need it.” answers my question – sorry.
Separate licenses for all plugins really seems like overkill to me. I prefer to have clients pay for their own, putting any annual renewal on them, but buying all three plugins likely wont fly for most…
Will this new premium plugin remain separate from the premium Local SEO plugin? So for a local business we’ll still need to use BOTH paid licenses?
This an excellent s.e.o. tool- HOWEVER it exposes a huge problem- I have GREAT difficulty getting the page analysis light green- my text usually scores 50 -60 (70 is needed for green) I must find software/ program that will show me how to correct my text for a 70 score HELP!!! I am not uploading any more pages until I can correct my text. Am I the only person who now knows he cannot write well? What are other people doing when they get a 30? a 40?
This is a positive development. I’m happy to pay if the features and support are forthcoming. What I would like even more is for you to integrate the video seo and local search features into this single plugin. Is there any plan to do so?
Thanks for all your great work! You ROCK!
Now we’re not going to do that as we don’t want to load that much extra functionality when people don’t need it :) You can run them all alongside each other though!
Hey Joost,
You said
Is the launch date different when do you hope to have this out?
Thanks,
Tom
PS sorry the Quotes did not work “By Joost de Valk on 10 September, 2013
I hope to have the beta ready end of this month at the latest… But it’s been rather a struggle :) The interface is done, this is one of the few instances were the actual coding is harder than doing the interface”
Any idea as to when the beta will be able to be downloaded? I just purchased and I am looking forward to using the redirect feature ASAP thank you
Just wondering, if I buy this plugin and install it will it overwrite the current Yoast SEO plugin or do I need to uninstall the non-Pro version? Just curious how I can keep all my current settings.
I will replace your free s.e.o. plugin with your premium as soon as you release it. WHO has software to help me fix my text scores on your readability field? I score 50 -60 YOU want a 70- what to do ?? scott
Joost,
I am interested in the WPSEO Premium, but my question is: I am using Synthesis Hosting with NGINX, will I be able to complete the redirects myself with the premium version?
Also, I have purchased the Video SEO plugin last year and am using the Fluid Video Embed plugin http://wordpress.org/plugins/fluid-video-embeds/ this is not listed as a compatible plugin, but I am taking advantage of the oEmbed feature while delivering a mobile responsive video correctly sized no matter the device.
thank you
Mike
Any idea as to when the beta will be able to be downloaded? I just purchased and I am looking forward to using the redirect feature ASAP thank you, Thomas
I will GLADLY pay $89 to get support and the two options that are offered. This plug-in has helped me grow my business to the next level and I want to see them thrive and grow. Thank you for all you do! This upgrade is EXACTLY what I have been needing help with.
Thanks again,
Kathy
@yoast
This is exactly what I was looking for. Considering that the normal rule of thumb is more plug-ins slow your site down or at increased RAM and CPU requirements having your WordPress SEO plug-in already installed and knowing that a coder of your caliber built this I am very happy to see this type of very necessary plug-in exist on a premium level. people that are making money from their website will benefit for instance I am working to redirect all the 404’s after site redesign and I am with the managed WordPress hosting company that tells me I have to use the redirect plug-in I would rather use one plug-in and a much better plug-in than redirect plug-in. For $89 honestly it’s a bargain.
Good job,
Thomas
Kudos Joost. A great plugin just got better. Personally I”m excited but probably will wait until I see a few more premium features available. Nonetheless looking forward to what’s in store! Cheers!
Yoast,
Firstly, you are awesome and I appreciate your plugins and look up to you in the SEO/internet marketing world. You are a pioneer in the SEO world. I also like the fact that you are honest. When I asked you about the local SEO plugin you gave me your honest opinion and didn’t push a sale for one second.
I am clueless as to whether I should buy this premium product. I earn my livelihood from the web and $169 won’t break the bank. I currently use Google Webmaster tools, your SEO plugin for my google sitemap, and use a plugin called Quick Redirect when I want to change a url that has been indexed.
