Yield is the monetary gain, and the interest rate is why you made the extra funds. The interest rate is indicated as a percentage. Whether you are paying or receiving dividends, the interest rate is the percentage of money above the initial amount.
The yield is how much money you gained from the initial investment. You can explain yield into terms of a percentage, and you can also do it easily in dollar amounts. With yields, you can compound an interest rate. On the other hand, with interest rates, you cannot compound the interest.
Yield is recognized through simple math. Take your original investment and divide it by the interest rate, which will give you your basic term yield. The interest rate is how many additional profits produced each term. The interest rate is bound in percentages.