The first thing you should do if you're setting up a new WordPress website is to install an SEO plugin, but you must also correctly configure the titles, meta descriptions, sitemaps, schema, redirects, and all the other technical SEO settings.
Rank Math simplifies many of these tasks by combining them into a single WordPress dashboard, but the default settings are not always suitable for every website.
This guide describes the process of setting up Rank Math SEO on a new WordPress site, the settings you should alter, and the options that you can leave as they are.
For more in-depth, step-by-step explainers — with videos and screenshots for every setting — see the official Rank Math knowledge base. New to Rank Math? You can get Rank Math here →.
What Is Rank Math?
Rank Math is a plugin for WordPress which is intended to help website owners optimize their pages and look after technical SEO all from within WordPress.
It provides tools for:
- SEO titles and meta descriptions
- XML sitemaps
- Schema markup
- Redirections
- 404 monitoring
- Internal linking suggestions
- Image SEO
- Local SEO
- WooCommerce SEO
- Search Console integration
When setting up a new website, it is more important to get the basic settings right than to include every possible feature.
Step 1: Install Rank Math
From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New Plugin. Look for Rank Math SEO, download the plugin and turn it on.
When Rank Math has been activated, it will start its setup wizard. A free Rank Math account can be set up at the same time. This enables Rank Math to offer the extra features and integrations.
Select the configuration mode that corresponds to your level of experience; for those who are new to SEO, the default arrangement is usually the simplest thing to start with.
Step 2: Choose Your Website Type
Rank Math asks what kind of website you are configuring. Choose the option which describes your website most accurately. For example:
- Personal blog
- Community blog
- News website
- Small business site
- Webshop
- Other business website
This information enables Rank Math to set up the appropriate defaults. You should also enter:
- Website name
- Alternative website name, if applicable
- Logo
- Default social sharing image
Omit the generic placeholders and use the real information from your brand instead.
Step 3: Configure Your Homepage SEO
The homepage is generally one of the most important pages that make up your website. Prepare a clear SEO title to explain what the website has to offer. For example:
Best Project Management Software for Small Businesses | ChooseMyStack
Instead of:
Home | ChooseMyStack
The meta description on your homepage should briefly outline the value that the site offers and provide users with a reason to click. Do not put too many keywords into the description. A good structure is: the things that the site provides, the sort of people it's intended for, and the reason why it is useful.
Step 4: Configure Permalinks
The URLs ought to be simple and easy to understand. For example:
- Good: `example.com/best-project-management-software/`
- Less useful: `example.com/?p=123`
WordPress allows you to configure this under Settings → Permalinks. For the majority of content websites, a simple structure based on the post name is a good starting point.
You should not alter your URL structure after having published hundreds of pages unless you have a well-thought-out migration plan, since URL changes can result in unnecessary redirects and broken links.
Step 5: Configure Titles & Meta
A highly useful feature of Rank Math is its ability to set a global title and meta configuration. Go to Rank Math → Titles & Meta. Here you can define default settings for:
- Posts
- Pages
- Categories
- Tags
- Authors
- Archives
For example, your post title template might be `%title% | %sitename%`.
Do not depend completely on global templates. The pages that are most important should each have their own SEO title and description.
Step 6: Decide What Should Be Indexed
It is not necessary for every WordPress page to show up in Google. For example, you may not want search engines indexing:
- Thin tag archives
- Internal search pages
- Certain author archives
- Duplicate archive pages
- Utility pages
- Other low-value pages
The aim is not to have every URL indexed. The aim is to ensure that your important pages are both discoverable and indexable.
Prior to launching, check the Titles & Meta settings in Rank Math to ensure that important content has not by mistake been set to noindex.
Step 7: Set Up Your XML Sitemap
A sitemap written in XML helps search engines to find the URLs on your website. After the feature has been enabled, Rank Math creates a sitemap automatically. You can find sitemap settings under Rank Math → Sitemap Settings.
Depending on your website, you may see separate sitemap sections for posts, pages, categories, tags and images.
Make sure the sitemap concentrates on the content that you really want search engines to discover and to index. For instance, when tag pages are deliberately excluded from indexing there is generally no need to list them as important URLs in the sitemap.
Step 8: Submit Your Sitemap to Google
Once you've set up the sitemap, link your website to Google Search Console. Then open Google Search Console → Sitemaps, type in your sitemap URL and send it.
For many WordPress sites, Rank Math's sitemap index will look similar to `yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml`. Google can then make use of the sitemap as a further means of discovering pages.
You should bear in mind that just because you submit a sitemap it does not mean that the pages will be indexed; Google is still responsible for deciding which pages to crawl and which ones to index.
Step 9: Configure Schema Markup
Schema markup aids search engines in understanding what a page is about. Rank Math provides a number of schema choices. For a blog article, you might use Article; for a product page, Product.
For the different types of content, choose the schema that correctly represents the page. The important rule is: you shouldn't include schema just because you have the opportunity to do so. Your structured data should match what people can see on the page.
For instance, do not label a page as a review when the page in fact has no real review and rating. Structured data that is incorrect or misleading can cause problems instead of providing SEO benefits.
Step 10: Configure Article Schema
Under the schema settings in Rank Math, set up the default article schema for a normal blog. Depending on your content, you may use Article, Blog Posting or News Article.
