Masteriyo courses SEO

Hi @derlehre ,

Thanks for the extra detail, that helped narrow this down exactly.

The Course Description field inside the course builder is built using the same block-editing components as Gutenberg, so it looks like the WordPress editor, but it isn’t the actual post-editing screen. It’s a self-contained editing widget scoped to just that one field. Rank Math’s SEO panel attaches itself to the real WordPress post editor screen, so on something that only resembles Gutenberg without being the full editing session, there’s nowhere for it to attach. This isn’t a bug or a conflict with Rank Math, it’s just how that particular field is built.

The good news is that every course still has a normal WordPress edit screen underneath it, the same one every post and page uses, and Rank Math works there exactly as expected. Here’s how to reach it:

1. Open your course in the course builder like normal, and grab the course ID from the browser’s address bar. It’ll look something like #/courses/1357/edit, so in this example the ID is 1357.
2. In your browser, go to yoursite.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1357&action=edit, swapping in your own site address and course ID.
3. That opens the standard WordPress editor for the course, and you’ll see Rank Math’s score badge and panel appear in the toolbar, exactly like it does on a post.
4. Click into the Rank Math panel and set your focus keyword, SEO title, and meta description there.
5. Click Save. It updates the same course record the course builder edits, so nothing conflicts between the two.

One thing to watch for: in Rank Math’s snippet editor, there’s a Permalink field sitting right next to the title and description fields. Leave that one alone, since changing it will change your course’s URL and could break any links you’ve already shared. Only touch the SEO title, meta description, and focus keyword fields.

Keep using the course builder for the actual course content, curriculum, and pricing as usual. Just use that direct link whenever you want to fine-tune the SEO for a specific course.

One more thing worth checking: in Rank Math, go to Titles & Meta, then Post Types, and make sure Courses is turned on there. That ensures your courses are included in the sitemap and picked up correctly, even before you set anything per-course.

Hi @derlehre,

About the Rank Math setting: you’re right, and you don’t need to change anything. The option is called “Add SEO Controls”. It’s on by default, and Rank Math only shows it in Advanced Mode. Courses are also included in your sitemap by default.

About editing SEO for a course, I’ve made a screenshot for each step. The numbers in the screenshots match the steps below.

1. Open your course in Masteriyo. The address bar ends with something like #/courses/329/edit. That number is your course ID.
   Screenshot: Find your course ID
2. In the address bar, replace everything after /wp-admin/ with post.php?post=329&action=edit, using your own course ID. Press Enter.
3. Click the Rank Math button at the top right.
   Screenshot, open the WordPress editor
4. Type your focus keyword and press Enter.
5. Click “Edit Snippet”.
   Screenshot, add your focus keyword
6. Write your SEO title.
7. Write your meta description, then close the snippet window. Please leave the Permalink field as it is, since changing it changes your course’s URL.
   Screenshot, write your SEO title and description
8. Click Save.
   Screenshot, save your changes

You’ll see your course description in the middle of that editor. It’s the same text you wrote in the course builder, so you don’t need to change anything there. Rank Math reads it for its score. If Rank Math suggests changes to your content, like adding your keyword to the description, make them in the course builder as usual.
Let me know if any step doesn’t match what you see.

Hi @derlehre,

Yes, please change it. “noindex” tells Google not to show the page in search results, so a course you want people to find should be set to “index”.

Masteriyo doesn’t add noindex to course pages, and Rank Math doesn’t either by default. So it’s most likely one of the settings below. Please check them in order:

1. WordPress reading setting. Go to Settings > Reading. Make sure “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is not ticked, then click Save Changes. This one affects your whole site.
2. Turn on Rank Math’s Advanced Mode. Go to Rank Math SEO > Dashboard and click “Advanced Mode” at the top right. In Easy Mode, the course’s Advanced tab (step 3) and the Courses setting (step 4) are hidden. You can switch back to Easy Mode when you’re done.
3. The course itself. Open the course in the WordPress editor, the same way as before (yoursite.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=YOUR-COURSE-ID&action=edit). Click the Rank Math button, then the “Advanced” tab (the toolbox icon). Under Robots Meta, tick “Index”. That removes “No Index” automatically. Click Save.
4. Rank Math’s settings for all courses. Go to Rank Math SEO > Titles & Meta.

• On the Global Meta tab, make sure “Index” is ticked under Robots Meta, and click Save Changes.
• Then click the Courses tab and scroll down to “Course Robots Meta”. If that switch is on and “No Index” is ticked below it, tick “Index” instead. Click Save Changes.

A quick way to find the cause:

• If a normal blog post also shows noindex in Search Console, it’s step 1 or the Global Meta part of step 4.
• If all your courses show it but blog posts don’t, it’s the Courses tab in step 4.
• If only one course shows it, it’s step 3.

After fixing it, clear your site’s cache if you use a caching plugin. Then inspect the course URL in Search Console again and click “Test live URL”. The first result you saw comes from Google’s last visit, so the live test shows what your page says right now. Once it says indexing is allowed, click “Request indexing”.

Hi @derlehre,

No problem, those settings are easy to miss. Rank Math hides some of them until you turn on its Advanced Mode, which is most likely why you couldn’t find them.

I’ve made a screenshot for each step. The letters in each screenshot (A, B, C) show what to click, in order.

Step 1. Check the WordPress reading setting.
Go to Settings > Reading. The box “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” must not be ticked. Click Save Changes.
Screenshot

Step 2. Turn on Rank Math’s Advanced Mode.
Go to Rank Math SEO > Dashboard and click “Advanced Mode” at the top right. This makes the settings in the next steps visible.
Screenshot

Step 3. Set your course to Index.
Open your course in the WordPress editor, the same way as before (yoursite.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=YOUR-COURSE-ID&action=edit). Click the Rank Math button, then the “Advanced” tab (the toolbox icon). Under Robots Meta, tick “Index”. Click Save.
Screenshot

Step 4. Check Rank Math’s Global Meta.
Go to Rank Math SEO > Titles & Meta. On the Global Meta tab, “Index” must be ticked under Robots Meta. Scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes.
Screenshot

Step 5. Check the Courses setting.
On the same page, click the Courses tab.
Screenshot

Scroll down to “Course Robots Meta”. If that switch is off, you don’t need to change anything. If it’s on, tick “Index” below it, then scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes.
Screenshot

After that, clear your site’s cache if you use a caching plugin. Then inspect the course URL in Search Console again and click “Test live URL”. Once it says indexing is allowed, click “Request indexing”.