Having trouble with adding Transition Words to your post?
What are Transition Words?
Transition Words or phrases are “connecting” words and phrases. They help to emphasize a point and establishes the relationship between ideas. Words like “because” or “also” are simple examples of Transition Words.
Readability Analysis in Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO plugin is certainly one of the best SEO plugins for WordPress. Not only does it provide you focus keyword analysis, its also provides readability analysis. Since I am a developer, writing good articles does not come naturally.
Luckily, Yoast helps in improving my writing by giving readability suggestions. Yoast uses a few metrics to judge content. One metric that seems especially hard to achieve, at least for me, is the Transition word metric.
Is readability important?
The post from Yoast Blog, “Does Readability Rank?“, concludes that “Posts that are nice and easy to read will definitely result in more returning visitors and a higher conversion rate”.
How does Transition Words apply in Yoast SEO?
Yoast recommends inclusion of transition words in at least 30% of the article. That’s about 1 in 3 sentences. That can be a challenge. Especially, if like me, your grammar of transition words consists primarily of “also” and “but“.
List of Transition Words for Yoast SEO
With reference to the Yoast source code and smart-words.org, we present you a list of easy to reference list below.
Addition Words
| additionally | also | another |
| further | furthermore | moreover |
| too |
Addition Phrases
| another key point | as a matter of fact | as well as |
| at least | by the same token | coupled with |
| for example | for instance | in addition |
| in another case | in detail | in other words |
| not to mention | such as | to clarify |
| to say nothing of | together with | what’s more |
Emphasis Words
| altogether | basically | certainly |
| chiefly | doubtedly | emphatically |
| especially | evidently | explicitly |
| generally | indeed | obviously |
| markedly | overall | particularly |
| significantly | specifically | surely |
| surprisingly | undeniably | undoubtedly |
| unquestionably | without a doubt | without doubt |
| without reservation |
Emphasis Phrases
| by all means | equally important | for one thing |
| important to realize | in particular | in similar fashion |
| in the light of | in the same fashion | in the same way |
| most compelling evidence | most important | must be remembered |
| of course | on the positive side | point often overlooked |
| that is | that is to say | to be sure |
| to repeat | to rephrase it | with attention to |
| with this purpose in mind |
Condition / Contrast / Compare Words
| albeit | although | besides |
| but | comparatively | consequently |
| contrarily | conversely | despite |
| equally | however | identically |
| instead | nevertheless | nor |
| notwithstanding | otherwise | rather |
| regardless | similarly | still |
| though | unless | unlike |
| whereas | while |
Condition / Contrast / Comparison Phrases
| analogous to | although this may be true | analogous to |
| as much as | balanced against | by comparison |
| compared to | be that as it may | different from |
| even more | even so | even though |
| in contrast | in either case | in that case |
| in this situation | in view of | inasmuch as |
| on condition that | on one hand | on the contrary |
| on the negative side | on the other hand | provided that |
| seeing that | take the case of | to put it another way |
| to put it differently | up against | vis a vis |
| while it may be true | while this may be true |
Illustration Words
| accordingly | correspondingly | e.g. |
| i.e. |
Illustration Phrases
| as an illustration | at length | in like fashion |
| in like manner | to demonstrate | to emphasize |
| to enumerate | to explain | to illustrate |
| to list | to point out |
Cause and Effect Words
| because | hence | since |
| so | than | therefore |
| thereupon | thus |
Cause and Effect Phrases
| above all | after all | as a result |
| being that | due to | even if |
| for fear that | given these points | given that |
| in case | in light of | in order that |
| in effect | in order to | in spite of |
| in the event that | in the hope that | in this case |
| on account of | on the condition that | only if |
| owing to | so as to | so long as |
| so that | then again | under those circumstances |
| with the result that | with this in mind | with this intention |
Time and Sequence Words
| afterward | afterwards | before |
| concurrently | during | earlier |
| eventually | finally | firstly |
| following | formerly | forthwith |
| fourthly | henceforth | last |
| lastly | later | meanwhile |
| occasionally | presently | previously |
| secondly | shortly | simultaneously |
| soon | straightaway | subsequently |
| then | thereafter | thirdly |
| till | until | when |
| whenever |
Time and Sequence Phrases
| after that | all of a sudden | as long as |
| as soon as | at first | at last |
| at the present time | at the same time | at this instant |
| at this point | at this time | by the time |
| first thing to remember | from time to time | in due time |
| in the final analysis | in the first place | in the fourth place |
| in the long run | in the meantime | in the second place |
| in the third place | in time | now that |
| on this occasion | once | once in a while |
| prior to | so far | sooner or later |
| this time | to begin with | until now |
| up to the present time | without delay |
Summary Phrases
| all in all | all things considered | all things considered |
| as can be seen | as has been noted | as I have said |
| as I have noted | as I have shown | as shown above |
| at any rate | by and large | for that reason |
| for the most part | for the purpose of | for the same reason |
| for this purpose | for this reason | in a word |
| in any case | in any event | in brief |
| in conclusion | in essence | in fact |
| in general | in reality | in short |
| in sum | in summary | in truth |
| on balance | on the whole | summing up |
| to conclude | to sum up | to summarize |
| to that end | to the end that | to this end |
Two Part Transition Words
Not only does Yoast recognize Words and Phrases, but also phrases that consists of two parts. For example:
Both…. and…
If… then….
Not only … but also…
… neither… nor…
…either … or …
…not… but …
whether …. or …
no sooner … than ….
Conclusion
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