My Rank Math setup journey continues! I’m Karmi, a solo blogger tackling SEO for Karmi’s Musings & Tech. In ‘From SEO Confusion to DIY SEO Optimization Success: My RankMath Journey [Part 1]‘, I asked Claude AI about those spammy “SEO” emails: Karmi: What’s SEO, Sidekick? Claude: It’s making your blog easier for Google to find. Let’s audit karmismusingstech.com. Claude’s audit flagged messy URLs and no meta descriptions, pointing me to Rank Math’s free SEO plugin.
I’ve optimized 15–20 posts, with my first new post hitting a 71/100 SEO score! Now, with my sidekick Claude, I’m installing Rank Math on my WordPress blog, using Multipurpose Blog Pro theme. Claude suggested skipping Google Services for now, which I’ll tackle soon. Follow my journey on my blog or X premium! #SEO #RankMath #WordPress
Claude’s Advice on Rank Math
Claude’s audit showed my blog needed work—messy URLs, no snippets—so I asked about switching from AIOSEO to Rank Math. Here’s our chat:
Claude: Deactivate AIOSEO—it’s not as user-friendly as Rank Math.
Karmi: Okay, AIOSEO’s out. Why’s Rank Math better?
Claude: Rank Math’s free version has better tools, like easy setup and sitemaps. Go to Plugins > Add New, search “Rank Math SEO.”
Karmi: Which one’s right?
Claude: Pick “Rank Math SEO — AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings” by Rank Math, 1M+ installations.
Karmi: What about AIOSEO’s settings?
Claude: Import them in Rank Math’s wizard—it’ll copy meta descriptions and titles.
Karmi: Google stuff?
Claude: Skip Search Console for now. Connect in two weeks after optimizing posts.
Claude’s advice was straightforward: Rank Math’s free version is powerful, and I could import AIOSEO’s settings to save time. Skipping Google Services kept things simple for a novice like me.
Setting Up Rank Math
In WordPress admin, I went to Plugins > Add New and found “Rank Math SEO — AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings.” AIOSEO threw a “conflicting plugins” warning, but Claude had me covered:
Claude: Ignore AIOSEO’s notice. Deactivate it under Plugins > Installed Plugins.
Karmi: Done. AIOSEO’s off. Now what?
I activated Rank Math, and the setup wizard started. I chose “Easy” mode, perfect for a beginner. AIOSEO had encoded my blog’s name weirdly (“Karmi's Musings & Tech“), so I fixed it:
Claude: Clear those fields and type “Karmi’s Musings & Tech.”
Karmi: Fixed. Moving on!
I set my site as a Personal Blog and enabled the sitemap. Claude suggested turning on 404 Monitor and Redirections, but they weren’t visible in Easy Mode. I decided to keep it simple and stay in Easy Mode for now—I can always switch to Advanced Mode later when I’m more comfortable with Rank Math.
Claude: 404 Monitor helps find broken links; Redirections are super useful!
Karmi: Good to have them set for later.
I skipped Google Search Console, planning to connect it next week, and started optimizing 15–20 posts, hitting 71/100 on my latest. Before publishing, I’ll edit the slug to my-diy-seo-journey-rank-math-setup in the Permalink box, and in the Rank Math SEO box, enter “Rank Math setup” and “DIY blog SEO” as Focus Keywords (on separate lines) and “Follow my journey installing Rank Math to boost my WordPress blog’s SEO with AI help. Part 2!” as the Meta Description.
I checked “Enable auto update” and hit “Return to Dashboard.” Rank Math’s menu appeared, with SEO options for posts. Multipurpose Blog Pro worked fine, and setup got me optimizing fast. #SEO #RankMath #WordPress
Outro
Rank Math’s set up, AIOSEO’s gone, and I’ve optimized 15–20 posts already. Claude’s advice has made Rank Math setup easier than I expected for a solo blogger. In Part 3, I’ll share how I used keywords, titles, and descriptions, and connect Google Services with Grok, it will probably be about ‘Fix Something, Break Something Else‘ or similar.
Follow my journey on Karmi’s Musings & Tech or X premium: ‘My DIY SEO Journey: Setting Up Rank Math [Part 2]’. No schedules, just me and AI making SEO work. #SEO #RankMath #WordPress #Blogging #DIYSEO
PS: This post has a 77/100 SEO score – \o/ ‘Hippity hip Hoorah‘ \o/