Running RankKit SEO alongside another SEO plugin

Running two SEO plugins at the same time prints duplicate titles and meta tags, and search engines may pick the wrong ones. RankKit SEO is a complete SEO plugin, so you don't need another one next to it.

The safe way to switch is to import your data into RankKit SEO first, check it, and then deactivate the old plugin. This page explains how, and what to watch for with other plugins that overlap with RankKit SEO.

The "Other SEO plugins" warning

When Yoast SEO, Rank Math, All in One SEO, SEOPress, The SEO Framework, Slim SEO, Squirrly SEO, SmartCrawl or ThinkRank is active next to RankKit SEO, a warning appears: Other SEO plugins are running alongside RankKit SEO. It lists the plugins it found and has:

• A Deactivate button for each plugin, for example Deactivate Yoast SEO. It deactivates only that plugin and brings you back to the same screen.
• A link to import their settings first in RankKit SEO → Tools.
• Dismiss, which hides the warning for you. It comes back if the set of active SEO plugins changes.

Only users who can activate plugins see it, on the WordPress Dashboard, the Plugins screen, the posts and pages lists and the RankKit SEO screens. Import first if you want to keep your old titles and descriptions, then deactivate.

Switch from another SEO plugin

1. Go to RankKit SEO → Tools → Import from another SEO plugin. RankKit SEO detects data from Yoast SEO, Rank Math, All in One SEO, SEOPress, The SEO Framework, Slim SEO, Squirrly SEO and Redirection.
2. Click Import next to your old plugin. RankKit SEO takes a backup first and never changes the old plugin's data.
3. Check a few important pages and your settings.
4. Deactivate the old plugin in Plugins, or turn on Deactivate the old plugin after the import before you click Import.

The old plugin can stay active while you compare, but don't leave both running on a live site for long. Full details: Switch from another SEO plugin.

Tip Want to go back? Reactivate the old plugin and deactivate RankKit SEO. Its data was never changed. You can also revert the import in RankKit SEO → Change Log.

What overlaps with RankKit SEO

RankKit SEO covers many jobs that separate plugins also do. If you keep one of these plugins, turn off the matching part of RankKit SEO (or of the other plugin) so only one does the job.

If you also use…	It overlaps with	What to do
Another SEO plugin	Titles, meta, canonicals, schema, sitemaps, social tags, breadcrumbs	Import, then deactivate it.
A redirect plugin such as Redirection	Redirects module	Import its redirects with the RankKit SEO importer, then deactivate it. Or keep it and turn off RankKit SEO's Redirects module. See Import redirects.
A plugin or theme that adds the Google Analytics 4 tag	GA4 Measurement ID in Settings → Webmaster tools	Add the tag in one place only, or GA4 counts visits twice. See Add the GA4 tag.
A schema or structured data plugin	Schema module	Keep one. Two sources of schema can describe the same page in conflicting ways. Check the result in RankKit SEO → Schema with the validator.
A plugin that adds nofollow or new-tab rules to external links	External link rules module (off by default)	Use one set of rules.
An IndexNow plugin	IndexNow module (off by default)	Keep RankKit SEO's IndexNow off, or remove the other plugin.
A multilingual plugin that prints hreflang links	hreflang in Settings → Languages	Nothing to do. If your multilingual plugin already prints hreflang, RankKit SEO doesn't add a second set.
WooCommerce	Product schema	Nothing to do. RankKit SEO turns off WooCommerce's own duplicate product schema.

Other things that can interfere

Situation	Effect	Fix
A physical robots.txt file in the site root	It overrides the virtual robots.txt that RankKit SEO edits, so your AI crawler rules and extra rules don't show.	Delete or rename the physical file.
Page caching or a CDN	Visitors and bots can see old titles and meta until the cache clears. AI crawler tracking only counts visits WordPress handles.	Clear the cache after changing SEO settings.
A security plugin that blocks the REST API	The RankKit SEO admin screens, editor panel and MCP server use the WordPress REST API.	Allow requests to /wp-json/speedrank/v1/. See Fix MCP connection problems.

Check for duplicate tags

To confirm only RankKit SEO is printing SEO tags, open a page on your site, view the page source and search for <title and name="description". RankKit SEO's tags sit between <!-- RankKit SEO 1.1.1 --> and <!-- / RankKit SEO --> (the version number matches yours). If you find a second title tag or meta description outside that block, another plugin or your theme is adding it.

FAQ

Can I keep Yoast SEO or Rank Math active for a while?

Yes, while you check the import. The importer is built so the other plugin can stay active until you're happy. Deactivate it before relying on RankKit SEO on a live site, because both plugins print titles and meta tags.

Do I need to delete the old plugin?

No. Deactivating it is enough to stop the duplicate tags. Its data stays in your database in case you want to go back.

Can I run RankKit SEO Free and RankKit SEO Pro together?

No. Only one edition runs at a time. Activating one deactivates the other, and your data is shared between them.