Yoast SEO ‑ Store optimization

Thank you for sharing your review. We take all feedback seriously and see it as an opportunity to both improve and clarify things.

First, we want to address a fundamental misunderstanding:
Though our app offers some improvements out of the box and without needing to take manual actions on these, the most important parameters for improving your SEO are by optimizing content on a regular basis and performing careful keyword research. Without perseverance in SEO efforts and proper optimizations, it is not likely to achieve substantial SEO results.

Regarding installation and charges, we'd like to make absolutely clear that an app installation through the Shopify app store cannot take place without the merchant's permission or specific code authorization. This is how the Shopify system works:

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/apps/installing-apps#install-through-the-shopify-app-store

When an app is installed, and as long it remains installed, Shopify's billing system will generate charges for it until the app is uninstalled:

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/your-invoice/apps#subscriptions

This applies to all subscription-based apps available in the Shopify App Store, as Shopify determines its billing system at its own discretion. More information about Shopify app charges can also be found in this Shopify help article:

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/your-invoice/apps

In addition, the reference to other reviews about charges, also have to do with the way the Shopify billing system works and how app charges are generated by the Shopify system, as clarified in the responses we provided in those reviews, and the Shopify resource shared above.

In conclusion, there is nothing suspicious about the installation or charges, as our app abides by Shopify's system. If you are concerned about an installation that was not performed by you, please, reach out to Shopify's support for clarifications about your store's activity logs.

Lastly, we'd like to clarify that we did not respond earlier to your review, as systemically, Shopify reviews are visible within two days after being submitted.

Thank you for sharing your review. We take all feedback seriously and see it as an opportunity to both improve and clarify things.

We can definitely imagine how it feels when your efforts do not bring the expected results. However, we want to address a fundamental misunderstanding:
while the Yoast SEO for Shopify app is a tool that can help optimize your store for several SEO factors, it's important to remember that a green SEO score doesn't always guarantee top rankings or increased traffic. Even if everything is perfectly optimized, if that has been done for not the proper focus keywords or too competitive ones, the results can be underwhelming, and that is not related to our app's efficiency.

In addition, there are several ranking factors, both on and off your website, that can impact your store's visibility and performance in search results, especially in a very competitive industry like the one you are in.

A couple of these factors that are not related or affected by our app, is mobile performance and accessibility, where we noticed your store has significant room for improvement. When these factors are not optimized with related tools, then ranking and traffic can be affected, as best SEO results require a holistic approach.

We have an article that dives deeper into this subject, but there are many other resources on SEO you may also refer: https://yoast.com/reasons-optimized-content-doesnt-rank/#utm_source=helpscout&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=hs-l1&utm_campaign=support

Regarding the results you are getting on a different platform using a free product, also in those cases there are more factors that play role, for example, the longevity (e.g. experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness) of that site and accumulated SEO value during its existence: https://yoast.com/what-is-e-e-a-t/

In all cases, our team will reach out to you via email and see how they can offer help and clarifications on your concerns, even on subjects that are not related to our app.

Lastly, we'd like to clarify that we did not respond earlier to your review, as systemically, Shopify reviews are visible within two days after being submitted.

Thank you for sharing your review. We sincerely appreciate your feedback, though we are sorry to hear that our app does not meet all your expectations.

While we understand you would like to have more options available in our app, we'd also like to address the points you raised specifically:

1. When it comes to the features available in our Shopify app and those in our WordPress plugins, we want to clarify that is it not a matter of platform focus. As WordPress is an open platform and Shopify is a closed one, there are certain restrictions/limitations when developing features, as we can work with what is offered by Shopify's API. We do understand editing alt text in bulk (besides the bulk edit options we currently offer) would be a useful option, which is why we have a feature request for this to be developed as a feature or an integration.

2. In regards to what our app offers to merchants as well as automated improvements, we understand our app may not match all merchant profiles and needs, so we want to clarify some of the main features our app offers.
- Our app lets you optimize your content for your desired keywords (Focus keyphrase field).
- The app will output product-specific structured data in the source code of your product pages. This helps your products get rich results in search engines, improving your clickthrough rate (stitched automated schema output).
- The app automatically takes care of the technical SEO details (according to best holistic and content SEO practices and search engine guidelines in order to be less vulnerable to core search engine updates).
- You can control and optimize how your search results look by letting you set your titles and meta descriptions and influence the search engine results.
- You can also control how your products will look on social media when they are shared (Social appearance control).
- Access to Yoast Academy premium online courses for you or your staff.

Rest assured our team is doing everything possible in order to provide more features (including certain A.I. automations) and value in the near future, so you can get the most out of your existing subscription.