Rather than ask you to elaborate with an article showing what the new plugin does, can you just tell me whether you recommend it for me? Thanks!
Unfortunately, I will not be able to purchase this plugin due to the pricing. I own a blog network multisite install. Many of my low tier sites will be free, and they pay-to-blog sites are only $5 a piece. Paying $1,100 a year would either put me under water or break even on 100 sites =/
You should really consider a different model for multisite installs. You can do a check against the wp-config.php to see if multisite is on.
Hi,
I’m using your seo tool for some days now and see my ranking go up, up.
I already use the webmaster tools for some time now.
My question: will your premium seo match the existing settings I already have on webmaster tools, or wll it overwrite and push the info from wordpress.
Looking forward to the end of September
I think the prices are higher than all expected. But then let’s see what are the other features.
I have used the yoast seo plugin and find it to be a valuable SEO tool and recommend it!
Lesson 1 learned here ->don’t give too much value for free when you start off, , once people are used to that and you start charging for a premium version people will complain
Lesson 2 learned here -> lot of folks have no idea how much time (and $$) goes into the dev & maintenance of plugins
So can we stop this ridiculous pricing discussion and get back to work :) There’s nothing to complain about since you can still download the (valuable) free version.
If you really care about your site and SEO, I think $89 is a bargain. In the long run, the support and knowledge from Yoast should quickly give you a huge return.
However, I do have a question about the “support” and I hope someone from the Yoast team can reply as soon as possible because I’m ready to pay the $89. I have absolutely NO knowledge or experience with coding or anything dealing with the backend. This stuff makes no sense to me so I’m willing to pay to hear from the experts. If my site has bugs, will the support team fix my problems or just tell me how to do it myself? I hope the “support” means that the Yoast team can fix things for me instead of just guiding me through things.
I use the free version of Yoast for all of my blogs as it’s a great SEO plugin that takes care of the many aspects required for a well structured site. I’m interested in learning more about this paid version.
Soon as the redirect feature is available i’ll buy it.
Price point isn’t bad. I do look forward the using the redirect feature because it’s going to make life a lot easier when dealing with tons of broken links, etc., that need attention.
I think the price is fine! I have had so much with the original plugin along with advice on this blog that I am more than happy to pay for an even better service!
You know what would be awesome, if you add support for easily integrating schemas (without going into mark-up) within the plug-in.
Your site runs on Genesis and it does have schema.org support, however a lot of WP publishers (who also use your plug-in) are not that savvy with mark-up.
Does support also mean providing recommendations to improve serp ranking for the particular website, or advise what is wrong ?
If i buy this, the update version free ? or get discount ?
You’ll get updates and support for one year. Then you need to upgrade license. Means you’ve to pay every year.
I would like to see the redirect functionality to have a option for wpengine to handle the redirects.. and they do it well, and cache.
Will there be an affiliate program?
Hello Joost,
For Video SEO plugin I’m facing one issue from last 12-14 days, Taco is still working on same, and nowadays no quick reply from him, why so?
Regards,
Rajesh
Hi Yoast, excellent steps forward. Would it be possible to buy a ‘single site’ first to test and experience what exactly will be approvements and then, for example within 2 or 3 months, when we buy/upgrade to the ’20 sites’ license, we get a discount for the amount of the single license? Ofcourse we will not ask to give discount because of the donation we did :-) Keep up the good work. Thanks.
Hi Larissa,
You can indeed upgrade. You’ll get a discount for the full amount of the license during the first month, and then a bit less each month gradually until the end of the year.
@yoast and, any particular advice or issues regarding to usage of your premium plugin, when before using “Redirection plugin” and some .htaccess 301 rules?
Well the new functionality isn’t there yet but we’re working on Redirection import functionality.
Joost… I am a huge fan of your SEO plugin! I think it set up reasonably well on my single site. I am more than slightly tech challenged.. If I purchase the premium plugin, will someone on your support team be willing to go into my WP dash and correctly set up the premium plugin, so it offers the maximum level of correct performance? If so, count me in as a buyer. Also, if it matters, I am a Genesis theme user and for hosting I am on VPS.net.
