Yoast Academy
Yoast Academy is the online SEO training arm of Yoast BV, a Dutch subsidiary of Newfold Digital, offering bundled video courses and certifications through Yoast's premium SEO plugin subscriptions serving 13M+ WordPress and Shopify websites and 350,000+ students worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersWijchen, Netherlands
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Yoast Academy does
Yoast Academy is the online SEO training platform of Yoast BV, a private Dutch company founded in 2010 by Joost de Valk in Wijchen, Netherlands, and now operating as a subsidiary of Newfold Digital. The Academy delivers video-based courses, quizzes, PDFs, cheat sheets, and certificates covering SEO fundamentals, content SEO, technical SEO, WordPress, WooCommerce, and ecommerce SEO, and is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars by over 350,000 students. Its core technology stack is built around the Yoast SEO WordPress plugin, which provides real-time SEO and readability analysis in 25+ languages, automatic XML sitemaps, structured data markup for 50+ schema types, and integrations with Google Search Console, Semrush, and Wincher.
The Academy is not sold as a standalone product but is bundled into Yoast's premium subscription tiers: Yoast SEO Premium ($118.80/year) bundles full Academy access with the Premium WordPress plugin, while Yoast WooCommerce SEO ($178.80/year) and Yoast SEO AI+ ($358.80/year) bundle Academy access alongside ecommerce and AI brand monitoring capabilities. Yoast SEO for Shopify is distributed through the Shopify App Store at $19 per 30-day cycle. The free Yoast SEO plugin, installed on 13+ million websites globally, functions as the top-of-funnel acquisition vehicle, with a partner/reseller program serving hosting companies, agencies, and platforms managing 100+ license seats. The company employs approximately 110 people globally, with about 70 based at its Wijchen headquarters and the remainder distributed across remote locations, and supports a community ecosystem spanning WordCamps, meetups, podcasts, and webinars.
Yoast Academy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Yoast Academy
- Legal name
- Yoast BV
- Website
- https://yoast.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Yoast Academy is the online SEO training arm of Yoast BV, a Dutch subsidiary of Newfold Digital, offering bundled video courses and certifications through Yoast's premium SEO plugin subscriptions serving 13M+ WordPress and Shopify websites and 350,000+ students worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Yoast Academy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online SEO Education
- NAICS
- All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Educational Support Services (611710), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Assessment-Integrated eLearning & Practice Modules (EDAGAEAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- eLearning & Microlearning Module Development (EDAGAKAD)
Keywords
Where Yoast Academy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wijchen
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Yoast Academy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Yoast SEO Premium subscription (bundles Academy access): Yoast SEO Premium ($118.80/year) bundles full access to all Yoast SEO Academy courses along with the Yoast SEO Premium WordPress plugin. This is the primary revenue driver linking the Academy to a subscription product. Premium subscribers receive 1 year of free updates and support included.
- Yoast SEO Google Docs add-on subscription: Standalone subscription at $5/month (ex. VAT). One seat included for free with Yoast SEO Premium or Yoast WooCommerce SEO. Sold as a standalone add-on for teams.
- Yoast SEO for Shopify subscription: Subscription at $19 USD per 30 days (ex. VAT) with a free 14-day trial. Annual plan available (12 months for price of 10). Revenue generated through the Shopify App Store, with payment processed via Shopify's payment system. Includes Yoast Academy access for ecommerce SEO courses.
- Yoast WooCommerce SEO subscription: Yoast WooCommerce SEO priced at $178.80/year (ex. VAT). Includes Yoast SEO Premium features plus WooCommerce-specific SEO tools, AI-generated product metadata, and full access to Yoast SEO Academy and the ecommerce course. Also bundles Local SEO, News SEO, Video SEO plugins, and a Google Docs add-on seat.
- Yoast SEO AI+ subscription: Yoast SEO AI+ priced at $358.80/year (ex. VAT). Combines Yoast AI Brand Insights (brand monitoring across AI platforms) with all Yoast WooCommerce SEO features. Plans renew annually automatically. Refund policy: one-week window; non-refundable if more than one AI analysis has been completed.
- Yoast SEO free plugin (top-of-funnel): Free WordPress plugin (Yoast SEO) provides free forever access with no paywalls for core features. Generates conversion to paid tiers (Premium, WooCommerce, Shopify, AI+) and Academy premium upsell. Also serves as a distribution vehicle for the broader Yoast ecosystem.
