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Import & Migration

The Import & Migration tool consolidates all import options in one place. You can do a quick one-click import from Rank Math or Yoast SEO, or use the CSV importer to bring in meta data and redirects from any plugin or spreadsheet.

The migration is non-destructive, it reads from the source data and writes to Minorank's data store without modifying or deleting the source.

Quick Import (Rank Math or Yoast)​

Minorank SEO automatically detects whether Rank Math or Yoast SEO is installed and offers a one-click import that covers all your existing SEO data, meta titles, descriptions, focus keywords, robots settings, canonical URLs, Open Graph data, and redirections, including custom post types and custom taxonomies.

What gets imported​

From Rank Math​

DataImported
Meta titles (all posts, pages, custom post types)✓
Meta descriptions✓
Focus keywords✓
Robots settings (noindex, nofollow, noarchive)✓
Canonical URLs✓
Open Graph title, description, image✓
Twitter card data✓
Schema type (per post)✓ mapped to Minorank schema types
Redirections (requires Redirections module to be active)✓
404 log✓

From Yoast SEO​

DataImported
Meta titles✓
Meta descriptions✓
Focus keyphrases✓ mapped to focus keyword
Robots settings✓
Canonical URLs✓
Open Graph data✓
Twitter card data✓
Schema settings✓ mapped where applicable
Redirections (Yoast Premium only)✓

:::note Yoast free vs premium Yoast SEO free does not include a redirections manager. If you're on the free version, no redirections are imported because none exist in the source. This is expected. :::

What is skipped​

Posts that already have Minorank meta data are skipped by default. This prevents overwriting any data you've already entered manually in Minorank. You can override this behaviour from the migration tool if needed.

Before you start​

:::warning Take a backup first Take a full WordPress database backup before running the migration. Most managed hosts offer one-click backups. You can also use UpdraftPlus or WP-CLI (wp db export).

While the migration is non-destructive, a backup ensures you can restore the exact previous state if anything goes wrong. :::

  1. Keep both plugins active during the migration. Do not deactivate Rank Math or Yoast SEO before importing, Minorank needs to read their data.
  2. Ensure Minorank SEO is installed and activated.
  3. Do not have both Rank Math and Yoast SEO active at the same time, pick one source plugin.

Running the migration​

Step 1: Open the migration tool​

Go to Minorank SEO → Settings and scroll to the Migration section. Or navigate to Tools → Migration if shown in the admin menu.

Step 2: Select the source​

Minorank detects which plugins are installed. Select:

  • Rank Math, if Rank Math is installed and active
  • Yoast SEO, if Yoast SEO (free or premium) is installed and active

Step 3: Preview​

Click Preview migration. A summary shows:

  • Number of posts with meta data found in the source plugin
  • Number of redirections found (if applicable)
  • Any data that cannot be directly mapped

Step 4: Run the import​

Click Start migration. The import runs in the background. For large sites (1,000+ posts), allow 2–5 minutes.

Step 5: Verify​

After completion, spot-check several posts:

  1. Open a post in the Gutenberg editor.
  2. Check the Minorank SEO panel, meta title, description, and focus keyword should match what was in the old plugin.
  3. Check Minorank SEO → Redirections, redirections from the old plugin should appear here.

After migration​

Once you've verified the import:

  1. Deactivate and delete the old plugin (Rank Math or Yoast SEO).
  2. Clear all caching (plugin cache, server cache, CDN cache) so new meta tags are served.
  3. Test a few pages in the Open Graph Debugger to confirm social meta is correct.
  4. Verify your sitemap at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml is being generated by Minorank.

:::tip Don't rush the deactivation Leave the old plugin installed but inactive for 24–48 hours while you verify everything is correct. Once confident, delete it. :::

CSV Import​

The CSV importer accepts exports from any SEO plugin, not just Rank Math or Yoast. It supports both SEO meta and redirect imports, with user-defined column mapping so you are not locked into a specific export format.

CSV import for SEO meta​

  1. Go to Minorank SEO → Settings → Import & Migration → CSV Import.
  2. Select SEO Meta as the import type.
  3. Upload your CSV file.
  4. Map each column in your file to the corresponding Minorank field (URL, meta title, meta description, focus keyword, robots, canonical).
  5. Click Preview to review the first few rows.
  6. Click Start Import.

CSV import for redirects​

  1. Go to Minorank SEO → Settings → Import & Migration → CSV Import.
  2. Select Redirects as the import type.
  3. Upload your CSV file.
  4. Map the source, target, type, and group columns.
  5. Click Preview to check for duplicates or conflicts flagged before import.
  6. Click Start Import.

Duplicate source URLs and redirect loops are detected automatically before the import runs.

:::tip Exporting from another plugin Most SEO plugins have an export option in their tools or settings area. Export as CSV, then use the column mapper to match your export's column names to Minorank's fields. No reformatting required. :::

Rank Math redirect import​

When importing redirects from Rank Math, the importer checks for:

  • Duplicate source URLs, sources that already exist in Minorank's redirect table are skipped
  • Conflict detection, sources that would create redirect loops are flagged before the import runs

To import Rank Math redirects, the Redirections module must be enabled in Rank Math before running the import. Check Rank Math → Dashboard → Modules to confirm.

Troubleshooting​

Some posts have empty meta titles after migration

Some posts may not have had meta titles set in the old plugin (relying on auto-generated titles). These appear as blank in Minorank, which is correct. Use the Meta Manager in the Minorank Platform to find and fill gaps in bulk.

Redirections from Rank Math are missing

Rank Math redirections require the Redirections module to be enabled in Rank Math. Check Rank Math → Dashboard → Modules and confirm Redirections is active, then run the migration again.

Schema types don't match exactly

Some schema types in Rank Math or Yoast don't have a direct equivalent in Minorank. These are imported as Article (the closest generic type) and can be manually corrected on individual posts via the Schema tab in the meta box.