Handy Guide and Reference to Yoast SEO Title and Description Variables

| filed under: SEO, Yoast SEO, Yoast Variables, WordPress Variables

There are a lot more variables you can throw into your Yoast SEO Title and SEO Description boxes to make each and every page more automated, more descriptive, more bespoke, and less likely to throw a duplication flag than if you just roll with the Yoast SEO defaults.

Yoast SEO

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While I always recommend trying to write extremely bespoke, hand-written, and customized SEO titles and SEO descriptions, this is really difficult for pages that range into the thousands and millions, including products, listings, and databased-linked API-based sites. As a result, I thought I would share this handy list of variables you can mess around with, taken directly from the Yoast site itself. I mean, this is for me, but you can use it.

About Yoast SEO Variables

There are two types of Yoast SEO variables: basic and advanced. Basic variables are the most common and include things like the post title, the post content, and the post URL. Advanced variables are more specialized and can be used to insert things like the author's name, the post's date, and the post's tags. To use Yoast SEO variables, you'll need to know the correct syntax. The syntax for basic variables is %%variable_name%%. For example, to insert the post title into your SEO title, you would use the following syntax: %%title%%. The syntax for advanced variables is a bit more complex. For example, to insert the author's name into your SEO title, you would use the following syntax: %%author_name%%.

Basic variables

Label	Variable	Description
Date	`%%date%%`	Replaced with the date of the post/page
Title	`%%title%%`	Replaced with the title of the post/page
Parent title	`%%parent_title%%`	Replaced with the title of the parent page of the current page
Archive title	`%%archive_title%%`	Replaced with the normal title for an archive generated by WordPress
Site title	`%%sitename%%`	The site’s title from the Settings > General page
Tagline	`%%sitedesc%%`	The site’s tagline from the Settings > General page
Excerpt	`%%excerpt%%`	Replaced with the post/page excerpt (or auto-generated if it does not exist)
Excerpt only	`%%excerpt_only%%`	Replaced with the post/page excerpt (without auto-generation)
Tag	`%%tag%%`	Replaced with the current tag/tags
Category	`%%category%%`	Replaced with the post categories (comma separated)
Primary category	`%%primary_category%%`	Replaced with the primary category of the post/page
Category description	`%%category_description%%`	Replaced with the category description
Tag description	`%%tag_description%%`	Replaced with the tag description
Term description	`%%term_description%%`	Replaced with the term description
Term title	`%%term_title%%`	Replaced with the term name
Search phrase	`%%searchphrase%%`	Replaced with the current search phrase
Separator	`%%sep%%`	The separator defined in your theme’s wp_title() tag.

Advanced variables

The following sample of variables requires a better understanding of SEO. If you’re unsure how to use these advanced variables, then we advise you not to use them.

Label	Variable	Description
Post type (singular)	`%%pt_single%%`	Replaced with the content type single label
Post type (plural)	`%%pt_plural%%`	Replaced with the content type plural label
Modified	`%%modified%%`	Replaced with the post/page modified time
ID	`%%id%%`	Replaced with the post/page ID
Name	`%%name%%`	Replaced with the post/page author’s ‘nicename’
User description	`%%user_description%%`	Replaced with the post/page author’s ‘Biographical Info’
Page number	`%%page%%`	Replaced with the current page number with context (i.e. page 2 of 4)
Pagetotal	`%%pagetotal%%`	Replaced with the current page total
Pagenumber	`%%pagenumber%%`	Replaced with the current page number
Caption	`%%caption%%`	Attachment caption
Focus keyword	`%%focuskw%%`	Replaced with the posts focus keyphrase
Term404	`%%term404%%`	Replaced with the slug which caused the 404
<custom-field-name> (custom field)	`%%cf_<custom-field-name>%%`	Replaced with a posts custom field value. Remove the <>
<custom-tax-name> (custom taxonomy)	`%%ct_<custom-tax-name>%%`	Replaced with a posts custom taxonomies, comma separated. Remove the <>
<custom-tax-name> description (custom taxonomy)	`%%ct_desc_<custom-tax-name>%%`	Replaced with a custom taxonomies description. Remove the <>

Default variables in WordPress

If you want to reset the SEO title template variables back to the defaults use the following below. For meta descriptions, the default is blank. You can enter these default titles in the SEO-Search Appearance section. This will then assign the defaults as the global template variable for that section.