- Enterprise/bulk licensing (hosting companies, agencies, resellers): Partner pricing program for hosting providers, agencies, and platforms managing 100+ Yoast license seats. Custom pricing and multi-year deals available. Bulk discounts offered for 10-100+ seats. Includes Provisioner API for automated provisioning and Composer tooling for CI/CD workflows.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Academy courses |
| Subscription | Annual | Yoast SEO Premium (includes all Academy courses) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Yoast SEO Google Docs add-on (standalone) |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Yoast SEO for Shopify |
| Subscription | Annual | Yoast WooCommerce SEO |
| Subscription | Annual | Yoast SEO AI+ (complete package) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels8 records
Yoast Academy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Yoast Academy is an online learning platform that delivers SEO training courses for individuals and teams. It offers video-based courses covering SEO fundamentals, content SEO, technical SEO, WordPress SEO, and ecommerce SEO, with quizzes, PDFs, cheat sheets, templates, and completion certificates. Free introductory courses (SEO for Beginners, WordPress for Beginners, Yoast SEO plugin training) serve as top-of-funnel entry points, while full Academy access is bundled with Yoast SEO Premium and other paid Yoast subscriptions.
Product overview
Yoast offers a portfolio of SEO-focused products centered on the Yoast SEO plugin platform. The core free Yoast SEO plugin (trusted by 13+ million sites) provides foundational SEO analysis, sitemaps, and schema markup. Yoast SEO Premium builds on this with AI-powered optimization, redirect automation, internal linking suggestions, and bundled plugins (Local SEO, Video SEO, News SEO). For ecommerce, Yoast WooCommerce SEO adds product-specific optimization and AI-generated metadata for WooCommerce stores, while Yoast SEO for Shopify provides standalone app functionality for Shopify merchants. Yoast SEO AI+ represents the newest tier, combining WooCommerce SEO with AI Brand Insights that monitor brand visibility across AI platforms. Additional products include the Google Docs Add-on for in-editor SEO analysis, Yoast Duplicate Post for content management, and Yoast SEO Academy for online SEO training. The company also produces free educational content through podcasts and webinars.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Yoast SEO: The flagship WordPress SEO plugin trusted by 13+ million sites worldwide
- Yoast WooCommerce SEO
- Yoast SEO for Shopify
- Yoast SEO AI+
- Yoast SEO Premium
- Yoast SEO Google Docs Add-on
Products and services
- Yoast SEO Academy Online SEO training platform delivering courses from beginner to advanced levels covering SEO fundamentals, keyword research, content SEO, technical SEO, ecommerce SEO, and WordPress SEO. Includes instructional videos, quizzes, PDFs, cheat sheets, templates, and completion certificates. Used by bloggers, content creators, small business owners, and SEO professionals.
- SEO for Beginners (free course)
Quantifiable outcome
- Yoast SEO plugin is trusted by 13+ million websites worldwide, making it the #1 WordPress SEO plugin globally.
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Yoast Academy
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Yoast Academy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration19 records
AI capability8 records
Feature8 records
Yoast Academy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- StuurluiminorUtrecht-based WordPress agency that uses Yoast across 500+ client websites as a standard part of every build, handover, and ongoing maintenance package. Featured as a case study partner demonstrating how agencies deploy Yoast at scale.
- BluehostcoreBluehost is listed as a Yoast partner, likely offering Yoast SEO as part of its WordPress hosting ecosystem. Bluehost is one of the largest WordPress hosting providers globally.
- WordPress.comcoreWordPress.com is listed as a Yoast partner, indicating some form of integration or distribution relationship within the WordPress.com ecosystem.
- GooglecoreYoast integrates deeply with Google products including Google Search Console (via Site Kit by Google), Google Docs (Yoast SEO Google Docs add-on), and Google Analytics. Yoast contributes to the schema.org project alongside Google and Microsoft to improve structured data standards for the web.
- SemrushcoreYoast SEO integrates with Semrush for expanded keyword research capabilities, allowing users to access Semrush keyword data directly within the Yoast SEO WordPress interface.
- ElementorcoreYoast SEO is compatible with Elementor page builder and recently added support for Elementor's new atomic editor. Elementor is one of the most popular WordPress page builders.
- Newfold DigitalcoreYoast joined Newfold Digital (formerly Web.com), a global web technology company. Newfold Digital owns multiple web hosting and website building brands. The partnership provides Yoast with resources to 'advance in unexpected ways by partnering up with other Newfold brands.' Yoast operates as a subsidiary within the Newfold ecosystem.
- WooCommercecoreYoast WooCommerce SEO is a specialized plugin built exclusively for WooCommerce (a WordPress ecommerce plugin/company). The product is deeply integrated with WooCommerce's architecture and is distributed as part of the WooCommerce ecosystem.