Joost… I am a huge fan of your SEO plugin! I think it set up reasonably well on my single site. I am more than slightly tech challenged.. If I purchase the premium plugin, will someone on your support team be willing to go into my WP dash and correctly set up the premium plugin, so it offers the maximum level of correct performance? If so, count me in as a buyer.
@yoast excellent! thanks for the prompt reply
I personally think that this is overprising, It should instead try to fix/improve the free version and make it more user friendly and MORE EFFECTIVE. You know there are som issues allready concerning the free version. I.e. it brakes the whole site and our website DISAPPEAR FROM GOOGLE RANKING. The we have to pay a lot for a web site review.
Wrong or not, how come if we were ranking very high with other plugins, change to yoast, disappear from google ranking and yoast says that there are many wrong things on the website. Again, personally I suggest to better the free version in order to have more happy customers and customers of customers. FIX the video version that brakes site map and feed functionality. Better customer support and so on, and not fucous on a premium version in order for us, customers to pay more, swet more, and be more unsatisfied. I’m just giving a last shout at this plugin. I have already lost lots of money and won lots of disappoinment. Come on, impress me and do something REALLY GOOD ,-)
PS: This is good critic, my intension is not to attack yoast, just making him prioritize better ;-)
Arturo, if you kept up to date with what we’re doing you’d see that we are constantly working very hard on keeping things up to date. I’m sorry to hear that you’re disappointed, but at the same time a bug you mentioned in our video SEO plugin has been fixed for weeks already.
If it’s not working for you and you’re a paying customer, email support and we’ll fix it. We respond to most support requests within 24 hours on workdays, which is surprising given we’re in another timezone than most of our clientele :)
So while I appreciate that it might be because your disappointed in something specifically, I think you’re selling us short now.
Yoast, your right, I haven’t kept up to date, since I uninstalled the video plugin. I’m a very bussy person and do not have too much time to keep on discussing about a plugin. I just need things to be done asap, and see results asap as well. When we buy a product, no matter if it’s free or not, we need support, premium or not premium. Especially if we are new to a product and do not make a living of that pruduct. Here I mentions generall solutions, seo, seo map, video. These two last ones have been uninstalled from my installation. Video was causing problems with site maps etc., seo map was not working (these two are payable products) and finally, the most important WP SEO have cost me alot, i’ve been suffering and i’m still suffering because I have lost all the hard work i’ve done concerning ranking on google. For me, for many others and perhaps for you too, it’s diificult to admidt there’s something wrong with your/our web sites when they’ve been working pretty awsom while using other seo alternatives, and asa we decide to use another solution/plugin, give it a try because we see is populær, people talk a lot about that seo provider, that seo provider rank very well on internet and, when we decide to make a change a be part of that trend then we miss/fail and everything begins becoming a nightmare. What I thnik is asa the plugin is free there should have been a descriptive and comprehensive guide on how integrate the seo plugin and not to miss when we decide to use your plugin. The solution, I thpersonally think, is not about paying or getting paid, the solution is finding an answer to the problem and resolve it right away. Free or paid support, you will always get lots of customers asking for support and asfa I know, you Ypast have lots of customers all ovver the planet, your not enough to satisfied all of them if all of them pay for getting support when they need it. Mainly those customers that are very busy and do not have time to spend on a waiting list.
Hard to see that i used to have 8 out of 10 organic positions on the first google page with a seo plugin and i never needed to contact the producer for support. Now I have nothing and this is killing me, i am loosing customers, reputation and who knows what.
I cannot really see the day when I finally get my google ranking back on track. It’s really hard to see that my competitors have gone long ahead over me without using a simple plugin. How come this is gonna happen? This is why i’m desappointed. I have followed lots of procedures, have checked evrything and the result, i’m still loosing. ;-)
Assuming we’re talking about malecontravel.com, I’d say part of the problem is your lack of fresh content. In the first three months of 2013 you wrote nine blog entries. Now you’ve gone nearly three months since your last one, and your last two posts were both less than 20 words each.
