Migrate from Yoast, Rank Math or All in One SEO
If your site already uses Yoast SEO, Rank Math or All in One SEO (AIOSEO), Xagio can copy each page’s and post’s SEO data into Xagio’s On-Page SEO fields, so you don’t lose your work when you switch.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”- The plugin you migrate from must be active: Yoast SEO (free or Premium), Rank Math, or All in One SEO (free or Pro). The migration button only appears while that plugin is active.
- Make a backup in Xagio > Backup & Restore first. Migration overwrites Xagio’s fields on every page that has data from the other plugin.
Run the migration
Section titled “Run the migration”- In WordPress, go to Xagio > SEO Settings.
- Stay on the SEO tab and scroll to Migration.
- Select the button for your plugin and wait for the message:
| Plugin | Button | Message when done |
|---|---|---|
| Yoast SEO | Start Migration | “Yoast data successfully migrated.” |
| Rank Math SEO | Start Rank Math SEO Migration | “RankMath SEO data successfully migrated.” |
| All in One SEO | Start AIO Migration | “AIO data successfully migrated.” |
A check mark next to the plugin’s name shows the migration has run before. You can run it again; it copies the current values again.
What is copied from Yoast SEO
Section titled “What is copied from Yoast SEO”For every page and post with Yoast data:
| Yoast | Xagio |
|---|---|
| SEO title | SEO title |
| Meta description | SEO description |
| Focus keyphrase | Target keyword |
| Canonical URL | Canonical URL |
| Facebook title, description, image | Facebook title, description, image |
| Twitter title, description, image | Twitter title, description, image |
Xagio SEO is switched on for each migrated page.
Yoast variables in titles and descriptions are converted to Xagio shortcodes where an equivalent exists, for example %%title%%, %%sitename%%, %%sep%%, %%sitedesc%% (becomes the tagline), %%primary_category%% (becomes %%category_primary%%) and %%searchphrase%% (becomes %%search_query%%). Variables with no Xagio equivalent, such as %%pt_single%% or %%modified%%, are removed.
Not copied: global Yoast settings (title templates, separators, social defaults), redirects (Yoast Premium), schema settings, and category and tag SEO data.
What is copied from Rank Math
Section titled “What is copied from Rank Math”For every page and post with Rank Math data:
| Rank Math | Xagio |
|---|---|
| SEO title | SEO title |
| Description | SEO description |
| Focus keyword | Target keyword |
| Facebook title, description, image | Facebook (Open Graph) title, description, image |
Xagio SEO is switched on for each migrated page.
Rank Math variables such as %title% and %sitename% are converted to Xagio shortcodes with the same name (%%title%%, %%sitename%%). Variables with no Xagio shortcode of the same name will not be replaced on the page. Check your titles after migrating and swap any leftovers for a shortcode from View Shortcodes.
Not copied: global Rank Math settings (title templates, separators, social defaults), Twitter fields and canonical URLs, redirects, schema, and category and tag SEO data.
What is copied from All in One SEO
Section titled “What is copied from All in One SEO”| All in One SEO | Xagio |
|---|---|
| Title | SEO title |
| Description | SEO description |
| Canonical URL | Canonical URL |
AIOSEO smart tags are converted to Xagio shortcodes where possible: #post_title becomes %%title%%, #site_title becomes %%sitename%%, #tagline becomes %%tagline%%, #separator_sa becomes %%sep%%, #tax_name becomes %%term_title%%, #permalink becomes %%currurl%% and #author_name becomes %%author_name%%. All the date tags (#current_year, #post_date and so on) become %%date%%, the post’s date, so check titles that showed the current year. #custom_field is removed.
Not copied: focus keywords and social (Open Graph and Twitter) fields, global AIOSEO settings, redirects, and schema.
After the migration
Section titled “After the migration”- Open a few pages and check the On-Page SEO box, especially titles that used variables. Re-enter anything that was not copied (for AIOSEO: focus keywords and social fields) where you need it.
- AIOSEO only: replace any
%%date%%that should be the current year with%%current_year%%. - Set the global settings that were not copied in Xagio yourself. See Title and description templates and Open Graph and social defaults.
- Re-create redirects in Xagio > 301 & 404. See Redirects and 404s.
- Deactivate the old SEO plugin, so two plugins don’t output titles and meta tags at the same time.
- Turn on Xagio sitemaps and submit
/sitemap-xag.xmlto Google. See XML sitemaps.