- ShopifycoreYoast SEO for Shopify is a standalone app distributed through the Shopify App Store. Payment processing is handled via Shopify's payment system. Shopify store owners can install and manage the Yoast SEO app directly from their Shopify admin.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Yoast Academy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Rank Math: Direct WordPress SEO plugin competitor with a free tier and Pro upgrade offering similar SEO analysis, schema, and content optimization features. Yoast even provides migration tools from Rank Math, indicating direct head-to-head competition for the same customer base.
- All in One SEO: Direct WordPress SEO plugin competitor with comparable on-page analysis, schema, and ecommerce SEO features. Listed as a supported migration source from Yoast, confirming direct competition in the same WordPress SEO category.
- SEOPress: WordPress SEO plugin competitor offering free and paid tiers with similar optimization, schema, and WooCommerce integrations. Also a supported migration source, positioning it as a direct competitor in Yoast's core category.
- Semrush Academy: SEO and digital marketing training platform from Semrush, offering free certifications and courses. Directly competes with Yoast Academy for SEO learner mindshare, and Semrush's keyword tool is also integrated into Yoast's plugin.
- Ahrefs Academy: Free SEO training platform from Ahrefs covering SEO fundamentals through advanced link building and technical SEO. Direct competitor in SEO education, with content marketing that overlaps Yoast Academy's audience.
- Moz Academy: SEO training and certification platform from Moz, offering courses on SEO fundamentals, link building, and keyword research. Direct competitor in SEO education with comparable certification and course offerings.
Broad incumbents
- HubSpot Academy: Large-scale marketing, sales, and inbound training platform with free certifications. A broader incumbent that overlaps with Yoast Academy in content marketing and SEO training, but operates at much larger scale across multiple marketing disciplines.
- Google Skillshop: Google's official training and certification platform for Google Ads, Analytics, and various Google products. While Google-owned, it competes with Yoast Academy for SEO practitioner mindshare and certification value.
- LinkedIn Learning: Large-scale professional development video learning platform offering courses across digital marketing, SEO, and content strategy. A broader incumbent in online professional learning that competes for the same marketing professional learners.
Regional players
- Shopify Learn: Shopify's own ecommerce education platform with courses and guides for Shopify merchants. Becomes an adjacent competitor given Yoast's expansion into Shopify via Yoast SEO for Shopify, where some merchant education overlaps with Yoast Academy's ecommerce SEO courses.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Yoast Academy social profiles
Digital presenceYoast Academy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Yoast Academy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Yoast Academy subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries6 records
Yoast Academy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Yoast Academy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Yoast Academy
What does Yoast Academy do?
Yoast Academy is an online learning platform that delivers SEO training courses for individuals and teams. It offers video-based courses covering SEO fundamentals, content SEO, technical SEO, WordPress SEO, and ecommerce SEO, with quizzes, PDFs, cheat sheets, templates, and completion certificates. Free introductory courses (SEO for Beginners, WordPress for Beginners, Yoast SEO plugin training) serve as top-of-funnel entry points, while full Academy access is bundled with Yoast SEO Premium and other paid Yoast subscriptions.
Is Yoast Academy a public or private company?
Yoast Academy is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Yoast Academy founded?
Yoast Academy was founded in 2010.
Where is Yoast Academy based?
Yoast Academy is headquartered in Wijchen, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Yoast Academy make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Yoast SEO Premium subscription (bundles Academy access) is the primary driver. The others are yoast SEO Google Docs add-on subscription, yoast SEO for Shopify subscription, yoast WooCommerce SEO subscription, yoast SEO AI+ subscription, yoast SEO free plugin (top-of-funnel) and enterprise/bulk licensing (hosting companies, agencies, resellers).
Who are Yoast Academy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Rank Math, All in One SEO, SEOPress, Semrush Academy, Ahrefs Academy and Moz Academy. Broad incumbents are HubSpot Academy, Google Skillshop and LinkedIn Learning. Shopify Learn is listed as a regional player.
Does Yoast Academy have an API?
Yes. Yoast SEO offers multiple APIs for developers: (1) Surfaces API to retrieve titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, and schema programmatically; (2) REST API for accessing SEO metadata in headless WordPress setups; (3) Provisioner API for hosting companies to automatically provision Yoast SEO across their entire customer base; (4) Subscription API for managing subscriptions programmatically; (5) Abilities API for AI tools, dashboards, and automated workflows to communicate directly with Yoast SEO (introduced with WordPress 6.9). Developer documentation is at developer.yoast.com.
What industry is Yoast Academy in?
Yoast Academy's product category is Online SEO Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAEAE, Assessment-Integrated eLearning & Practice Modules, with a secondary code of EDAGAKAD, eLearning & Microlearning Module Development. Its NAICS code is 61169 and its SIC code is 8200.