If your traffic has been going down lately, it certainly correlates closely with your fresh content disappearing. There may be other technical issues as well, but that’s perhaps part of it.
Not that site at all. I do not focus on that site but malecondans.no and it happen right after i decide to use yoast. More, after i changed i continued writting on this site more than i did before. So, i do not think this is the reason ;-)
Site maps are for search engines to find content. If they don’t work, that doesn’t hurt your ranking. I think something else has gone wrong with your sites and that you shouldn’t blame any SEO plugin. That’s like blaming your car for the fact that you got a speed ticket.
site maps, feeds asfa they do not work you get punished by google. Video plugin was causing these two figures not to work propperly and asa i deactivated the video plugin then my site came right away on goodle second page, but unfurtunatly just one ranking and on second page ;-)
I do not blame nobody, I just need a solution to this. If I was blame somebody i would have change the plugin before, i continue using and want to find a solution. I tell you more, there was a time when i deactivated the whole yoast plugin and was working without seo plugin and my site started acting better. ;-)
Ciao,
I’d to know if support for premium version will be only in english or multi-languages?
Tanks
Leo from Italy
I’m afraid I’m limited to English, Dutch and a tiny bit of German. So we’ll stick with Dutch and English for now.
Nice move Joost, using your Video SEO plugin and I’m happy with the results. Thinking to buy this plugin too :)
I just bought the upgrade! Where can I post my question (get support) because every time I click my XML sitemap button; I get an error loading stylesheet message? When I make changes to see the XML sitemaps listed; two pages do not load content…HELP!
Btw, what are the renewal fees ? Do we need to purchase a new license, or do we get it at 50% off?
Thanks!
Joost
You could perhaps bundle, local SEO, video SEO and the new premium SEO for $189 +. Personally, I would prefer that, as opposed to the five website licence. Would that be an viable option for you?
Irregardless, I’ll be going premium!
Thanks :)
I know you don’t consider this option currently, but I’ll second the ‘Unlimited Premium with no support’. We would love the features and gladly pay a higher price for this model, but managing per year licenses across all customer domains isn’t realistic for us.
Hopefully you’ll reconsider.
I’ve wanted a premium version and support for awhile.
Will we be able to import redirects created through another plugin?
I love it, pay for support is cool because questions will actually get answered.
My only question is do you have a buy button to pick up this, the local seo plugin and the video plug in all at one time?
Regards,
Clint
I also support an unlimited version or a price for 100 sites with NO support. I would also pay per support ticket when needed but typically I self support.
I really think support and the number of sites could be their own products/service. Support could be a monthly and the actual plugin with updates could be a fixed price. Just a thought.
Love the plugin.
The paid support will be a great option if/when we get stuck. Just hope the introduction of the Premium version will not affected the free one?
Absolutely not.
I’ll throw my hat in the “Needs a price for no support but buys the plugin with extra features” group.
To be honest I wouldn’t hold your breath…
Everything you and your team have created have been very been very helpful. The price is high. But if I just get one client it have paid the price and more. The free version works greqt and I hope you add more great features.
Thank you!
Hi Joost, question about how the plugin works … I’m currently using Genesis themes and Web Synthesis … they recommend writing redirects at the server level … so, right now, I submit all of my redirects to them and they implement them. How does this plugin work with that setup?
I’m on Synthesis and Genesis too, so I’ll make sure it works nicely with them.
I don’t have the money right now, but I hope I’d be able to buy next month.
I deal with these headaches every day – and I’d pay for the premium features – and Joost knows what he’s doing – the Google webmaster integration and the hassle of redirects can save us so much headache.
It’s one of the primary points of pain with many.
IMO is fair enough to charge for support and some new features. But I hope you keep the free version running smoothly and without those annoying ‘go premium’ ads that we usually find in plugins with the possibility to get premium version.