Thank you again for sharing your feedback. We appreciate it greatly, as it will help us improve our app and better serve all our app users.

Thank you for sharing your feedback. We are sorry to hear about your experience with our app, and we appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention.

We take all feedback seriously and are constantly striving to improve our app.

While we understand your frustration, we'd also like to address two points you raised:

1. When it comes to the perceived lack of effectiveness in increasing Google rankings, we acknowledge that search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, and what worked in the past may not yield the same results today. However, our team is dedicated to staying up-do-date on these changes and adapting the Yoast SEO app to deliver the best possible outcomes for merchants.

2. In regard to your concerns about the relevance and timeliness of our app, we want to assure you that we are 100% committed to ongoing updates and improvements. We invest significant resources into research and development to ensure that our app remains current and effective in helping merchants achieve their goals.

That being said, we would be grateful for the opportunity to regain your trust and confidence. If you're open to it, we are open to connecting with you directly to discuss your specific concerns in more detail and explore how we can help.

Our records show that the last conversation we had with you was about 5 months ago, so please do feel welcome to reach out to us at support@yoast.com. We are happy to help.

Once again, thank you for your feedback. We genuinely appreciate your input and remain committed to delivering optimal results for merchants.

April 4 update: we are adding this update in a last attempt to notify you of our follow-ups, through the Shopify review system and for visibility purposes.

If you need any further assistance or can share more details, kindly let us know via email. Our support team remains at your disposal and would be happy to help in any way possible.

March 31 update: Thank you for your update review though we're sorry to hear that you still have an unpleasant experience. We can understand how this can be troublesome so we would like to see how we can clarify things and assist you.

Firstly, we would like to clarify Yoast SEO is in constant and direct communication with all search engines in order for our app to be always up to date and follow the best SEO practices and standards.

However, we do take your update into heart and we look forward to your detailed feedback in our email so we can see how we can potentially make improvements.

Regarding the code, we can see that there is no longer output coming from our app in your store's source code, but if you followed our process and you still see leftover code in your theme files, this may be due to an interruption of the process by another app possibly or theme structure.

In all cases, we will soon reach out to you with an additional follow-up email and provide additional assistance. As soon as we receive a response and store access from you, we can have a direct look at your setup and fix any related issues.

We're looking forward to your response and helping you as soon as possible.

March 28 reply: Thank you for sharing your review, though we are sorry to hear about the experience you had.

Based on your feedback, we would like to know more about what exactly happened with your site and why, so our team will soon reach out to you via email and address your concerns directly.

Lastly, we'd like to clarify that we have not responded earlier to your review, as systemically, Shopify reviews are visible two days after being submitted.

We're looking forward to hearing from you and helping as best we can.

Update June 6: we are adding this update in an attempt to notify you of our follow-ups, through the Shopify review system and for visibility purposes, as we have not received an email reply from you.

If you do see this update, please respond to any of our emails so we can help you the soonest possible with your store.

May 30 reply: Thank you for sharing your feedback with us, though we're sorry to read about the experience you had.

It seems that you left your review before you reached out to our team for support, so we sent an additional email to address your concerns and clarify the points you mentioned here.

In addition, for anyone reading along, we'd like to clarify that the charging matter specifically, was caused due to a technicality of Shopify's billing system https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/your-invoice/apps (billing cycles in Shopify initiate even if one minute has passed after the exact end time of the trial period) and it has been resolved by our team after communication with the merchant.

Lastly, we'd like to clarify that we have not responded earlier to your review, as systemically, Shopify reviews are visible within two days after being submitted.

March 28 update: we are adding this update in an attempt to be notified through the Shopify review system and for visibility purposes.

Based on our logs, we noticed that you followed the suggested uninstallation instructions on March 14, and your source code no longer has Yoast SEO output. We also checked your meta description and SEO title, and there is no reference to American Express, so the issue no longer occurs after the right uninstallation steps were taken.

Please do provide your confirmation that this issue has been resolved or if you need any further assistance. Our support team remains at your disposal.

March 14 reply: Thank you for sharing your feedback with us, though we're sorry to read about the experience you had. We understand how troublesome this must have been, so please allow us to address your points and concerns.

Based on the details you shared here, we understand that there is/was leftover code in your theme files after removing our app. This usually happens if the app is deleted without completing the two-step process (https://yoast.com/help/remove-yoast-code-from-theme-in-shopify/), which requires first deactivation of the app to remove our code from the theme and then deletion of the app from the Shopify admin. Or if another (usually SEO-related) app interfered with the removal process (we also noticed leftover code from another SEO app).

