The WordPress SEO Tutorial Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings article is part of a series of SEO tutorials to support the Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin and the Stallion Responsive WordPress SEO Theme.

This WordPress SEO tutorial covers the Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin – Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings and the Stallion Responsive Theme – Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings.

Return to the main Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin Documentation article.

Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings Tutorial

Under the Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin Options : SEO Plugin Warnings Tab : Yoast WordPress SEO Warnings

There are two options.

  • ON
  • OFF
Yoast WordPress SEO Warnings

Yoast WordPress SEO Warnings

When “Yoast WordPress SEO Warnings” is set to “ON” and the “Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin” is active (if the Yoast SEO plugin isn’t installed and active, the ON option does nothing) the Stallion SEO Plugin checks the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Options for damaging SEO settings related to the noindex robots meta tags.

If ALL the SEO damaging Yoast WordPress SEO noindex robots meta tags options are active Stallion outputs 9 SEO warnings!

ALL Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin – Yoast WordPress SEO Warnings Screenshot

ALL Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin Yoast SEO Warnings

ALL Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin Yoast SEO Warnings

The above screenshot is an extreme case of the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin user ticking all the noindex options: I hope no one does that!

All the damaging Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin options related to noindex are found under “SEO” > “Titles and Metas” – under the tabs “Post Types”, “Taxonomies”, “Archives”, and “Other”, be very careful with these options.

SEO > Search Appearance – Content Types : Posts
Show Posts in search results? “NO” Selected : Yoast Noindex Posts SEO Warnings.

SEO > Search Appearance – Content Types : Pages
Show Pages in search results? “NO” Selected : Yoast Noindex Pages SEO Warning.

SEO > Search Appearance – Media : Media & attachment URLs
Show Media in search results? “NO” Selected : Yoast Noindex Media SEO Warning.

SEO > Search Appearance – Taxonomies : Categories
Show Categories in search results? “NO” Selected : Yoast Noindex Categories SEO Warnings.

SEO > Search Appearance – Taxonomies : Tags
Show Tags in search results? “NO” Selected : Yoast Noindex Tags SEO Warnings.

SEO > Search Appearance – Taxonomies : Format
Show Formats in search results? “NO” Selected : Yoast Noindex Custom Taxonomies SEO Warnings.

SEO > Search Appearance – Archives : Author Archives
Show author archives in search results? “NO” Selected : Yoast Noindex Author Archives SEO Warnings.

SEO > Search Appearance – Archives : Date Archives
Show date archives in search results? “NO” Selected : Yoast Noindex Date Archives SEO Warnings.

Yoast SEO Noindex SEO Damaging Options

Yoast SEO Noindex SEO Damaging Options

Below is a breakdown of what each SEO warning refers to.

Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Posts Warning

If under the “Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin” : “SEO Plugin Warnings” Tab : “Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings” you see the following SEO warning:

“Titles and Metas – Post Types : Posts”
“Meta Robots: noindex”

Yoast Noindex Posts SEO Warnings

Yoast Noindex Posts SEO Warnings

You have a serious search engine indexing issue on your WordPress site regarding your WordPress Posts.

While you have this SEO warning, the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin is stopping all search engines from indexing your WordPress Posts!!!

Yoast SEO : Titles and Metas – Post Types : Posts

To receive this Stallion SEO warning you have set under the Yoast SEO plugin options

“SEO” : “Titles and Metas” – “Post Types” Tab : Under “Posts”

Meta Robots: noindex

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Posts

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Posts

This is the worst Yoast WordPress SEO option you could set!!!

Read more about the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Posts Tutorial SEO damage.

Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Pages Warning

If under the “Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin” : “SEO Plugin Warnings” Tab : “Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings” you see the following SEO warning:

“Titles and Metas – Post Types : Pages”
“Meta Robots: noindex”

Yoast Noindex Pages SEO Warning

Yoast Noindex Pages SEO Warning

You have a serious search engine indexing issue on your WordPress site regarding your WordPress Static Pages.

While you have this SEO warning, the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin is stopping all search engines from indexing your WordPress Pages!!!

Yoast SEO : Titles and Metas – Post Types : Pages

To receive this Stallion SEO warning you have set under the Yoast SEO plugin options

“SEO” : “Titles and Metas” – “Post Types” Tab : Under “Pages”

Meta Robots: noindex

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Pages

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Pages

If you want your WordPress Static Pages indexed by Google, do NOT set this noindex option.

Read more about the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Pages Tutorial SEO damage.

Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Media Warning

If under the “Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin” : “SEO Plugin Warnings” Tab : “Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings” you see the following SEO warning:

“Titles and Metas – Post Types : Media”
“Meta Robots: noindex”

Yoast Noindex Media SEO Warning

Yoast Noindex Media SEO Warning

You have a serious search engine indexing issue on your WordPress site regarding your WordPress Media Attachments (image attachment pages).