Hey Joost, I really like the redirect functionality, great idea! I’m also glad to hear you’ll be continuing to develop the free plugin. Can’t wait to see some more new SEO features :)
(not sure if my earlier attempt to comment failed)
Is there any way to see a screenshot or demo of the Google Webmaster Features? What exactly do you pull in? And will it be updated when Google decides to change their mind on what Webmaster shows?
A peak at the Redirect function would be nice too. Not really sure when / why I would need it. Can’t say it’s really come up – maybe I am missing something?
Can you confirm the a single license is all that’s needed for all sites on a MU Network install?
Happy with the pricing. Discount for bulk 20x bundles seems a good idea but really at that price per site it’s pretty cheap.
Ho ! Seriously, Is these features needed? We may get a clear idea of the features if you explain some more about what paid customers get other than the frees.
But I should say the free version itself is the best SEO plugin I have ever dealt with.
You can tell I’m new to the fan club when I don’t know whether to say Yoast or Joost. Either way, great work and I’m with Boris that I find the pricing discussion pretty awful.
Though I recently started using the plugin based on the Synthesis’ team recommendation, I know you’ve been at it for a long time. $90 – $329 for support is completely reasonable and it’s not like you’ve gimped the free version. I’m happy you ‘ve enabled a new way to receive back some of the value you’ve given.
HI, Joost
looks good to me. Fair pricing for those who make a living from the web, and use your tools to help do that. The “free economy” will always want tons of free stuff and hours of free help and bitch about it all the time. For most of us, this is great because you are sort of combining the support ticket, donation and “extra goodies” in one bundle, and that way you can offer some more technicaly stuff that the “I have one blog how do I login” folks don’t need or even understand – so they won’t need those tools anyway. For example, we need help in connecting our syndicated child sites which have a user data field identifying the syndication source from the mothership site, and no way to do that to populate the original source field in Yoast in the META data — most people using your pack would go “huh?” but for some of us (who were – ahem- trying to find the old pay for support link or hire you for stuff link — and couldn’t find it) this is the golden ticket. So, thumbs up, yay, and yeehah … and hopefully an option to turn off the ad banners on my own sites ;-) Peace out. -Chris
You gave so much on the free plugin I think there is very little left to add on premium plugin LoL! :)
Redirection looks interesting but I personally don’t need it right now. But I will look into it when I need it. Always appreciate your work.
Good luck. Wish your success!
I will be looking into this… cause I was using a redirect plugin and it was just a mess.. So this function in Yoast’s plugin is a plus.
Bravo, really happy to see the GWT redirection feature, that is a killer feature for me. The price is a bit too low IMO — definitely think this belongs at $99+ :)
Easy for you to say. As you’re running your own plugins shop :D
I’ll be buying it as soon as I get off my work run. Everything you guys have done for my pages are awesome. Thank you and I’ll be back to purchase in a couple weeks at the latest.
If you can’t afford this, you do not have the money to be in business. If you are not in business and own a hobby blog, then you do not need an SEO plugin.
Well in fact Matt, the free plugin will go a long way :)
Yes it will, you are a saint;)
But if you need support, this is a very good deal.
Love that you’re releasing a premium version with more features. And I’d definitely pay for a more advanced plugin. But from the comments I’m reading, I think the issue stems from bundling support into the plugin price. For me, $89 isn’t expensive for the plugin. But $89 a year is expensive when I never need/use support.
Have you considered offering a separate support option? For example; one flat price for just the plugin, and another for the plugin + support. Heck, I’m surprised you don’t offer support as a completely separate option; A. free support via forums (we’ll get to you when we can) and, B. Paid option for expedited support.
I think you’d quickly find European & Dutch law doesn’t allow for me not to support a product :-)
Oh, I didn’t mean to imply not supporting it, just suggesting offering two options;
1. free support via forums (like other plugins) for a one-time price, or
2. Paid/yearly price option that provides expedited support.
Of course, the free support you’ve offered in the past might, becoming a huge time suck that you’re looking to, understandably, move away from.
