269 Yoast SEO Transition Words to Improve Readability Scores and User Experience

One good reason you should use Yoast SEO transition words is to have better readability scores. As you will find out in this article, it may not mean much to search engines. But for the audience, they matter a lot.

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Yoast SEO Readability Checks

Readability is a big part of Yoast SEO (and others like Rank Math SEO and All in One SEO). But to be clear, it is not one of Google’s ranking signals.

“From an SEO point of view, it’s probably not something you need to focus on,” Google’s Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller said. “But it is something you should figure out for your audience.”

Still, if you search the web, you’d notice there are a lot of sites claiming that readability is a ranking factor. To be sure, Portent and Ahrefs conducted studies and did not find any evidence that readability scores affect rankings.

If readability does not affect SEO, why should it matter?

Readability matters because you are writing for humans, not for machines.

Yoast SEO comes with an excellent readability analysis tool. In brief, the plugin analyzes these metrics:

Subheadings
Paragraphs
Sentences
Transition words
Passive voice

To measure readability, Yoast SEO uses Flesch Reading Ease. It is, in essence, an algorithm that measures the difficulty of texts or writings.

Hemingway Editor is one of the best tools you can use for free. In a nutshell, it helps you write readable texts.

Hemingway Editor Yoast SEO Transition Words

Following the recommendations allow you to conform to most metrics used to measure readability. But one thing it cannot do is check for transition words.

Yoast SEO Readability Check on Transition Words

For some content writers, transition word usage rate is the only obstacle to getting a good score. And that is why there is a need to keep a list of transition words and phrases for reference.

Now, what is perplexing is that Yoast SEO does not recognize all transition words. As a result, some content writers have to spend more time finding the right words.

Google wants content writers to write for humans. But some people obsess too much, ending up writing for Yoast SEO.

My advice is to focus on writing for the audience. As much as you want to keep your copy “perfect,” you cannot dwell too much on metrics or scores.

Above is the readability analysis of a post about freelance content writing rates.

The two issues detected were:

One section contains more than 300 words.
Only 11.6% of the sentences have transition words.

Do I need to make changes, such as adding more transition words?

Yoast SEO readability analysis is not perfect. The same is true with Rank Math SEO and All in One SEO because I have tested them, too.

People who have used page builders should recognize the snippets of codes. WPBakery (the page builder used here) uses these codes to control the visual display of the page.

WPBakery codes are not part of the content. Yet, they add to the total word count. Because of the inflated word count, the percentage of transition words would be lower.

Another point to consider is the use of tables and bullet lists. You cannot add transition words in these sections.

So, in the case of this article, I do not have to make any changes.

List of Yoast SEO Transition Words and Phrases

One of the best references content writers can use is Dr. Heiko Possel’s linking words list. But there is only one problem. Yoast SEO does not recognize some of those words.

So, for content writers who want to score high on readability tests, here is an official list from Yoast SEO. And oh, it is worth mentioning that this list includes terms not found in Possel’s list.

Sources: Yoast SEO Transition Words and Two-part Transition Words source codes

Addition

Transition Words	Transition Phrases
additionally	another key point
also	as a matter of fact
another	as well as
further	at least
furthermore	by the same token
moreover	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

Cause and Effect

Transition Words	Transition Phrases
because	above all
hence	after all
since	as a result
so	being that
than	due to
therefore	even if
thereupon	for fear that
thus	given that
	given these points
	in case
	in effect
	in light of
	in order that
	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

Condition/Contrast/Comparison

Transition Words	Transition Phrases
albeit	analogous to
although	although this may be true
besides	as much as
but	balanced against
comparatively	by comparison
consequently	compared to
contrarily	be that as it may
conversely	different from
despite	even more
equally	even so
however	even though
identically	in contrast
instead	in either case
lest	in that case
likewise	in this situation
nevertheless	in view of
nonetheless	inasmuch as
nor	on condition that
notwithstanding	on one hand
otherwise	on the contrary
rather	on the negative side
regardless	on the other hand
similarly	provided that
still	seeing that
though	take the case of
unless	to put it another way
unlike	to put it differently
whereas	up against
while	vis a vis
	while it may be true
	while this may be true

Emphasis

Transition Words	Transition Phrases
altogether	by all means
basically	equally important
certainly	for one thing
chiefly	important to realize
doubtedly	in particular
emphatically	in similar fashion
especially	in the light of
evidently	in the same fashion
explicitly	in the same way
generally	most compelling evidence
indeed	most important
markedly	must be remembered
obviously	of course
overall	on the positive side
particularly	point often overlooked
significantly	that is
specifically	that is to say
surely	to be sure
surprisingly	to repeat
undeniably	to rephrase it
undoubtedly	with attention to
unquestionably	with this purpose in mind
	Without a doubt
	Without doubt
	Without reservation

Illustration

Transition Words	Transition Phrases
accordingly	as an illustration
correspondingly	at length
e.g.	in like fashion
i.e.	in like manner
	to demonstrate
	to emphasize
	to enumerate
	to explain
	to illustrate
	to list
	to point out

Summary

Transition words	Transition Phrases
	all in all
	all things considered
	as can be seen
	as has been noted
	as i have noted
	as i have said
	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

Time and Sequence

Transition Words	Transition Phrases
afterward	after that
afterwards	all of a sudden
before	as long as
concurrently	as soon as
during	at first
earlier	at last
eventually	at the present time
finally	at the same time
firstly	at this instant
following	at this point
formerly	at this time
forthwith	by the time
fourthly	first thing to remember
henceforth	from time to time
last	in due time
lastly	in the final analysis
later	in the first place
meanwhile	in the fourth place
occasionally	in the long run
presently	in the meantime
previously	in the second place
secondly	in the third place
shortly	in time
simultaneously	now that
soon	on this occasion
straightaway	once
subsequently	once in a while
then	prior to
thereafter	so far
thirdly	sooner or later
till	this time
until	to begin with
when	until now
whenever	up to the present time
	without delay

Two-part Transition Words

Both … and
Either … or
If … then
Neither … nor
No sooner … than
Not … but
Not only … but also
Whether … or

Do Content Writers Need to Use Yoast SEO Transition Words?

The transition words compiled by Yoast SEO are more than good enough. But there are many other terms not included in their list. Of course, you can use them. But keep in mind that your readability score might suffer. Not that it matters, though, because they are not ranking factors anyway.

As a content writer, your job is not only to deliver SEO-compliant articles. You also have a duty to the audience – and that is to provide information most coherently. If you can do these two things, you are more likely to help clients get their desired results.

By themselves, transition words do not mean much. Some might even consider it word padding. Yet, they are essential to readability. Consider too that the audience is more likely to read readable content. Not only do visitors stay longer on the site, but they also might want to read other articles. So, there is no debate on its usage.

Most clients use WordPress. Hence, the chances are high that they also have Yoast SEO installed. That being the case, you might as well use transition words the plugin recognizes.

ROBERT LEE

I write articles that people actually read and Google loves.