Article or BlogPosting is generally the right choice for most standard informational blog posts. Ensure that details such as the name of the author, the headline, the date of publication, and the featured image are accurate.
Step 11: Set Up Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are useful for helping users to understand their current position on your website. For example:
Home → Guides → SEO → Rank Math SEO Setup
They are especially useful in the case of large websites which have several categories and different levels of content. When you turn on breadcrumbs in Rank Math, ensure that your WordPress theme is capable of displaying them correctly.
Step 12: Configure Redirects
Rank Math also includes a redirection feature. This becomes particularly useful when you change a URL, delete a page, merge two articles, move content to a new category, or rebuild an existing website.
For example, `/old-seo-guide/` could redirect to `/rank-math-seo-guide/`. Use a suitable destination rather than automatically redirecting all content to the homepage. Also make sure that you don't create long chains of redirects.
Step 13: Monitor 404 Errors
A 404 error happens when a person requests a URL that does not exist. Rank Math can be used to keep an eye on these errors.
It is not the case that all 404 errors need a redirect. If the old URL has some useful backlinks, brings in traffic, or has a clear replacement, then it makes sense to set up a redirect for it. You could possibly get by without redirecting it if the URL had no meaning or if it had never contained useful content.
Step 14: Optimize Individual Blog Posts
When you have set up Rank Math globally, make use of it at the time of publishing individual articles. For every important article, check:
- SEO title — create a title that correctly reflects the page and aligns with the user's search intention.
- Meta description — a concise description of what the users will discover.
- URL — make it as short as possible and ensure that it is descriptive.
- Heading structure — include a single clear H1 heading, then follow it with appropriate H2 and H3 subheadings.
- Internal links — provide links to the relevant pages on your website.
- Images — reduce the size of images and use descriptive file names and alt text when appropriate.
- Schema — choose the schema type that matches the content in fact.
Step 15: Don't Obsess Over Rank Math's SEO Score
You will be given an SEO score when editing content using Rank Math. It may be useful as a checklist, but it should not become the aim. Just because a page scores 100 out of 100 doesn't mean that it has automatically become better.
Search engines evaluate many factors that a plugin score cannot fully measure, including:
- Search intent
- Content quality
- Topical relevance
- Internal linking
- Site authority
- Page experience
- Links from other websites
- Overall usefulness
Do not use Rank Math to create a perfect score but rather to spot potential optimization issues.
Step 16: Connect Google Search Console
With Connect to Search Console you can gain access to useful information about search performance. You can monitor:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Average position
- Search queries
- Indexed pages
- Indexing issues
- Core Web Vitals
The data becomes especially valuable when your website starts to get organic traffic. Rather than trying to work out which pages need improving, you can use real search data to find such opportunities.
Step 17: Complete a Final Technical SEO Check
Before considering your Rank Math setup finished, check the following:
- HTTPS is working.
- Important pages are indexable.
- The XML sitemap is functioning.
- The sitemap has now been sent to Google.
- Canonical URLs are correct.
- The robots.txt file is not blocking important pages.
- Titles are unique.
- Meta descriptions are useful.
- Schema matches the content.
- Redirects work correctly.
- Important pages include links to other pages within the site.
- You are watching for 404 errors.
Common Rank Math Mistakes to Avoid
Installing Rank Math and leaving everything on default. The setup wizard can be useful, but you should still check the settings.
Indexing every archive. The fact that more pages are indexed doesn't mean that there will be more organic traffic. Focus on pages that are valuable and unique.
Using the wrong schema. Schema should be designed to describe the actual content rather than being chosen merely in order to improve the chances of achieving rich results.
Changing URLs without redirects. When a URL that is already in existence changes, it is important to deal with the old URL accordingly.
Keyword stuffing. Rank Math is able to inform you if a keyword appears on a page, but it cannot assess whether you've overused it. Write naturally.
Trying to get a perfect SEO score. The fact that you have a 100/100 Rank Math score does not guarantee a ranking. Create the best page for the searcher.
Rank Math SEO Setup Checklist
Before launching your new WordPress website, make sure you've completed these essentials:
- Install Rank Math and then activate it.
- Complete the setup wizard.
- Add your website information.
- Configure homepage SEO.
- Review Titles & Meta.
- Configure index/noindex settings.
- Make sure that the XML sitemap is enabled and checked.
- Send the sitemap to the Google Search Console.
- Configure appropriate schema.
- If necessary, establish breadcrumbs.
- Set up redirects when moving a site.
- Check 404 errors.
- Review canonical URLs.
- Optimize important pages individually.
- Add internal links.
- Check mobile usability.
- Make sure that important pages are not by accident blocked from being indexed.
Final Thoughts
You don't need to alter every available option when configuring Rank Math. When setting up a new WordPress website, you should concentrate on the basic elements such as clean URLs, strong titles, useful meta descriptions, correct indexing settings, a functioning sitemap, accurate schema, appropriate redirects, and a logical internal linking structure.
After the foundations have been put in place, Rank Math will then function as a useful layer for SEO management rather than something that you have to keep adjusting.
The key step occurs once the setup is complete — this is to publish useful content, keep an eye on its performance in Google Search Console, and then improve the web pages according to actual search data. If you're still choosing your toolkit, our roundup of the 15 best free SEO tools pairs well with Rank Math for keyword research, audits and tracking.
Want the deepest, setting-by-setting walkthroughs with videos and screenshots? The Rank Math knowledge base covers every option in detail.