While you have this SEO warning, the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin is stopping all search engines from indexing your WordPress Media Attachment Pages!!!

Yoast SEO : Titles and Metas – Post Types : Media

To receive this Stallion SEO warning you have set under the Yoast SEO plugin options

“SEO” : “Titles and Metas” – “Post Types” Tab : Under “Media”

Meta Robots: noindex

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Media

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Media

If you want your WordPress Media Attachment Pages indexed by Google, do NOT set this noindex option.

Read more about the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Media Tutorial SEO damage.

Yoast SEO Option : Titles and Metas – Taxonomies : Categories

If under the “Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin” : “SEO Plugin Warnings” Tab : “Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings” you see the following SEO warning:

“Titles and Metas – Taxonomies : Categories”
“Meta Robots: noindex”

Yoast Noindex Categories SEO Warnings

Yoast Noindex Categories SEO Warnings

You have a serious search engine indexing issue on your WordPress site regarding your WordPress Categories.

While you have this SEO warning, the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin is stopping all search engines from indexing your WordPress Categories!!!

Yoast SEO : Titles and Metas – Taxonomies : Categories

To receive this Stallion SEO warning you have set under the Yoast SEO plugin options

“SEO” : “Titles and Metas” – “Taxonomies” Tab : Under “Categories”

Meta Robots: noindex

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Categories

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Categories

The noindex robots meta tag stops the webpage from being indexed in Google etc…, as long as this option is set none of your WordPress Categories will be found for relevant searches in any search engines including Google!

I cannot think of a single GOOD SEO reason why a webmaster would use this Yoast noindex option on categories?

Why would anyone want ALL their Categories not indexed in Google etc…?

Read more about the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Categories Tutorial SEO damage.

Yoast SEO Option : Titles and Metas – Taxonomies : Tags

If under the “Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin” : “SEO Plugin Warnings” Tab : “Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings” you see the following SEO warning:

“Titles and Metas – Taxonomies : Tags”
“Meta Robots: noindex”

Yoast Noindex Tags SEO Warnings

Yoast Noindex Tags SEO Warnings

You have a serious search engine indexing issue on your WordPress site regarding your WordPress Tags.

While you have this SEO warning, the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin is stopping all search engines from indexing your WordPress Tags!!!

Yoast SEO : Titles and Metas – Taxonomies : Tags

To receive this Stallion SEO warning you have set under the Yoast SEO plugin options

“SEO” : “Titles and Metas” – “Taxonomies” Tab : Under “Tags”

Meta Robots: noindex

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Tags

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Tags

The noindex robots meta tag stops the webpage from being indexed in Google etc…, as long as this option is set none of your WordPress Tags will be found for relevant searches in any search engines including Google!

I cannot think of a single GOOD SEO reason why a webmaster would use this Yoast noindex option on tags?

Why would anyone want ALL their Tags not indexed in Google etc…?

Read more about the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Tags Tutorial SEO damage.

Yoast SEO Option : Titles and Metas – Taxonomies : Format

“Taxonomies : Format” refers to custom taxonomies, these tend to have a similar output to categories and tags (a customized set of category like archives).

If under the “Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin” : “SEO Plugin Warnings” Tab : “Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings” you see the following SEO warning:

“Titles and Metas – Taxonomies : Format”
“Meta Robots: noindex”

Yoast Noindex Custom Taxonomies SEO Warnings

Yoast Noindex Custom Taxonomies SEO Warnings

You have a serious search engine indexing issue on your WordPress site regarding your WordPress Custom Taxonomies.

While you have this SEO warning, the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin is stopping all search engines from indexing your WordPress Custom Taxonomies!!!

Yoast SEO : Titles and Metas – Taxonomies : Format

To receive this Stallion SEO warning you have set under the Yoast SEO plugin options

“SEO” : “Titles and Metas” – “Taxonomies” Tab : Under “Format”

Meta Robots: noindex

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Custom Taxonomies

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Custom Taxonomies

The noindex robots meta tag stops the webpage from being indexed in Google etc…, as long as this option is set none of your WordPress Custom Taxonomies will be found for relevant searches in any search engines including Google!

I cannot think of a single GOOD SEO reason why a webmaster would use this Yoast noindex option on custom taxonomies?

Why would anyone want ALL their Custom Taxonomies not indexed in Google etc…?

Since the custom taxonomies have a similar output to categories and tags see the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Categories Tutorial and the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Tags Tutorial for SEO damage.

