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SEO 16 min read August 16, 2022

Best WordPress SEO Plugins

Best WordPress SEO Plugins
Best WordPress SEO Plugins
When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), WordPress is one of the most popular platforms to use. But with all that power and flexibility, finding the right tools for your site can be challenging. You may want a simple yet effective plugin that does one thing well, or you may need something more robust and versatile.

For example, if you're looking for a way to add meta tags or improve your page titles easily, then Rank Math might be right. If not, Yoast SEO could provide more help than just a single tool could provide alone.

Luckily, many options available today regarding WordPress plugins can help boost your rankings on Google!

1. What Is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of enhancing your website's visibility in search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, where people are seeking products and services related to your business.

A higher ranking in search results increases your chance of attracting prospective and existing customers. Consequently, you improve your business and get better profits.
Complete White Hat SEO Guide

Google-Approved SEO That Works!

2. Why Do We Use SEO Plugins?

The purpose of SEO plugins is to help you create a website that Google can easily crawl and index. This will make your content more visible in search engines, so visitors can easily find you on the Internet.

SEO plugins also help you create a website that Google can easily understand. If your site's structure isn't clear enough for humans, it might not be easy for computers either!

For example: if there are too many links on one page (or even just too many keywords), they may get lost in the shuffle – which means relevant searches or spiders like Googlebot won't find them! In addition, having too many images on one webpage could cause problems with image optimization.

SEO optimization of WordPress websites can be partially or fully performed using plugins. There are similar solutions that simplify the promotion of projects for other CMS. SEO plugins will help you to:
generate an XML sitemap;
transliterate for automatic URL generation (user-friendly URL);
correctly configure server redirects;
add meta tags title, description, and keywords;
add the 'nofollow' attribute to external hyperlinks, so they don't transfer the reference weight;
use caching to speed up resource loading, and many more.

3. Useful WordPress Plugins

The choice of plugins depends on the WordPress version used on the website, its download speed, the number of media files, and other parameters that need to be optimized.

You can download both free WordPress plugins and premium versions with advanced functionality. Usually, when developing a website, they add a multifunctional SEO plugin, the capabilities of which are then supplemented with extensions that solve specific tasks important to the project.

4. Comprehensive SEO Plugins

1
Yoast SEO (WordPress SEO by Yoast) is a comprehensive solution developed based on different plugins. Premium version of the plugin:
Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress
The plugin has been installed more than five million times and translated into 40 languages.

Features of the free version:

  • creating an XML map of the project;
  • setting canonical page addresses to avoid content duplicate;
  • meta tag templates;
  • tools for writing SEO texts;
  • display snippets in preview mode;
  • integration with Google Analytics, etc.

Additional features of the premium version:

  • Yoast SEO extension with additional News SEO, Video SEO, etc. plugins;
  • free technical support throughout the year;
  • tools for managing keywords: a selection of synonyms, similar keys;
  • hints for internal linking;
  • preview mode on social networks, which allows you to find out how the page will look when it is shared, etc.
2
All in One SEO Pack is another popular multifunctional WordPress plugin for SEO promotion. The plugin has been translated into 51 languages and has been installed more than two million times.

Pricing plans available now:
All in One SEO Pack plugin for WordPress
Features of the free version:

  • XML sitemap;
  • AMP technology support to speed up website loading;
  • integration with Google Analytics;
  • support for Open Graph layouts to improve the appearance of pages when sharing on social networks;
  • API for expanding functionality with other plugins;
  • automatic notification of search engines about changes in the project;
  • SEO integration for e-commerce websites;
  • automatic optimization of headers;
  • automatic generation of meta tags.

Additional features of the premium version:

  • extended support for WooCommerce;
  • SEO for product categories and tags;
  • SEO video module;
  • access to technical support forums;
  • access to the Knowledge Center.
3
The SEO Framework is a powerful WordPress plugin that helps you create SEO-friendly WordPress websites. It works by helping you build out your site's structure, structure pages and posts, create meta descriptions and titles, add internal linking (citations), optimize images for search engines, etc.

Subscription plans:
The SEO Framework plugin for WordPress
Features of the free version:

  • generation of breadcrumbs for Google search: a chain of movements from the main category to subcategories and a specific page;
  • generation of an XML map and auto-notification of search engines about changes on the website;
  • automatic creation of title and description in accordance with the recommendations of Google;
  • support for Open Graph layouts to improve the appearance of pages when reposting in social networks;
  • auto-generation of canonical pages to avoid problems with content duplicates;
  • disabling indexing of empty categories, etc.

Additional features of the premium version:

  • limits for simultaneous connection of websites have been increased;
  • premium extensions are added;
  • API access limits are currently increasing.
4
Slim SEO is a lightweight SEO plugin that can be used as an alternative to Yoast SEO. It's lighter than Yoast and has fewer features, but it is still easy to use and customize.

Slim SEO is one of the most popular plugins for WordPress, with over 300k active installations per month on average (compared to over 1 million for Yoast).
5
Rank Math is a premium plugin you can use to improve your website's rankings in search engines. It has more features than Yoast SEO but costs more money.

