Joost de Valk

Yoast

Anton Timmermans

Jip Moors

Omar Reiss

Taco Verdonschot

<p>The purpose of this SEO plugin is to purge attachment URLs out of Google’s index as fast as possible. This helps sites<br />
that might have suffered from having too many thin content pages in the search index by removing them in the fastest<br />
way possible.</p>
<h3>What does this plugin do?</h3>
<p>This plugin makes all your attachment URLs return an HTTP 410 status. It then creates an XML sitemap with a recent last<br />
modified date, containing all those URLs. The XML sitemap with recent post modified date makes Google spider <em>all</em> those<br />
URLs again. The 410 status code makes sure Google takes them out of its search results in the fastest way possible.</p>
<p>With a nice trick, we also show end users the actual attachment image, so the user experience is not as poor as when<br />
they see an error page.</p>
<h3>Yoast SEO required</h3>
<p>This plugin is an extension to <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/" rel="ugc">Yoast SEO</a>. It requires it to work.</p>
<h3>How long should you run this plugin?</h3>
<p>After 6 months the attachment URLs should be gone from the search results. If you then remove the plugin, and keep<br />
Yoast SEO’s redirect setting on “Yes”, you have the best long term behavior for attachment URLs: to redirect to the<br />
actual attachment.</p>
<h3>Does Google condone this?</h3>
<p>This method has been discussed with and OK’d by Google.</p>
<h3>From within WordPress</h3>
<ol>
<li>Visit ‘Plugins > Add New’</li>
<li>Search for ‘Yoast SEO: Search Index Purge’</li>
<li>Activate Yoast SEO: Search Index Purge from your Plugins page.</li>
<li>Go to “after activation” below.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Manually</h3>
<ol>
<li>Upload the <code>yoast-seo-search-index-purge</code> folder to the <code>/wp-content/plugins/</code> directory</li>
<li>Activate the Yoast SEO: Search Index Purge plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress</li>
<li>Go to “after activation” below.</li>
</ol>
<h3>After activation</h3>


Yoast SEO: Search Index Purge

Remove attachment URLs from Google's index as fast as possible to prevent thin content penalties.

SEMrush CY LTD

<p>For your content to be successful, it needs to be visible and engaging. SEO Writing Assistant—our smart editor tool—ensures that your text ticks both of these boxes by providing recommendations and improvements in real time.</p>
<p>The tool integrates seamlessly with WordPress and offers key readability and SEO suggestions based on the best-performing content in Google’s SERPs. Whether you’re writing your own copy or editing someone else’s, SEO Writing Assistant makes the end product as impactful and effective as possible—for readers and search engines.</p>
<h3>Key Features</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Readability:</strong> Use the Flesch-Kincaid score to assess and improve your text’s readability</li>
<li><strong>Recommended Keywords:</strong> Receive semantically related keyword suggestions that can help boost your visibility</li>
<li><strong>Tone of Voice:</strong> Ensure that your tone is smooth and consistent across your text</li>
<li><strong>Plagiarism Check:</strong> Verify that your writer has submitted original content and avoid penalization</li>
<li><strong>Rephraser:</strong> Rework pieces of text to improve quality, target different channels, or overcome writer’s block</li>
<li><strong>Overall Score:</strong> Evaluate and maximize the SEO potential of your text based on key on-page factors</li>
</ul>
<h3>How Does It Work?</h3>
<p>The SEO Writing Assistant plugin allows you to write, assess, and edit your content in WordPress.</p>
<p>To set it up, follow these steps:</p>
<ol>
<li>Click “Download” at the top of this page. The plugin will automatically save as a .zip file.</li>
<li>Log in to the admin area of your WordPress account.</li>
<li>Find “Plugins” in the main menu, and click on “Add New”.</li>
<li>Find and click “Upload Plugin” at the top of the page and select the .zip file.</li>
</ol>
<p>Once the plugin has been installed, it should be activated in your “Installed Plugins” list (if it isn’t, ensure that you do so). Go to the page or post you want to optimize and click on “Connect SEO Content Template” (you will need to be logged in to your Semrush account).</p>
<h3>Limits</h3>
<p>To use SEO Writing Assistant, you need to first specify your target keywords. This requires a Semrush account.</p>
<p>With a Free or Pro Semrush account, you can create one recommendation set (tied to a document) for a lifetime. Higher tier accounts have different keyword budgets depending on the subscription plan, as well as full access to the powerful Semrush Content Marketing Platform.</p>
<h3>Technical details</h3>
<p>Please be aware that the plugin uses a third-party code provided by the <a href="https://www.semrush.com/swa/" rel="nofollow ugc">Semrush SEO Writing Assistant</a> tool that is not reviewed by the WordPress team. To analyze your text, the plugin will send it to Semrush API where texts can also be stored for statistical analysis. To improve user experience, telemetry data is collected by Google Analytics.</p>
<p>See also</p>
<p><a href="https://www.semrush.com/company/legal/privacy-policy/" rel="nofollow ugc">Semrush Privacy Policy</a><br />
<a href="https://www.semrush.com/company/legal/terms-of-use/" rel="nofollow ugc">Semrush Terms and Conditions</a></p>


Semrush SEO Writing Assistant

The Semrush SEO Writing Assistant provides instant recommendations for content optimization based on the best-performing articles in Google's top 10.

Yoast SEO: Search Index Purge vs Semrush SEO Writing Assistant