Yoast SEO Option : Titles and Metas – Archives : Author Archives

If under the “Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin” : “SEO Plugin Warnings” Tab : “Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings” you see the following SEO warning:

“Titles and Metas – Archives : Author Archives”
“Meta Robots: noindex”

Yoast Noindex Author Archives SEO Warnings

Yoast Noindex Author Archives SEO Warnings

You have a serious search engine indexing issue on your WordPress site regarding your WordPress Author Archives.

While you have this SEO warning, the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin is stopping all search engines from indexing your WordPress Author Archives!!!

Yoast SEO : Titles and Metas – Archives : Author Archives

To receive this Stallion SEO warning you have set under the Yoast SEO plugin options

“SEO” : “Titles and Metas” – “Archives” Tab : Under “Author Archives”

Meta Robots: noindex

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Author Archives

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Author Archives

The noindex robots meta tag stops the webpage from being indexed in Google etc…, as long as this option is set none of your WordPress Author Archives will be found for relevant searches in any search engines including Google!

Although the noindex robots meta tag doesn’t stop the link benefit (PageRank : PR) from flowing through the Author Archives to the WordPress Posts (Posts will still be indexed and gain link benefit via the Author Archives links), the link benefit spent on indexing the author archives (~15% of the link benefit flowing into the author archives) is wasted!

When noindex is set the ~15% of link benefit that would normally be used to rank the Author Archives for relevant SERPs does nothing, it’s wasted!

The Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin under the Not Index tab there’s a similar Block All Author Archives^^ option that’s highlighted in orange (SEO notice). The Stallion WordPress SEO Not Index feature uses canonical URLs (instead of noindex robots meta tags) to recover most (doesn’t recover it all) of the links benefit that would be wasted from using the Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Author Archives option.

Read more about the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Author Archives Tutorial SEO damage.

Yoast SEO Option : Titles and Metas – Archives : Date Archives

If under the “Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin” : “SEO Plugin Warnings” Tab : “Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Warnings” you see the following SEO warning:

“Titles and Metas – Archives : Date Archives”
“Meta Robots: noindex”

Yoast Noindex Date Archives SEO Warnings

Yoast Noindex Date Archives SEO Warnings

You have a serious search engine indexing issue on your WordPress site regarding your WordPress Date Archives.

While you have this SEO warning, the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin is stopping all search engines from indexing your WordPress Date Archives!!!

Yoast SEO : Titles and Metas – Archives : Date Archives

To receive this Stallion SEO warning you have set under the Yoast SEO plugin options

“SEO” : “Titles and Metas” – “Archives” Tab : Under “Date Archives”

Meta Robots: noindex

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Date Archives

Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Date Archives

The noindex robots meta tag stops the webpage from being indexed in Google etc…, as long as this option is set none of your WordPress Date Archives will be found for relevant searches in any search engines including Google!

Although the noindex robots meta tag doesn’t stop the link benefit (PageRank : PR) from flowing through the Date Archives to the WordPress Posts (Posts will still be indexed and gain link benefit via the Date Archives links), the link benefit spent on indexing the date archives (~15% of the link benefit flowing into the date archives) is wasted!

When noindex is set the ~15% of link benefit that would normally be used to rank the Date Archives for relevant SERPs does nothing, it’s wasted!

The Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin under the Not Index tab there’s a similar Block All Date Archives** option that’s highlighted in green. The Stallion WordPress SEO Not Index feature uses canonical URLs (instead of noindex robots meta tags) to recover most (doesn’t recover it all) of the links benefit that would be wasted from using the Yoast WordPress SEO Noindex Date Archives option.

Read more about the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Date Archives Tutorial SEO damage.

Yoast SEO Option : Titles and Metas – Other : Sitewide meta settings

Other : Sitewide meta settings : Subpages of archives: noindex : ON : Wastes link benefit and makes indexing a site by search engines harder. Causes significant SEO damage, this would result in wasted link benefit to archives. Note: The Stallion Plugin replicates the NOT INDEX part of this setting via the options “Index First Categories Only : Block Paged 2,3,4…^^”, “Index First Tag Only : Block Paged 2,3,4…^^” and “Index Home Page Only : Block Paged 2,3,4…^^”, but recycles some of the wasted link benefit.

Read more about the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin Noindex Subpages of Archives Tutorial SEO damage.

Which is Worse, Yoast WordPress SEO or All In One SEO?

As of November 2016 the All In One SEO Plugin has more damaging SEO option than the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin. Yoast used to include the section wide nofollow option, but removed them recently.

Yoast WordPress SEO Tutorials

David Law

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David Law : Technical SEO Expert with 20+ years Online Business, SEO, Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing experience... Creator of multiple WordPress SEO Themes and SEO Plugins. Interests: wildlife, walking, environmental issues, politics, economics, journalism, consumer rights.

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