On the podcast today we have Marieke Van De Rakt & Taco Verdonschot, and they’re both from Yoast SEO.

I think it’s quite likely that you’ve heard of Yoast SEO, but in case you have not, it’s a very popular WordPress SEO plugin, installed over 5 million times. They’ve been optimising websites for many years and make significant contributions to the WordPress project, committing to Core, sponsoring events and many other things.

I sat down with them both at WordCamp Europe and we talked about some of the recent changes that have taken place within the company.

Having worked hard to build and maintain their company's reputation, they decided that it was time to steer the business in a new direction by selling it to Newfold Digital. We get into the reasons for this acquisition and the subsequent reshuffling of the management of the company. What were the details of that agreement, why did they join forces with Newfold Digital in particular, and how has the acquisition gone?

We also talk about their longstanding commitment to contributing back to the WordPress project. Why have they done this and what benefits have they seen from this approach? Why do they bring so many of their team to WordCamps?

Although Yoast is well known in the WordPress space, they recently brought their product into an entirely new market, Shopify. This has led them to create a SaaS version of their SEO solution and has brought them into contact with a completely new market. How has this move gone and does it mean they’re moving away from WordPress?

Typically, when we record the podcast, there’s not a lot of background noise, but that’s not always the case with these WordCamp Europe interviews. We were competing against crowds and the air-conditioning. Whilst the podcasts are more than listenable, I hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.

Useful links.

Kagi search engine