How to migrate from wpSEO to Yoast SEO

You landed on this page because you are probably about to migrate from wpSEO to Yoast SEO. First of all, thanks for choosing our plugin! Now, we created this post to make sure your transition to Yoast SEO goes well. In the steps below, we show you how to safely import your SEO data from wpSEO to Yoast SEO.

Migrating from wpSEO to Yoast SEO

To migrate from wpSEO to Yoast SEO follow these steps

  1. Deactivate wpSEO.

    You can do that by going to the Plugins screen, and locating the plugin. Then, hover your mouse over it to reveal the options, and click Deactivate.

  2. Create a backup of your site.

    If you are not sure how to do this, take a look at the article – How to create a backup for your WordPress site.

  3. Go to the SEO menu item, and select Tools.

    The Tools screen will open.

  4. Click on the Import and Export link.

    The Import and Export settings will open.

  5. Select the Import from other SEO plugins tab.

    The tab options will be revealed.

  6. Since you should have already created the backup, move on to importing your data from wpSEO by clicking the Import button.

     The time it takes to do the import depends on the amount of data you have. Once the importing is done you will see a notification on the top of the screen.

  7. Go to a Post or Page and check if your data is imported.

    For example, check if your focus keyphrase is there. Also, click the Google Preview button and check if your SEO title and meta description are in order.

  8. Go through the First time configuration.

    Click the link provided in the step to go directly to the configuration. Follow the steps there to configure Yoast SEO.

  9. Once you’ve checked that everything is working properly, click the Clean button.

    When the plugin cleans up the data, you will receive a notification on the top of the screen.

Get started with Yoast SEO the right way

When you are new to Yoast SEO, you may have some questions on how to get started. The following posts may help:

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