Yoast SEO 15.6: Estimated reading time and Norwegian word forms

Yoast SEO 15.6 is out today! This release comes with a lot of goodies, like support for the Norwegian language, a new estimated reading time feature and improved support for web stories. But that’s not all! We’ve added a brilliant new feature to the free Yoast Duplicate Post plugin to help you seamlessly rewrite and republish your content. Curious? Find out all about it here!

Estimated reading time with Yoast SEO Premium

We’ve added another cool new feature for Yoast SEO Premium users: you can now let your readers see how long it takes to read your articles. Simply showing the number of words in an article is a relatively bad way of finding out how long an article is. It would be much better to get an indication of the time it would take to read an article. That’s why we’ve added an estimated reading time feature. For this, we calculate how long it will take for someone to read an article based on the average reading time.

Adding the estimated reading time to your articles helps manage expectations for potential readers. Sometimes, you don’t have the twenty minutes it would take to read that article. It would be handy know that upfront rather than after reading for ten minutes — and scrolling down to see how far you still have to go.

The estimated reading time feature consists two parts:

  • A helpful way to show you the estimated reading time in Insights
  • A simple block you can drop in anywhere to show your reader the estimated reading time (only works in the block editor)

Here’s how that Insights page looks:

You can find the reading time for an article in your post’s Insights

And the estimated reading time block for the block editor:

A simple block for the block editor you can drop in any place you want

Check out our help documentation to find out in detail how to use the estimated reading time feature in Yoast SEO.

Norwegian language support

Last year, we added a ton of new languages to Yoast SEO and we’re not about to slow down. In Yoast SEO 15.6, we can welcome Norwegian to the club! This is the fifteenth language that receives support for grammatical forms in Yoast SEO Premium. Unfortunately, it’s not full language support yet as the readability analysis will be updated at a later date. With this release, we also improved keyphrase recognition in Norwegian by filtering out function words.

The word form feature helps you write more naturally as you don’t have to spend any time fitting the focus keyphrase awkwardly into your sentence. It recognises grammatical forms of your keyphrases and the words don’t even have to be in the same order to be found. It gives you more time to focus on the writing and editing part of your job — helping you to write that awesome piece of content.

The following languages now have support for word forms in Yoast SEO Premium: English, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Swedish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi. There’s a lot more to come, so stay tuned!

Enhancements in Yoast SEO 15.6

Yoast SEO 15.6 comes with a lot of enhancements and bug fixes. For one, we improved Google preview in the Yoast SEO Elementor integration. We’ve not only added the Tag, Category and Primary Category snippet variables in the Google preview of our Elementor integration, but also the advanced snippet variables.

Googler Pascal Birchler, helped us make Yoast SEO work better with Web Stories. We now make sure that there’s always a meta description for Web Stories and we’ve simplified the way we remove the default metadata from stories.

Yoast Duplicate Post: Rewrite & Republish

Another update we want to highlight is a brand-new version of the free Yoast Duplicate Post plugin. In version 4.0, we’ve added an essential feature: Rewrite & Republish. Many people use Yoast Duplicate Post to clone or duplicate an existing post to work on in the background. But in this process, after you did your updates you had to manually copy over the rewritten content to the original post. In addition, you had to make sure to not forget to manually delete the draft you made. We wanted to simplify this process. With Rewrite & Republish, we’ve made all of this one seamless experience!

You can access Rewrite & Republish via the WordPress toolbar or from the post overview

When you want to update a post with Rewrite & Republish, you simply hit the button to have the plugin start the process. It makes a new duplicate draft of your original post for you which you can edit in your own time. Once you are done, hit the Republish button to have the plugin automatically merge your updated post into the original one. It also automatically cleans up the draft for you!

Done? Hit Republish and your draft will be merged into the original post

That’s not all, because you can also schedule those updates! Yes, you can update your content in your own time and publish that update at a later date. Awesome, right? At Yoast, we are very excited about this new version of Yoast Duplicate Post as it will save us — and you! — tons of time and stress updating posts.

Note: Rewrite & Republish doesn’t work in Elementor yet, but we’re working on that!

Wrapping up the release of Yoast SEO 15.6

Yoast SEO 15.6 has a number of interesting additions, fixes and enhancements. In addition, Yoast SEO Premium brings word form support for Norwegian and a new estimated reading time feature — with a cool block for the block editor. Last but not least, the Yoast Duplicate Post plugin has now become an essential tool for anyone regularly working on their content!

Coming up next!