BTW, appreciate all you’ve given to the community.
For most of the people it looks pricey… but the best part is Support, that you will get with this premium plugin.
Hey guys,
Great news from your part, and I totally agree with Boris on the pricing discussion. I’m really looking forward to seeing a video of all the new features of this great addition to the legendary WordPress Yoast SEO tool.
Keep it up!
Pieter
Hi,
great move!
I have to say, that I find this pricing discussion really awful!
1.) There is a free version
2.) The paid version includes support and new features, and more to come.
Be thankful! Or stay with the free version. Simple isn’t it?
But huffing and puffing around, that this is a ripoff, is just embarrassing.
So thanks again to the Yoast-Team for listening to your customers! (I was one of those who where asking for support)
Best,
Boris
Amen! Where do we get the idea that open source software means free unlimited access forevermore? I’ll upgrade simply because I have been using Yoast plugins since 2007 and never contributed a penny to his business. Oh, and because I want the two bonus features. And, access to support.
Isn’t over optimising bad now? We need SEO plugins that tell us we have done too much.
The plugin actually does that Duncan: if your keyword density becomes ridiculous it’ll give you a big red flag…
Not when you stock keywords which google panda is against. It’ll pat you on the back and say WELL DONE with that GREEN LIGHT.
Hi Yoast,
Agreed for a Personal use it’s quite expensive!
And from a SEO perspective and Google’s endless changes of rules, it’s impossible to say will the plugin be effective? And why?
We’re always on top of the last changes in Google and we’ll keep doing that. Several Googlers and ex Googlers from Google’s search quality team use our plugin, I think that’s a pretty strong recommendation, don’t you? :)
The “Personal – Single Site” goes for wordpress multisite?
Yes, as the update works for that single master install.
I thin he will focus now mainly on the premium plugin. I hope he still create new cool features for wordpress seo by yoast
All your plugins are great but this plugin is less on features and more on cost. Will buy it once you add more features to it :)
You’re missing the point I think: we’re pre-releasing this for a reason: people were asking for the support. If you don’t need that, by all means don’t buy it :)
Add my vote for a license for unlimited sites!
Unlimited sites :-)
As said above Mike, I’m sorry but that won’t happen as it doesn’t allow us to estimate our growth in support.
I am using the free version but seems as if the premium version could be something that I might consider. Thanks
I love to buy your plugin but it is too expensive for me.
You don’t have to buy it :) the core plugin is and will remain free.
Why don’t you sell extensions, like WooCommerce, and keep the main plugin free? =) And not all of us need support.
I don’t get your comment; what difference does it make?
I think the problem people are seeing is in conflating additional software features with a full professional support package. It’s usual for software companies to provide both as independent options, where you can purchase the software with web-only support and, if needed, add high level support to it as an extra, charged for much more than the software itself.
Let’s say, something like this (I haven’t done the math on whether the values below make sense, but you get the idea):
Basic: $20/year for 1 site, $10/year per additional site, no support.
A la carte support (basic): $15 per incident.
Agency: $170/year for 5 sites and 10 support incidents, $8/year per additional site.
A la carte support (agency): $10 per incident.
Enterprise: $370/year for 20 sites and 20 support incidents, $5/year per additional site.
A la carte support (enterprise): $5 per incident.
This way you can plan for support and plan for software development independently, and customers can plan their expenses on both things also independently.
Some of us don’t care about support and just want the Premium features.
Maybe we go back to http://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/ :-)
Why would you do that? The plugin is still available for free and is better than All In One IMO… The Pro Version offers a couple more features but also includes support.
If you don’t need the support then just use the free version.
I don’t think it’s expensive at all. Most of us have multiple sites. And even if you go for the “Personal – Single Site” plan: if it saves two hours of work a year, it’s already payed itself off.
You guys are missing the point. It’s not the extra features that make the price. It’s mainly the support as I see it.
Check the discussion at the managewp blog. It might clear things up. https://managewp.com/is-wordpress-seo-by-yoast-broken
I think that’s too expensive for a personal one. $49 would be better
For an Agency I think the price is right.