Rank Math has more powerful tools for analyzing and modifying the structure of your pages, so they're easier for Google to index, as well as tools for working with XML sitemaps and updating those URLs manually if necessary.
Rank Math: pricing

5. Plugins That Solve Individual SEO Tasks

1
W3 Total Cache is a WordPress plugin developed to speed up website loading through caching:

  • improves page ranking, especially for mobile-friendly websites and resources using SSL;
  • caches pages in the browser for instant display;
  • improves website performance;
  • reduces page loading time;
  • compresses HTML, JS, and CSS codes;
  • supports AMP pages;
  • acts as a CDN, etc.
2
Redirection is a popular plugin for managing server redirects, installed more than a million times and translated into 15 languages:

  • avoids errors associated with the 404 error ("Page not found"), and improves the project ranking;
  • you can configure any number of redirects on the website using the plugin;
  • compatible with PHP from the 5.4 version and higher.
3
Google XML Sitemaps is a great way to submit your sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools. This plugin is a must-have for any WordPress site, as it will help you maintain the correct code and ensure that all your pages are included in the submission.

Google XML Sitemaps has many helpful features. For example:

  • It can be used by itself or as part of other plugins, such as All In One SEO Pack, which offers many more SEO tools (you can even submit sitemaps directly through this tool).
  • You can set up multiple URLs for different servers within one account. For example, if your main blog has multiple subdomains under it but also has a single domain name pointing back at it from another location (like www.yoursiteurlhere), then each URL would need its own sitemap file so that Google knows about them separately when checking for duplicate content issues related specifically only with those particular URLs/subdomains instead of just looking nationwide across all locations within their network altogether without any distinction between them being identified separately from one another.
4
AMP on WordPress allows you to create an AMP version of the website, which will have priority in Google search results on mobile devices.
Plugin AMP on WordPress: PRO version pricing
Additional features of the premium version:

  • automatic conversion of forms;
  • Schema.org markup support;
  • extended support for WooCommerce;
  • sending custom events to Google Analytics;
  • Google Tag Manager support;
  • multilingual support, etc.
5
Cloudflare is a plugin for easy integration with the eponymous cloud network platform. To use the plugin, you need to create an account on Cloudflare.com.

This cloud service serves as a CDN and allows you to protect your website from hacker attacks and speed up page loading. You can choose free or paid plans:
Cloudflare plugin for WordPress: pricing
6
MetaSlider is a plugin to quickly create SEO-optimized slide shows:

  • about a million plugin installations;
  • compatible with PHP from version 5.2 and higher;
  • when creating a slideshow, allows you to drag and drop images from the media library and fill in SEO fields (Title and Alt);
  • available various slideshow design options.
7
Media File Renamer (Auto Rename) is an SEO WordPress plugin that automatically renames media files for search engine promotion. The plugin automatically renames media files based on their headers. After renaming, all related posts and pages are also updated. You can block the renaming process using a small icon.
8
Spider Blocker is a plugin that allows you to block the most common bots that slow down the server:

  • works for Apache servers with mod_rewrite enabled;
  • compatible with WordPress from version 4.0;
  • modifies the .htaccess file.
9
Nofollow for external link Is a simple SEO plugin for WordPress that automatically adds the Nofollow attribute to all external links:

  • thanks to the use of the plugin, the reference weight will not be transferred to other resources;
  • you can add exclusion websites for which links will not be closed from robots;
  • all links will open in a new window, leaving the user access to the source website.
10
Lazy load by WP Rocket is a plugin that speeds up website loading due to delayed image loading:

  • the plugin delays the loading of thumbnails, images, and other content until the user sees them, which speeds up the loading of the visible part of the page;
  • compatible with WordPress versions 4.7 and higher;
  • suitable for PHP from 5.6 version.

Wp-rocket.me is a paid version of the plugin that supports additional features for optimizing the speed of the website, for example, page caching, CDN, font optimization for Google, and more:
Wp-rocket.me plugin for WordPress: pricing

6. Yoast SEO Vs. Rank Math

Let’s take a look at two prominent plugins, and do a little comparison.

Yoast SEO is a free plugin, and Rank Math is a paid plugin. They are both are easy to use and have a large user base with positive reviews.

  • Yoast SEO gives you control over your site's metadata, including the title tag, description, and keywords. It also lets you see how well your content ranks in search engines against competitors' sites.

  • Rank Math helps improve your website's visibility on search engines by helping identify keyword opportunities for your articles or pages based on Google Analytics data (it also works with other analytics platforms). You can then add those words into Yoast's "keyword suggestion" function so that they appear in the right places on your website page!

Key Takeaway

As we can see, SEO plugins are effective tools to avoid mistakes in the promotion and optimize the website on WordPress CMS with minimal effort.

It’s a no secret that Google is constantly updating its algorithms and search results. These changes confuse many people about improving their site’s organic search presence. 

While many factors contribute to a website’s success in Google, the above-mentioned plugins can help you get on top of your game by improving your keyword research, URL structure, and other aspects of on-page optimization.
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