55 Responses to Yoast SEO 15.6: Estimated reading time and Norwegian word forms

  1. Jeannet
    Jeannet  • 3 years ago

    Hi there, love the new feature about the estimated reading time. However I tried to change the word “minutes” in “minuten” (Dutch), but that I couldn’t find. I did change the “estimated reading time” in “geschatte leestijd”, so that’s good. But now it shows: “geschatte leestijd: 5 minutes”. I would like to see the whole text in Dutch.

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi Jeannet, thanks for your comment. At the moment, this isn’t possible yet, but we are working on adding these translations :) I believe this translation of the word “minutes” in Dutch will be part of the next release, but unfortunately, I can’t guarantee this. I would recommend keeping an eye out for our next release and then giving it another try!

  2. josé arnau cortes
    josé arnau cortes  • 3 years ago

    Termino de instalar Yoast SEO. Despues, cuando lo tenga funcionando seguiré, si procede, comentando. Gracias

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      De nada! :)

  3. Helvin
    Helvin  • 3 years ago

    New feature is just amazing… specially, free Yoast Duplicate Post plugin is the best. It’s easy to use and very useful.

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Thank you, that’s great to hear!

  4. Giselle
    Giselle  • 3 years ago

    Achei a explicação de como adicionar o bloco de “tempo estimado de leitura” muito complexa – não encontrei o que foi orientado, talvez seja problemas de tradução.
    Este recurso é maravilhoso e quero usar imediatamente! Por favor, revejam isso!

  5. olidur rahman
    olidur rahman  • 3 years ago

    Hi,

    I’m really impressed with the new update, and now I’m thinking to buy the premium plan of the Yoast,

    Basically, i started a new blog and that’s why I just thinking about which plugin best for my SEO? and now I’m sure Yoast is best for me.

    Thanks, Yoast :)

    • Edwin Toonen

      That’s great to hear, Olidur!

  6. Bec
    Bec  • 3 years ago

    Is this duplicate post feature available in the free Yoast SEO plugin? I’ve updated to the latest version, but don’t see these features. I had hoped to replace it for a different plugin that I’ve been using, Revision Manager TMC. Thanks for your help!

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi there! It’s actually a feature of one of our other plugins, the free Yoast Duplicate Post plugin. You can simply download this plugin to use the Rewrite & Republish feature mentioned in this article :) Sorry for the confusion!

  7. Dennis J. Smith
    Dennis J. Smith  • 3 years ago

    It looks like there’s a conflict with the Elementor plugin. If I have the plugin active then I can’t see the link for Rewrite & Republish. Do you have any suggestions so I don’t have to deactivate Elementor since this is what I’ve used for site design. Thanks.

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi there Dennis, sorry to hear about that! Just to double check, are you using the Yoast Duplicate Post plugin? Rewrite & Republish is a feature of that plugin and not our Yoast SEO plugin :)

  8. sanad aljuaid
    sanad aljuaid  • 3 years ago

    Happy new year – and thank you for Norwegian support

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      You’re welcome and have a great 2021!

  9. birol
    birol  • 3 years ago

    çok güzel gelişmeler yapılmış teşekkürler

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Rica ederim!

  10. William
    William  • 3 years ago

    Hello, does the estimated reading time feature only come in the english language because the rest of my page is in dutch.

    • Edwin Toonen

      Hi William. The text is editable so you can change in anything you want.

      • Schorsch
        Schorsch  • 3 years ago

        Hi,
        its possible to translate the “estimate reading time” but its not possible to translate the word minutes, right?

  11. ALDECOR
    ALDECOR  • 3 years ago

    How to activate Estimated Reading Time on Elementor Pro? I can’t find it.

    • Edwin Toonen

      Hi, the estimated reading time block only works with Yoast SEO Premium. Do you have Premium activated?

      • ALDECOR
        ALDECOR  • 3 years ago

        Yes, I have Yoast Premium.

        • Camille Cunningham
          Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

          Hi there. You can find and use this block in the block editor, that will probably be why you can’t find it in Elementor. Sorry for the confusion!

  12. AeroStar
    AeroStar  • 3 years ago

    We enjoy using your new feature. So far, so good! Is their any way you guys can create a shortcode for it? Much needed. Perhaps you can offer it at your next plugin revision level. Cheers!

    • Edwin Toonen

      Hi, at the moment this will only work in the block editor by adding this specific block.

  13. Jan Robert Johnsen
    Jan Robert Johnsen  • 3 years ago

    Happy new year – and thank you for Norwegian support! Tusen takk!

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Happy new year, Jan Robert! And you’re welcome, we hope you enjoy using it :) Ha en fin dag!