Fortunately, there is no need for time-consuming manual code removal or additional (which we can do for you if requested) in this case, as this can be easily fixed with a simple reinstallation and uninstallation process.

Here are the next troubleshooting steps to take:
1. Re-install the Yoast SEO app on your site.
2. Instead of "Get a subscription," click on "Remove theme modifications.". Please wait until the process is finished.
3. Click on Go back to Apps and then remove the app again.

Once this is done, the Yoast SEO code should be completely removed from your theme files, and the metadata output will be restored to what you had before. But you can always contact us for any clarifications or further assistance if needed.

In all cases, we would like to see how we can help further on this matter, so our team will soon reach out via email.

Lastly, we'd like to clarify that we have not responded earlier to your review, as systemically, Shopify reviews are visible two days after being submitted.

UPDATE December 11, 2023: For anyone reading along, we would like to clarify that this is not a matter of charges, as the subscription ended at the point when the app deletion was performed by the merchant.
The code issue occurred because the app was not deactivated before being uninstalled/deleted, according to the uninstallation process: https://yoast.com/help/remove-yoast-code-from-theme-in-shopify/

Despite our attempts to assist the merchant on this matter as soon as they contacted us, unfortunately, this was not possible as the store is no longer hosted on Shopify.

Response from December 7, 2023: Thank you for sharing your feedback with us, though we're sorry to hear about the experience you had. We understand how troublesome this must have been, so please allow us to address your points and concerns.

We understand some of our users uninstall the Yoast App using the uninstall button under Apps and Permissions in Shopify settings. This only cancels the app subscription and deletes the app from their store.

This step does not remove the Yoast App theme integration, which makes the app work and leaves leftover code.

This usually happens if the app is deleted without completing the two-step process (https://yoast.com/help/remove-yoast-code-from-theme-in-shopify/), which requires first deactivation of the app to remove our code from the theme, and then deletion of the app from the Shopify admin. Or if another (usually SEO-related) app interfered with the removal process.

Fortunately, there is no need for time-consuming manual code removal (which we can do for you if needed) in this case, as this can be easily fixed with a simple reinstallation and uninstallation process.

Here are the next troubleshooting steps to take:
1. Re-install the Yoast SEO app on your site.
2. Instead of "Get a subscription," click on "Remove theme modifications.". Please wait until the process is finished.
3. Click on Go back to Apps and then remove the app again.

Once this is done, the Yoast SEO code should be completely removed from your theme files, but you can always contact us for any clarifications or further assistance if needed.

April 7 update: Despite our efforts to communicate so far via email with you in order to assist you with the matter, we have not yet received a response. So, we are adding this update as a last attempt to be notified through the Shopify review system.

If you do see this update, please respond to our email so we can help you the soonest possible. Our support team remains at your disposal and would be happy to help.

April 4 update: Despite our efforts to communicate so far via email with you in order to assist you with the matter, we have not yet received a response. So, we are adding this update in an attempt to notify you through the Shopify review system.

If you do see this update, kindly respond to our email, and our team will be happy to help you the soonest possible.

March 31 reply: Thank you for sharing your feedback with us, though we're sorry to read about the experience you have. We understand how troublesome this must have been, so please allow us to address your points and concerns.

First of all, indeed, our app does not generate a different sitemap, but there are options that can affect its content to a certain extent (for example, by not indexing certain pages). We have a feature request related to sitemap handling, so we'd like to thank you for your suggestion.

Regarding the leftover code, this usually happens if the app is deleted without completing the two-step process (https://yoast.com/help/remove-yoast-code-from-theme-in-shopify/), which requires first deactivation of the app to remove our code from the theme, and then deletion of the app from the Shopify admin. Or if another (usually SEO-related) app interfered with the removal process.

Fortunately, there is no need for time-consuming manual code removal (which we can do for you if needed) in this case, as this can be easily fixed with a simple reinstallation and uninstallation process.

Here are the next troubleshooting steps to take:
1. Re-install the Yoast SEO app on your site.
2. Instead of "Get a subscription," click on "Remove theme modifications.". Please wait until the process is finished.
3. Click on Go back to Apps and then remove the app again.

Once this is done, the Yoast SEO code should be completely removed from your theme files, but you can always contact us for any clarifications or further assistance if needed (from the beacon within our app or by sending us an email at support@yoast.com).

As we could not locate a support ticket related to your Shopify account's email address, our team will soon reach out via email to see how we can help further on this matter, if you still need assistance.

Lastly, we'd like to clarify that we have not responded earlier to your review, as systemically, Shopify reviews are visible two days after being submitted.