Search engine optimization takes a lot of work and might seem daunting for a beginner. WordPress SEO plugins make it easier for you to implement your SEO strategies and also improve your website’s performance without having to type a single code.
Research has shown that 75% of users do not scroll beyond the first page of search results. WordPress SEO plugins equip you with the important tools and resources for optimizing your WordPress website.
Choosing the right SEO plugin for your website is important if you want to drive organic search traffic to your site. In this article, I’ll be discussing four of the best SEO plugins for WordPress.
Yoast SEO — Most Popular WordPress Plugin
Yoast SEO has been around since 2010 and is currently the most used WordPress SEO plugin. Like most of the other plugins we’d be discussing in this article, it features a free and paid plan.
The free version of Yoast provides sufficient resources for a beginner. At no expense, you can get help with the following:
- Titles and meta-description optimization
- Readability analysis
- Keyword analysis (one keyword)
- Google preview
- XML sitemaps
- Schema markup
- Breadcrumbs
- Canonical URLs
- Mobile preview
The free version meets the basic SEO needs of an average WordPress user. However, it does not include essential features like a redirect manager and internal linking suggestions. To access these features, you will have to purchase the premium version of Yoast.
The premium plan costs $99/year, and it offers the following in addition to the features provided in the free version.
- Redirect manager
- Internal linking suggestions
- Access to Yoast SEO academy
- Content insights
- Multiple focus keywords
- Automatic publishing
- 24/7 support
- Ad-free experience
One downside of Yoast is that it has separate plugins for video SEO, local SEO, news SEO, and WooCommerce SEO and each plugin costs $79. So, for instance, if you have a WooCommerce website, in addition to the premium plan, you will also have to purchase the WooCommerce SEO plugin.
Pros
- The paid plan offers access to top-notch training materials.
- User-friendly startup wizard.
- It is the most popular WordPress plugin.
- Breadcrumbs is available in the free version.
Cons
- You can only use the subscription on one website.
- You might have to purchase multiple Yoast plugins.
SEOPress — Most Affordable WordPress SEO Plugin
SEOPress started in 2017 and is the plugin of choice of over 250000 WordPress sites. It comes with a straightforward beginner-friendly set-up for people who are just starting out. It also includes advanced controls for more experienced users.
SEOPress has a separate plugin called Insights that specializes in off-site SEO elements like keyword tracking and backlink research. Insights was introduced in 2020 and it is a great addition to SEOPress because although some plugins like Rank Math offer keyword tracking, most do not offer backlink research.
However, SEOPress Insights costs an additional $99/year for a single website and $128/year for a bundle that includes the pro version of SEOPress and Insights.
SEOPress also has a free plan that contains the following features:
- XML sitemaps
- HTML sitemaps
- Keyword and readability analysis (multiple keywords)
- Optimization for titles and metas
- Google suggestions
- Google Analytics
- Google tag manager
- White label
- Search result preview
With the paid version, you will get access to the following:
- Broken link checker
- Backlinks
- Breadcrumbs
- Redirection manager
- URL rewriting
- Custom schemas
- 404 redirections
- Google Analytics stats in your WordPress dashboard
- Video XML sitemaps
- Google local business
Pros
- The dashboard is easy to navigate.
- It is affordable.
- A single SEOPress pro subscription can be used on unlimited websites.
- White label is available in the free version.
Cons
- You need to purchase SEOPress insights to track keyword ranking and backlinks.
- You need the pro version to access breadcrumbs.
Rank Math — Best Free WordPress SEO Plugin
Rank Math was founded in 2018 and has since gained popularity for its feature-packed free SEO plan. It also has a pro version, which costs $59/year. What makes it one of the best SEO WordPress plugins is that its free plan contains features that are offered by the paid version of most other WordPress SEO plugins.
Here are some of the features provided by the free version of Rank Math:
- XML sitemaps
- Optimization of meta descriptions and titles
- Keyword and readability analysis (up to five keywords)
- Internal linking suggestions
- Redirect manager
- Breadcrumbs
- Schema markup
- Image SEO
- Web performance tracking
- WooCommerce SEO
- 404 monitoring
- Social media tags and description
- Integrates with Google search console
- Google search result preview
The paid version of Rank Math offers all the features provided by Yoast and SEO press and a few additional features. Subscribing to the pro version gives you access to the following:
- Local SEO
- Video SEO
- Keyword tracking
- Integrates with Google Trends
- Integrates with Google ad sense
- Google news sitemap
- Allows you to add watermarks to social media images
Pros
- The free version contains many features.
- Limits the need for multiple WordPress plugins.
- Offers multiple schema data.
- Optimized for speed. So it won’t affect your website’s speed.
- You can use a single subscription on an unlimited number of websites.
Cons
- The dashboard isn’t very easy to navigate.
- It sometimes conflicts with other WordPress plugins.
All in One SEO (AIOSEO) — Most Beginner-Friendly WordPress SEO Plugin
All in One SEO is one of the oldest WordPress SEO plugins. It was founded in 2007 and is well known for its user-friendly interface.
AIOSEO has four paid plans ⸺ the basic plan ($49.60/year), the plus plan ($99.60/year), the pro plan ($199.60/year), and the elite plan ($299.60/year).
Most of the plugins discussed in this article also have multiple paid plans. However, unlike the other plugins, the basic and even the plus version of AIOSEO is not sufficient for the SEO needs of most WordPress users. For example, features like redirection manager and internal linking assistant are only available in the pro plan and the elite plan of AIOSEO.
The free plan of AIOSEO offers the following features:
- Title and meta-description optimization
- XML sitemaps
- WooCommerce settings for descriptions and titles
- Keyword optimization (one keyword)
- Google Search Console integration
- Social media integration
- Google Analytics integration
- Google search result preview
Pros
- User-friendly interface.
- Easy to use set-up wizard.
- Integrates with Google Analytics
- The free version offers help with descriptions and titles for WooCommerce sites
Cons
- Very few features are available in the free version.
- You will have to pay more to access some important features.
Conclusion
Before choosing an SEO plugin, you’d have to put factors like your budget, type of website, and the reason you want a WordPress SEO plugin into consideration.
If you are in search of a free WordPress SEO plugin, I recommend that you go for Rank Math because its free version offers more features than what is provided by the free version of the other plugins discussed in this article.
SEO plugins take a while to get used to. So if you are a beginner and want something that you can easily get around, All in One SEO is your best bet. However, if you are serious about boosting your website’s performance, you might have to get the paid version of the plugin.
With that said, SEO plugins can only provide positive results if your website contains content that is useful to readers. So it’s important to always take the reader’s search intent into consideration while crafting your articles.