`%%title%% %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%%`	Posts, Pages, Products, Media, and Custom Post Types
`%%pt_plural%% Archive %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%`	Posts, Products, and other Custom Post Type Archive Pages
`%%term_title%% Archives %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%`	Taxonomies
`You searched for %%searchphrase%% %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%`	Special Pages: Search Page
`Page Not Found %%sep%% %%sitename%%`	Special Pages: 404 Pages
`%%name%%, Author at %%sitename%% %%page%%`	Author Archive Pages
`%%date%% %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%`	Date Archive Pages
`The post %%POSTLINK%% appeared first on %%BLOGLINK%%.`	RSS Feed
`%%sitename%% %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitedesc%%`	Homepage Template

Additional Information about Yoast SEO Title and Description Variables

Yoast SEO is a plugin for WordPress that assists with search engine optimization (SEO) efforts on your website. One of the key features of Yoast SEO is its use of variables, which allows you to automate the creation of meta titles, descriptions, and other elements, based on a template that you define. These variables are placeholders that pull in certain pieces of information about your content, like its title, type, or date of publication.

Here are some of the key variables you might use:

%%title%%: This variable displays the title of the post, page, or media.
%%sitename%%: This variable displays the name of the website.
%%sitedesc%%: This variable displays the site description set in the WordPress settings.
%%excerpt%%: This variable displays the post/page excerpt, or auto-generated if it does not exist.
%%excerpt_only%%: This variable displays the post/page excerpt but doesn't auto-generate a description if it does not exist.
%%tag%%: This variable displays the current tag/tags.
%%category%%: This variable displays the post categories.
%%primary_category%%: This variable displays the primary category of the post.
%%searchphrase%%: This variable displays the search phrase when the page is a search result.
%%date%%: This variable displays the date of the post/page.
%%modified%%: This variable displays the date of the last modification of the post/page.
%%currenttime%%: This variable displays the current time.
%%currentdate%%: This variable displays the current date.
%%currentday%%: This variable displays the current day.
%%currentmonth%%: This variable displays the current month.
%%currentyear%%: This variable displays the current year.
%%author%%: This variable displays the author's name.
%%userid%%: This variable displays the author's user ID.
%%id%%: This variable displays the post's ID.
%%page%%: This variable displays the current page number with context (i.e., page 2 of 4). If you're not on a paginated page, it returns nothing.
%%pagetotal%%: This variable displays the total number of pages.
%%pagenumber%%: This variable displays the current page number.
%%caption%%: This variable displays the caption of the image (useful in the media attachment pages).

You can use these variables to create meta titles and descriptions that automatically fill in the relevant information for each piece of content you create. This can save time and ensure consistency across your website.

More Hints, Recommendations, and Suggestions for Yoast SEO Variables

Here are some examples of how you can use Yoast SEO variables to improve your WordPress SEO:

You can use the %%title%% variable to insert the post title into your SEO title. This will help ensure that your SEO title is relevant to the content of your post.
You can use the %%content%% variable to insert the post content into your SEO description. This will help make your SEO description more informative and relevant to search engines.
You can use the %%author_name%% variable to insert the author's name into your SEO title. This can help to build trust with your readers and improve your click-through rate.
You can use the %%date%% variable to insert the post date into your SEO title. This can help to improve your ranking in search results for time-sensitive queries.

Here are some additional tips for using Yoast SEO variables:

Use variables sparingly. Too many variables can make your SEO title and meta description look cluttered and confusing.
Use descriptive variables. The more descriptive your variables are, the better they will be understood by search engines.
Test your variables. Once you have created your SEO title and meta description, be sure to test them to make sure they are working properly.

Remember, the goal with these variables is to create meaningful, descriptive, and engaging titles and descriptions that can attract clicks from search engine users. While automation is helpful, make sure the resulting text makes sense and is likely to appeal to human readers.

Here are some examples of how you can use Yoast SEO variables to improve your WordPress SEO:

You can use the %%title%% variable to insert the post title into your SEO title. This will help ensure that your SEO title is relevant to the content of your post.
You can use the %%content%% variable to insert the post content into your SEO description. This will help make your SEO description more informative and relevant to search engines.
You can use the %%author_name%% variable to insert the author's name into your SEO title. This can help to build trust with your readers and improve your click-through rate.
You can use the %%date%% variable to insert the post date into your SEO title. This can help to improve your ranking in search results for time-sensitive queries.

Here are some additional tips for using Yoast SEO variables:

Use variables sparingly. Too many variables can make your SEO title and meta description look cluttered and confusing.
Use descriptive variables. The more descriptive your variables are, the better they will be understood by search engines.
Test your variables. Once you have created your SEO title and meta description, be sure to test them to make sure they are working properly.

In Conclusion

By following these tips, you can use Yoast SEO variables to improve your WordPress SEO and attract more visitors to your site.

By using Yoast SEO variables, you can create more relevant and informative SEO titles and meta descriptions for your WordPress site. This can help you improve your search engine ranking and attract more visitors to your site.