How to Export and Bulk Update Yoast SEO Metadata Using WP All Export

This practical guide is designed for SEO managers, digital marketers, WordPress administrators and developers who need to review or edit Yoast SEO titles and meta descriptions across many WordPress pages at once. Instead of opening each page individually, the workflow exports published WordPress content into Excel, where SEO fields can be checked, filtered and edited in bulk before being used in a controlled update process.

It is particularly useful for larger websites with many Posts, Pages and Custom Post Types, where manual SEO editing can be slow and inconsistent. The export keeps the WordPress ID, Post Type and Permalink alongside the Yoast fields so each spreadsheet row can be matched back to the correct WordPress record.

Tools you need

• WordPress administrator access
• Yoast SEO installed and active
• WP All Export with access to WP_Query Results and the required custom fields
• Saved WP All Export template named “Yoast SEO Export” Download Yoast SEO Export
• Microsoft Excel or another application that can safely edit XLSX files

Purpose

Use WP All Export to export published WordPress content into an Excel (XLSX) file, including the Yoast SEO title and meta description fields. The spreadsheet can then be edited and used in your controlled bulk-update workflow.

Workflow

Stage	Action
1. Query	Choose WP_Query Results and query published post types.
2. Template	Load the saved “Yoast SEO Export” template.
3. Fields	Confirm ID, Title, Post Type, Permalink and Yoast SEO fields.
4. Format	Choose Spreadsheet > Excel File (XLSX).
5. Run	Review export settings and run the export.
6. Edit	Edit only the intended Yoast SEO columns in Excel.

Important: Do not change the WordPress ID column. The ID is the safest record reference when the edited file is later used for bulk updates.

Step 1  Create a WP_Query export

1. Open WP All Export and start a new export

From WordPress Admin, open WP All Export and create a new export.

2. Choose WP_Query Results

Select WP_Query Results, then choose Post Type Query from the dropdown.

3. Enter the query

Use the query below to return published content across post types handled by WordPress WP_Query.

'post_type' => 'any','post_status' => array('publish',)

Query note: The value post_type = any covers the normal searchable post types returned by WP_Query. If a custom post type is registered as excluded from search, add that post type explicitly when you need it in the export.

Step 2  Load the Yoast SEO Export template

1. Open the Drag & Drop export screen

WP All Export displays the number of records that will be exported.

2. Select the saved template

Download Yoast SEO Export

At the bottom of the screen, use Load Template and select “Yoast SEO Export”. Keep “Save settings as a template” enabled if you want to preserve later changes to the template.

3. Confirm the export fields

The template shown in your setup contains the following columns:

Export column	Purpose
ID	WordPress record ID – do not edit
Title	WordPress post/page title
Post Type	post, page, product or another post type
Permalink	Current public URL
_yoast_wpseo_title	Yoast SEO title – main editable field
_yoast_wpseo_metadesc	Yoast meta description – main editable field
_yoast_wpseo_canonical	Yoast canonical URL
_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex	Yoast noindex setting
_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow	Yoast nofollow setting

Step 3  Choose Excel as the export format

1. Open Export Type

Expand the Export Type section below the field-mapping area.

2. Choose Spreadsheet

Select Spreadsheet as the export type.

3. Choose Excel File (XLSX)

From the format dropdown, select Excel File (XLSX). This gives you a standard workbook that can be edited in Microsoft Excel.

Recommended: Keep the first workbook as an untouched backup before editing. Save the working copy with a clear name such as Yoast-SEO-Edit-YYYY-MM-DD.xlsx.

Step 4  Review settings and run the export

1. Review Advanced Options

For a full current export, leave the “Only export records once” and “Only export records that have been modified since last export” options unticked.

2. Keep the normal batch size

The screenshot uses 50 records per iteration. This is suitable for a normal export unless your server requires a smaller batch size.

3. Include BOM to enable non-ASCII characters in Excel

4. Run the export

Click Save & Run Export at the bottom. Depending on the screen/version, the top action may also appear as Confirm & Run Export.

Step 5  Edit the Yoast SEO fields in Excel

For this workflow, the two primary SEO columns are:

• _yoast_wpseo_title – Yoast SEO title
• _yoast_wpseo_metadesc – Yoast SEO meta description

Editing rules

• Do not change ID. Keep the original WordPress record ID exactly as exported.
• Do not change Post Type or Permalink unless a separate workflow specifically requires it.
• Edit only the SEO fields you intend to update. Avoid accidental changes to canonical, noindex or nofollow fields.
• Keep existing Yoast titles and descriptions unchanged when they are not part of the requested update.
• Use one row per WordPress record and do not sort in a way that separates or damages row data.
• Save the edited file as XLSX unless your import/update process explicitly requires another format.

Recommended SEO length checks

Use character limits as practical guidance rather than an absolute ranking rule:

• SEO title: usually target about 50-60 characters; keeping it under 60 is a useful working limit.
• Meta description: usually target about 150-160 characters, while prioritising accuracy and readability.