8 Pros + Cons of the RankMath SEO WordPress Plugin

I was one of RankMath’s earliest adopters and promoters back in the day. They’ve since grown, evolved, and become one of the biggest WordPress plugins on the repository. I still use them, but the Internet has also changed in the last few years. Here are my notes from using them recently.

Pros

Much More Stable & Useful Than Competitors Like Yoast

I’ve tested RankMath alongside Yoast SEO for years (like 9 years) and noticed significantly fewer conflicts with other plugins. While Yoast went through a serious stability issue phase…RankMath has always been consistent. The interface loads faster and I haven’t experienced the frustrating timeout errors that often plague other SEO plugins.

Module Structure Allows For Site-Specific Settings

The modular approach is awesome for managing multiple sites. I can enable only the features I need for each specific website which keeps things lightweight and focused. On my e-commerce sites I activate the WooCommerce integration and schema markup while on my blog I focus on content analysis and social media settings.

Excellent SEO Feature Implementation

The SEO implementation is thorough yet intuitive. Things like sitemaps, schema, title formats, archive settings, etc are all right on and easy to work with inside the plugin.

The breadcrumb navigation setup, 404 monitor, redirection module, etc are all basic but critical modules that make managing a site so much simpler.

RankMath Pro Has Worthwhile Features (but Free is still very useful)

The free version offers more features than most premium SEO plugins. However the Pro version’s Analytics integration & schema settings proved worth the investment for my larger sites. It saves me hours by combining Google Search Console data with WordPress analytics directly in my dashboard.

Cons

Everybody has tradeoffs, including RankMath.

Content AI Module Is Overpriced & Not Implemented Well

I find the Content AI module’s pricing structure particularly frustrating. At $5 per month for 5,000 credits, the costs add up quickly for content-heavy sites. The AI suggestions often feel generic and don’t account for industry-specific nuances. I noticed the module frequently suggested keywords that weren’t relevant to my technical tutorials. The interface also feels clunky with recommendations appearing in a separate window rather than integrating smoothly with the content editor. I’d honestly rather just pay for something that taps Claude / OpenAI’s API directly or use their interface.

Like All SEO Tools, The Grader Should Be Ignored Most of The Time

The content grading system while comprehensive can be overly rigid. I’ve had posts rank first for target keywords despite RankMath giving them “poor” scores. The grader obsesses over keyword density and word count without considering user intent or content quality. Trust your content expertise over arbitrary scoring metrics.

Business Pricing is Pricey

The Business plan at $252/year is a significant investment especially for small websites. The pricing jump from Personal ($84/year) to Business feels steep considering the main additions are more site connections and keyword tracking.

Analytics Module Is a Server Resource Hog

The analytics integration has noticeably impacted my server performance. On high-traffic sites I’ve seen up to 15% increase in server load after enabling this feature. The module makes frequent API calls and stores substantial data in wp_options which can bloat the database. While the insights are valuable I’ve had to disable analytics on shared hosting environments to maintain site speed. Consider your hosting resources before enabling this feature.

Best Use Cases & Tips for Use

Ideal Use Cases

The plugin performs best for:

• Content-Heavy Blogs: Perfect for sites publishing 3+ articles weekly since the bulk editor saves hours of optimization time
• WooCommerce Stores: The product schema markup and rich snippet features help product pages stand out in search results
• News Websites: Quick indexing tools and news schema support make it ideal for time-sensitive content
• Local Businesses: Built-in local SEO features like location schema and Google Business Profile integration streamline local optimization

Module Selection

• Disable unused modules to improve site speed
• Keep 404 monitor active only during site restructuring
• Use the analytics module only if you are actively using is (vs. checking GSC / GA4)

Content Optimization

• Target 2-3 related keywords per post instead of just one
• Use the bulk editor (or a spreadsheet) to refresh old content
• Set up custom title/meta templates for each post type

Next Steps

The world of SEO is in complete flux right now. Arguably, a lot of (if not most) content recommendations do not apply anymore. Google has accumulated enough data that they pretty much know what will be “good enough” and what’s not relevant. However, I think technical SEO is as important as ever. Ignore all the flashy content features of RankMath and every other SEO plugin and focus on what (if any) technical improvements they can make to your site.

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