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Troubleshooting Yoast SEO: Why Custom Post Type Archive Meta Titles and Descriptions Don't Show

17 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Yoast seo

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If you're using Yoast SEO with custom post types (CPTs) created via plugins like Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) or CPT UI, you might encounter a frustrating issue where your carefully crafted SEO titles and meta descriptions for archive pages don't appear on the front end. Instead, you might see a default title, a notice about a missing meta description, or unparsed template variables like %%title%% -.

This is a common point of confusion that stems from how Yoast SEO handles the indexable data for these special pages. Based on community reports, this guide will walk you through the most effective solutions.

Why This Happens

The core of the issue often lies within Yoast SEO's indexable system. For custom post type archive pages, the settings are stored and managed differently than for standard posts or pages. Common triggers include:

  • Indexable Data Sync Issues: The data in the wp_yoast_indexable table may not be in sync with the settings configured in Yoast SEO > Settings > Content Types.
  • CPT Registration Parameters: How your custom post type is registered, particularly the has_archive and rewrite parameters, can affect how Yoast recognizes and displays the archive.
  • Plugin or Theme Conflicts: While less common, code from other plugins or your theme can sometimes interfere with Yoast's output.

How to Fix Yoast SEO CPT Archive Meta Data

Solution 1: Reset and Re-sync Yoast's Indexables (Most Common Fix)

The most reliable fix for this problem is to force Yoast SEO to reset its internal data tables and rebuild them from scratch. This process clears out any corrupted or stale data that might be preventing your global templates from appearing.

  1. Install and activate the official Yoast Test Helper plugin.
  2. Go to Tools > Yoast Test in your WordPress admin menu.
  3. Locate the Yoast SEO section.
  4. Click the button labeled Reset Indexables tables & migrations. This will clear the old data.
  5. Next, go to SEO > Tools and run the Start SEO data optimization tool. This will reindex your site's content and should pick up your archive page settings.

After completing these steps, check your archive page again. The meta title and description from your global template should now be visible.

Solution 2: Verify Custom Post Type Registration

Ensure your custom post type is registered correctly. The has_archive parameter should typically be set to true (or a specific slug string) to enable an archive. Additionally, complex rewrite rules with dynamic slugs (e.g., "slug" => "resources/%resource_type%") have been known to cause issues in some Yoast SEO versions. Test with a simple slug to see if the problem resolves, indicating a potential conflict with the rewrite structure.

Solution 3: Confirm Yoast SEO Settings Are Correct

Double-check that you are editing the correct template. For a CPT called 'destination', the path is:

  • Yoast SEO > Settings > Content Types > Destination > Destination archive

Make sure the 'Show SEO settings for Destination archive' toggle is enabled and that you have entered your desired title and meta description templates here. These are the global settings that will apply to the archive page unless overridden on individual posts.

Solution 4: Check for Conflicts

As a standard troubleshooting step, temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four) and disable all plugins except Yoast SEO and the plugin registering your CPT (e.g., ACF or CPT UI). If the meta data appears, reactivate your plugins and theme one by one to identify the source of the conflict.

When to Consider a Bug

If you have confirmed your settings are correct and the indexables reset did not work, you may be encountering a specific bug. The Yoast SEO team has acknowledged issues in the past, such as problems with CPTs that have complex URL parameters in their rewrite rules (as seen in one thread where a bug report was filed for version 23.8). In such cases, monitoring official plugin updates for a fix is the best course of action.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue and have your Yoast SEO templates display correctly on your custom post type archive pages.

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