But $89 for a Personal site I guess is a bit too much.
;-)
Nice one Joost! I’m particularly pleased to see a redirect functionality straight from GWT. The premium plugin will be worth it for this feature alone! :)
Are we talking about a 2014 release date or late 2013?
I hope to have the beta ready end of this month at the latest… But it’s been rather a struggle :) The interface is done, this is one of the few instances were the actual coding is harder than doing the interface.
Will there be an “Unlimited Sites” license available for more money? I would pay more to not have to worry about surpassing the 20 site limit at some point with all my clients.
This. I’d love some kind of unlimited option.
Thinking about this a bit more, as you can see from my previous comment above; if we offered a discount to you when you buy your 2nd / 3rd / 4th etc. agency license, would that “ease the pain”? How many sites would you need?
While a discount for additional agency license is great, I think it still won’t meet the needs of some. Our company hosts around 100 sites and growing, managing keys across clients/sites can be a pain, especially if we have clients coming and going all the time. Maybe offering some kind of unlimited sites with NO SUPPORT, and then one-time charges for any support questions.
A NO SUPPORT option would be great for those of use who mange 100+ sites, but don’t need support frequently. In this case, if I ever needed support I’d be happy to pay per ticket.
We’re not going to do that, sorry. It just doesn’t allow us to properly estimate our growth.
I think that is too expensive :)
So do i, its so pricey and i would recommend $20 for the lowest cost.
We’re happy with our current pricing, so don’t expect us to lower the prices. If anything, we’ll raise them.
expensive…. ; yoast has been providing the best available SEO plugins for free for years now. Nothing wrong with asking a few dollars for it. If you don’t want it, don’t get it. Nice one Joost.
I totally agree with you, I think the work done Yoast.com, is of great value for the price premium is a small amount for the value they bring to our website.
Congratulations Yoast
So, 2 new things? You charge 90$ for that?
I think it’s a fair price. It’s a pre-release for a reason: people wanted to buy the support, so we’re offering it :) If you don’t want to buy it: don’t buy it.
I think its expensive for some and cheap for others. Depends on how much you rate SEO to drive traffic to your website.
If this can increase business then I see it paying for itself and therefore being a great investment.
One thing that did stop my buying it at this stage was the lack of a developer option. As a website builder I want to offer this service to my clients as added value. Is this something you are considering ?
Hi Steve,
no, sorry, we’re not going to go back to unlimited licenses. Those made it impossible for us to forecast our support needs and they were actually heavily abused by some group buying schemes, which was rather stupid to see…
I understand the need though, and I’ve heard more people voice the same concern in the comments below. So I’m thinking that what we could do is offer a discount for people who buy multiple agency packages. Would be curious to hear what you think you’d need?
I understand the abuse of unlimited sites in the group buying schemes, but is it possible to enable unlimited use on a single multisite network? It’s hard to justify paying so much for 20 sites that get hardly any traffic, but I can justify it for the network of minisites.
With a multisite option the support options should only be available to the multisite network owner, not every individual site owner.
Thoughts Joost?
Thanks!
Two features to make further integration with your SEO simpler may not seem valuable, but I think support from the company who make the plugin could be very attractive. Particularly if you consider them experts then their advice and assistance on getting the full use out of the plugin is where the value lies.
“…but over time, we’ll be adding more premium-only features.”
I don’t think they’re stopping at just 2.
Thanks Joost! Will you continue developing the free version or must we purchase in order to obtain support?
We will continue developing, but if you want support from us you’ll have to pay.
Thanks. Not able to verify any emails from you though. Also, should we buy now to get locked in to future prices? How much for updates? 50% off? =) Can single users or small time users get a smaller price?
Still, 2 features are not enough to make me pay 90$ at launch. There is no confirmation on what these other features are or when they will be added. If i am spending my hard earned money i want to know what i am going to get and when i am getting it. Not let features that make the premium plugin premium come “later on”