# Rank Math settings we recommend (and the modules to leave off) > A screen-by-screen walk through the free Rank Math settings that change what Google sees, which modules to enable, which to leave off, and the report findings that show whether it worked. Updated 2026-09-25 · WordPress & WooCommerce · HTML version: https://getreport.app/guides/rank-math-settings-we-recommend Rank Math ships with more switches than any other free SEO plugin: a modules screen, four settings areas and a template for every content type and archive. Most of the defaults are good. A few are set for the widest compatibility rather than the cleanest site, and a few modules cost server time for a feature you may never open. This guide goes through the free plugin (version 1.0.2xx) screen by screen, says what to keep, what to switch off and why, and ends with the report findings that confirm it. Plan 30 minutes; every change here is reversible, with one exception flagged below. ## Quick answer | Screen | Setting | Recommendation | | --- | --- | --- | | Dashboard → Modules | Sitemap, Schema, Image SEO, Instant Indexing | On | | Dashboard → Modules | Local SEO & Knowledge Graph | On for a business; it holds the Organization logo and profiles | | Dashboard → Modules | 404 Monitor, Analytics, Role Manager, Content AI, WooCommerce | Off unless you use them (WooCommerce on for a shop) | | General Settings → Links | Redirect Attachments | On, with an orphan target | | General Settings → Links | Strip Category Base | Off on an existing site | | General Settings → Breadcrumbs | Enable breadcrumbs function | On, with the trail placed by the theme | | Titles & Meta → Global Meta | Separator, OpenGraph Thumbnail, Twitter Card Type | A dash; a 1200×630 px image; Summary Card with Large Image | | Titles & Meta → Authors, Misc Pages | Author archives, date archives | Off on a single-author site; date archives off | | Titles & Meta → Tags | Tag robots meta | No Index unless tags are curated | Then run the [WordPress checker](https://getreport.app/tools/wordpress-checker) and read the WordPress Doctor panel. ## Why the settings matter Every SEO plugin says the same five things to Google on every page: what the page is called, which URL is the real one, whether to index it, who publishes it and what it looks like when shared. Rank Math says them well when its settings agree with the site. When they do not (an Organization with no logo, a tag archive for every tag, a sitemap the robots.txt never mentions), Google resolves the contradiction itself and the setting was wasted. Rank Math's modules add a second dimension: each one runs code on every request or every save. The 404 Monitor writes a database row for every missing URL a bot asks for; the Analytics module fetches Search Console data on a schedule; Content AI calls an external service. None of these is wrong to run. They are wrong to leave running when nobody looks at the result. ## How getReport checks it > **Free tool:** [WordPress health check](https://getreport.app/tools/wordpress-checker): Is your WordPress site indexed, up to date and free of the classic launch mistakes? Checks "Discourage search engines", default content and tagline, plain permalinks, attachment pages, the exposed admin user, a public staging copy and the core version, plus security basics. The check reads only what the page reveals. Rank Math is recognised from its own HTML comment ("Search Engine Optimization by Rank Math") and from asset paths under `/wp-content/plugins/seo-by-rank-math/`. The report then reads `robots.txt`, the tags and the JSON-LD in ``, requests the attachment sitemap address, and adds the WordPress Doctor panel after the top fixes. Findings that Rank Math can fix get a "Fix in Rank Math SEO" card with the screen and the control, tested on version 1.0.230. ![The WordPress Doctor panel on a Rank Math site: the detection line with WordPress version, theme and plugin count, the rookie mistakes list, and the plugins table with Rank Math SEO listed by name and slug, its version, its cost on the page and its wordpress.org status](https://getreport.app/guides/img/rank-math-settings-we-recommend/doctor.webp "The plugins table shows what the page revealed; Rank Math was recognised from its comment and its asset paths.") These four findings correspond to settings in this guide: > **Check: Attachment pages are not exposed to search engines.** WordPress creates a bare page for every uploaded image. Hundreds of them in the index dilute the site with pages that hold nothing but a picture. > > 1. In Yoast SEO, under Settings, Advanced, Media pages, enable the redirect of attachment URLs to the file itself; in Rank Math set Media to noindex or redirect. > 2. Without an SEO plugin, add a redirect from attachment pages to the parent post in your theme or a redirect plugin. > **Check: robots.txt declares a sitemap.** A "Sitemap:" line in robots.txt is how crawlers find your XML sitemap without you registering it anywhere. Without it, new pages are discovered later. > > 1. Add a line to robots.txt: Sitemap: https://your-site.com/sitemap.xml (use the full URL). > **Check: Organization structured data has a logo and sameAs links.** Google uses logo for the brand box in search and sameAs (your social profiles) to connect the brand across the web. Without them the box shows no logo and no profile links. > > 1. Add "logo" with the URL of a square image of at least 112×112 px. > 2. Add "sameAs" with an array of your official profile URLs (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Wikipedia…). > **Check: Breadcrumb navigation found.** Breadcrumbs show visitors where they are and let Google show a readable path instead of the URL in desktop results. Most useful on shops and sites more than two levels deep. > > 1. Add a breadcrumb trail in a