SEO data optimization error 404

Hi @xavierbiron

The SEO data optimization can fail due to several factors. Please do try resetting it again and re-running the process and check if it’s still the same error:

1. Install & activate the?Yoast Test Helper plugin
2. Go to Tools > Yoast Test
3. Locate the Yoast SEO section and click on the ‘Reset indexables tables & migrations’, ‘Reset Prominent words calculation’, and ‘Reset Internal link counter’ buttons. After each click, the page will reload to confirm that the specific reset was successful.
4. Go to SEO > Tools, and under SEO data, click the “Start SEO data optimization” button to allow Yoast to rescan your content.

You can also refer to this article for more information – https://yoast.com/help/we-couldnt-complete-the-optimization-of-your-seo-data/

Hi,

Thanks for the answer.
I’ve followed your instructions and I still get the same error message.
Any idea ?

@xavierbiron We’re sorry to hear you are still experiencing this issue.

Can you please confirm you are using the most recent release of Yoast SEO version 18.9? You can learn more about updating here: https://yoast.com/help/how-can-i-update-my-free-plugin/

Also, can you confirm you are using WordPress 5.9.3? You can check by clicking on the W in the top left and selecting About. If you need to update, please check with your host provider. Please know that if you are using an older version of WordPress Core you may experience unexpected behavior with Yoast. This guide explains more: https://yoast.com/why-we-dont-support-old-wordpress-versions/

If you update to the most current version of WordPress and Yoast SEO, does this resolve the issue?

If you have confirmed both WordPress, Yoast SEO, and all of your site’s other plugins and themes are up to date and the problem is still occurring, we would next recommend performing a conflict check. A plugin or theme conflict can sometimes cause functionality problems, errors, or unexpected behavior from the plugin. If you are unfamiliar with checking for conflicts, we have a step by step guide on how to check for conflicts available here: How to check for plugin conflicts.

Test this on your development or staging site, if you have one. If not, we recommend using the?Health Check & Troubleshooting?plugin. This plugin allows you to run a conflict check?without affecting normal visitors to your site.

Can you please confirm you have performed a complete conflict check by disabling other plugins, and resetting the theme to a default such as TwentyTwentyOne and let us know the results?

If you do not feel comfortable to do this yourself or if this does not solve your issue, our Yoast SEO Premium plugin comes with one year of (technical) support.

Hi,
I confirm I have now the last version of Yoast (18.9).
My WP version was already updated (5.9.3).
I’ve disabled all the extensions (except Yoast), and activated the theme twentytwentyone.
The issue is still the same.

Error details
Request URL
https://mot.test/wp-json/yoast/v1/indexing/prepare

Request method
POST

Status code
404

I’ve installed the health check plugin, which didn’t help.
Any ideas ?
Thanks

Hi @xavierbiron

Since this issue still occurs with just a default theme and only the Yoast SEO plugin, we can rule out any plugin or theme conflicts.

Based from your findings that the pathway wp-json/yoast/v1/indexing/prepare/ is getting a 404 status, it looks like something on your site/server setups blocks this request. It is a request that our plugin makes to the REST API for scanning posts and index them in the website database. Therefore, SEO data optimization cannot be performed.

Because we don’t know your server setup, we cannot determine exactly why the server returns a 404 for the REST API requests made by Yoast. Based on similar issues we receive from other users, this typically occurs due to a security or server setting.

Please check the ‘mod_security’ settings that prevent our plugin from accessing the REST API? If there are no ‘mod_security’ settings preventing access at the server, you may have a custom .htaccess rule or security plugin limiting access to the WordPress REST API. Please review any security restrictions and whitelist the Yoast plugin for accessing the feature.

If you have a Web Application Firewall (WAF), like Comodo, please verify that it is not set up to strip the parameter from the Yoast REST API requests. Some users have reported that some WAF setups are too strict to prevent Blind SQL injection attacks. Your hosting provider can easily check and help you to resolve this.

Otherwise, we might need to take a look closer at your site. You may want to consider Yoast SEO Premium as well. Thanks!

Hi,
Thanks for your help.
I investigate on the side of my htaccess files, and it doesn’t seem to be the problem. I removed everything except the WP block and the basic setup lines (as I use Bedrock). And the issue is still the same.
For the mod_security, I don’t think it is activated as I’m on a local dev server. And no firewall is installed that I’m aware of.

I’ve started the Yoast premium subscription.
How is it possible to resolve this issue ?
Thanks.
Xavier

Hi @xavierbiron

Since you’ve purchased a Yoast SEO Premium subscription, please do feel free to contact us directly at [email protected] for further assistance – https://yoast.com/help/support/#premium

You can reference this forum thread so that all of the necessary information can be taken into account for the additional troubleshooting.

We are going ahead and marking this issue as resolved due to inactivity. If you require any further assistance please create a new issue.

Hi,

I’ve finally found the problem. It was somewhere in my htaccess file. I had a rewrite rule which was adding a trailing slash at the end.
By excluding the wp-json repertory, it works now :
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/wp-json/.+

So problem solved.
Thanks