Fix: Yoast SEO “Unknown column ‘inclusive_language_score’ in ‘field list’” (or “‘blog_id’”)

TL;DR (quick fix)

1. Update WordPress and Yoast SEO to the latest versions.
2. Install/activate Yoast Test Helper (temporary helper plugin).
3. Go to Tools → Yoast Test and click:
   • Reset indexables tables & migrations
   • Reset Prominent words calculation
   • Reset Internal link counter
4. Go to SEO → Tools and click Start SEO data optimization.
5. Clear any server/object caches (Redis/Memcached), then test.

Why this happens

Yoast stores analysis results in special “indexables” tables. When an update adds new fields (e.g., the inclusive_language_score) or when multisite needs a blog_id reference, Yoast runs a migration. If that migration is interrupted or blocked (limited DB privileges, timeouts, object cache holding stale schema, partial restore), queries reference columns your database doesn’t have yet, triggering the SQL error.

Step-by-step fix (safe)

1) Prep

• Backup your database first.
• Update WordPress core and Yoast SEO to latest (Premium too, if used).
• Ensure your DB user has ALTER, CREATE, INDEX privileges.

2) Reset Yoast’s indexables

1. Install/activate Yoast Test Helper (you can remove it afterward).
2. Go to Tools → Yoast Test and click:
   • Reset indexables tables & migrations
   • Reset Prominent words calculation
   • Reset Internal link counter

3) Rebuild the data

1. Go to SEO → Tools and click Start SEO data optimization.
2. When it completes, clear page/server caches (and object cache if enabled).
3. Reload a few posts and admin screens to confirm the error is gone.

4) Multisite specifics (for “‘blog_id’” errors)

• Network Activate Yoast and Yoast Test Helper.
• From Network Admin, run the resets above, or run them per site where the error appears.
• Then on each affected site, run SEO data optimization.

Optional: WP-CLI reindex (faster on large sites)

If the dashboard tool stalls (big sites) or you prefer SSH, use Yoast’s CLI index command after the reset:

wp yoast index --reindex

Wait for it to finish, then clear caches and retest. (If you see CLI plugin conflicts, temporarily disable other plugins and re-run.)

Still seeing inclusive_language_score or blog_id errors?

• Flush object cache: restart Redis/Memcached or purge via your host panel.
• Deactivate/activate Yoast to re-trigger migrations, then re-run the optimization.
• Check table prefix: Confirm wp_yoast_indexable (with your prefix) exists and isn’t orphaned from a different prefix after migration.
• Timeouts: Increase PHP max_execution_time temporarily and re-run.
• Don’t hand-edit SQL: Avoid adding columns manually. Let Yoast’s migrations create the correct schema.

Prevention tips

• After any migration/restore, immediately run SEO data optimization.
• Ensure your DB user has schema change privileges during updates.
• Disable object cache briefly while running migrations, then re-enable.

FAQ

Is the error harmful? It prevents some Yoast features (analysis, indexables) from working and may log PHP/MySQL warnings. Fix promptly.

Can I keep Yoast Test Helper installed? It’s for maintenance only; it’s fine to remove after things are fixed.