We launched the Yoast SEO Task List in December to give you a clear, actionable to-do list for your site’s SEO. In this update, we’ve added two new tasks, improved how you navigate to fixes, and resolved a bug that was showing tasks in the wrong language.
A quick recap: what does the Task List do?
The Task List scans your site and surfaces specific content that needs attention, ranked by priority with an estimated time to fix. Instead of guessing what to work on next, you click a task and Yoast takes you directly to the right place to make the improvement. Think of it as a personal SEO assistant that knows your site.
What’s new in this update
New task: improve your meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are the short snippets that appear under your page title in Google search results. They don’t directly affect rankings, however they have a significant impact on whether someone clicks your link. The Task List will now flag recent posts where the meta description is missing or could be stronger, and point you to where you can fix it. Premium users can use the AI Generate button to write one in seconds.
New task: delete your sample page
Every new WordPress site comes with a default “Sample Page” that most people never delete. It adds no value and can create unnecessary noise for search engines. The Task List will now remind you to remove it if it’s still there. It’s a two-minute job that’s easy to overlook.
New task: set social sharing images
Available with Yoast SEO Premium, Yoast WooCommerce SEO, and Yoast SEO AI+
When someone shares your content on Facebook or X, the image that appears alongside it can make a real difference to whether people click. The Task List will now remind you to set a custom social sharing image for your posts and pages, so your content looks its best every time it gets shared.
Go directly to the right place in the editor
Previously, clicking a task would open the post editor and leave you to find the right section yourself. Now, Yoast takes you to the exact part of the editor you need: the SEO tab, the readability panel, or the meta description field. Less scrolling, faster fixing.
Bug fix: tasks now appear in your language
We fixed a bug where task descriptions were showing up in the site’s language rather than the logged-in user’s language. If you manage a multilingual site, or your personal language settings differ from your site’s default, tasks will now display correctly for you.
Also in this release
- We’ve added a new Yoast tab to the WordPress Plugins screen that groups all your installed Yoast plugins in one place. This requires WordPress 7.0+.
- We fixed a bug where alt text changes made via the inline image editor in How-to and FAQ blocks weren’t saving correctly to the frontend. Thanks to @param-chandarana for the report.
What’s coming next
We’re continuing to expand the Task List with improvements that surface high-impact changes specific to your content. Users of paid plans will see additional tasks in upcoming releases.
Update to Yoast SEO 27.4 to get these improvements automatically, or download the latest version from the WordPress plugin directory.
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