  14. Dale Reardon
    Dale Reardon  • 3 years ago

    Hi,

    Does the rewrite and republish feature work with posts created using Beaver Builder?
    Thanks.
    Dale.

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi Dale! I believe you’ve already heard from us through social media, but we expect it to work fine when you use Beaver Builder. Have a great day :)

  15. Mr. KingsHOK
    Mr. KingsHOK  • 3 years ago

    The latest update looks awesome. But can you guys add the instant indexation feature just like the rank math did to their own SEO plugin?

    • Joost de Valk
      Joost de Valk  • 3 years ago

      The instant indexation feature is not officially available. It’s only supposed to be used for specific types of content, and thus rankmath’s implementation is basically illegal. Since we value our good relationship with Google and want to be responsible web citizens, we do not intend to release that feature until Google approves an API like that for general usage.

  16. Empresa de TI
    Empresa de TI  • 3 years ago

    Otimo post! o yoast ajuda muito no SEO do site.

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Obrigada!

  17. Nancy Smith
    Nancy Smith  • 3 years ago

    I just updated Yoast SEO to 15.6.2, but I don’t see the features you are demonstrating. I’m using DIVI.
    Your updates are just what I was hoping for, however, as I stated above, I don’t see the “update and republish” option on my screen. I did try to open the features, using both ways to get to it. Lately, neither do I see the SEO keyphrase in the sidebar. Why?

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi Nancy, thanks for your comment! The Rewrite & Republish option is actually not part of our Yoast SEO plugin, but it’s a new feature in our free Yoast Duplicate Post plugin :) Sorry for the confusion, both plugins had a new release today!

      As for your other question about the keyphrase in the sidebar: Does the SEO keyphrase show up when you click the Yoast icon in the top right corner in your post editor? If not, I think it may be best to contact our support team so that they can look into this issue for you! Hope this helps.

  18. Anas Siddiki
    Anas Siddiki  • 3 years ago

    If I publish duplicate content on our website does it effect our SEO?

  19. Paco Cavaller
    Paco Cavaller  • 3 years ago

    I just updated the Yoast plugin on WordPress, but the new reading time block doesn’t appear. Do you know why can this happen and if anybody else is experiencing the same problem? Thank you in advance. This feature and the Rewrite & Republish are both awesome.

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi there, Paco. Thanks for your comment and sorry to hear about your issue. Are you using the classic or block editor? I’m afraid this Estimated reading time block is only available in the block editor.

      • Paco Cavaller
        Paco Cavaller  • 3 years ago

        I’m using the block editor. The thing is that this is a premium feature, but I understood it was a free one. That’s why I’m not seeing it. I’m using the free version of Yoast. :) Sorry!!

        • Camille Cunningham
          Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

          No worries, Paco :) Have a great day!

  20. webadmin46
    webadmin46  • 3 years ago

    It seems that the estimated reading time block triggers the Keyphrase in Introduction error within posts. If we place it at the top of a post before the first paragraph of text, it counts the ERT as the first paragraph instead of the actual first paragraph. A bug you may want to fix moving forward!

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi there! Thanks for your comment, that’s a valid point. We’re going to look into it :)

  21. Patrick
    Patrick  • 3 years ago

    Can the Est. Time to Read be done using PowerBuilder? Maybe with short code?

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi there, Patrick. Our estimated reading time block is only available as a Gutenberg Block at the moment. Sorry about that!

  22. Jesse
    Jesse  • 3 years ago

    How can we add the estimated reading time to our metadata so it appears below the post title, not in the body of the post? Is there a shortcode?

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi Jesse! Our estimated reading time block is only available as a Gutenberg Block to add within your content at the moment. This might change in the future, but I can’t make any guarantees. Sorry about that!

  23. Luís Cláudio de Oliveira
    Luís Cláudio de Oliveira  • 3 years ago

    The estimate of reading time really came to help, as I already gave up on reading an article several times because I thought it could be read in five minutes, but it took much longer.
    Not to mention that you can evaluate what kind of post people who visit the site like to read the biggest or smallest and thus write according to the public’s preference.

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Right, it can really help manage the expectations of your readers. And using it to evaluate your post’s length is also a great idea!

  24. Faisal
    Faisal  • 3 years ago

    If we put duplicate content on our website does it hurts our seo?

    • Camille Cunningham
      Camille Cunningham  • 3 years ago

      Hi! Having lots of duplicate content can hurt your rankings, so I would recommend checking out our post on causes and solutions for duplicate content. This will help you understand why it’s important not to use duplicate content and how you can work on this :)

      • paseet
        paseet  • 3 years ago

        Thanks for the quick support