When Yoast SEO Plugin version 7.0 was released, an unfortunate bug came along with it – one that can negatively impact a site’s SEO. In today’s post, we’ll explain what happened, how to check if your site is affected, and how to resolve the issue in the best possible way!
What happened?
With the update of the Yoast SEO plugin (to version 7.0), released on March 6th, 2018, the settings handling redirects for internal images were unintentionally changed for some users. This resulted in unnecessary URLs being created on the site each time a new image was uploaded, so-called “attachment URLs.” These pages contained only one image per page and nothing else, which unfortunately caused Google to classify them as thin content.
What is the consequence?
For sites most affected by this bug, it has led to a Panda-like issue (a Google filter targeting sites with thin content), resulting in decreased rankings.
How do you know if your site is affected?
The clearest indication that your site has been hit by the “Yoast 7.0 bug” is if it started losing rankings steadily after the update was released on March 6th, 2018. However, it’s possible to be affected even if you don’t see obvious ranking drops.
What is the solution?
If there’s any suspicion that your site is affected, you should of course check the settings and address any issues. In fact, we recommend that all Yoast users perform at least a quick check just to be safe:
The first step is to log into your WordPress admin and find the “Yoast SEO” icon in the navigation menu on the left. From there, go to the “Search Appearance” page.
Once there, click on the “Media” tab, which allows you to check the setting for “Redirect attachment URLs to the attachment itself,” with the options “Yes” or “No.”
Scenario 1: Set to “Yes” – everything is fine!
The correct setting is usually “Yes,” unless you have a very specific reason to allow attachment URLs (and if so, you probably know why). If this setting is selected, you can relax – at most, you may need to update your Yoast plugin if it isn’t already running the latest version.
Scenario 2: Set to “No” but rankings unchanged
If the option is set to “No” but your site hasn’t suffered negative ranking changes since March 6th, all you need to do is switch the setting to “Yes” and update the Yoast plugin to the latest version. However, keep a close eye on your rankings for a while, just in case the negative effect of this bug is delayed.
Scenario 3: Set to “No” with a ranking drop
If the setting is “No” and your site has suffered significant ranking losses after March 6th, it’s very likely you’ve been hit by the “Yoast 7.0 bug.” In this case, you should first switch to “Yes,” update the Yoast plugin, and then also install an additional plugin called “Yoast SEO Search Index Purge Plugin” and activate it. According to Yoast, this plugin helps resolve the problem by quickly deindexing the unnecessary URLs from Google’s search results – an action Google has approved.
Can you still trust Yoast?
It’s of course unfortunate when bugs occur that affect websites and site owners to such an extent, especially when lost revenue becomes a reality. However, we believe the Yoast team has handled the situation in an exemplary way – openly acknowledging their mistake and doing their best to provide a solid and easy solution for users. For this reason, we still have confidence in the Yoast SEO plugin and do not recommend abandoning it. Instead, sit tight – the boat is still safe.
Martin Ek
SEO specialist
Martin works as an SEO specialist at our Örnsköldsvik office