Yoast’s WordPress SEO plugin has been updated with new how-to blocks. The latest release also adds tabs to the top of the meta box as well as schema and security fixes.
More on the update. Referring to Google’s announcement of support for new how-to structured data at this year’s I/O conference in May, Yoast says its revamped how-to blocks follow Google’s latest changes. And, as was the case with Yoast’s previous schema implementation updates, all of the structured data code generated will also be incorporated into your website’s graph, informing search engines about how your structured data fits within the context of your website. This content block is only compatible with the WordPress block editor (also known as Gutenberg; available on versions 5.0 and newer).
The 11.6 update also made UX changes to the meta box. If you’re using WordPress’ Classic Editor, the meta box now has a row of horizontal tabs across the top; previously the tabs were lined up vertically along the left-hand side.
Why we should care. With Google’s adoption of how-to structured data markup, users may be shown instructional information as a rich result more frequently in the search results. This update makes it easier for content producers to add how-to markup to the applicable content.
For more on Yoast’s structured data implementation, check out our previous coverage of its SEO WordPress plugin updates:
About The Author
George Nguyen is an Associate Editor at Third Door Media. His background is in content marketing, journalism, and storytelling.