Top 10 SEO Plugins for your WordPress Website
○ Published on 28th September 2023 ○ Author: Robert Reeve ○ Designer: Dan Mynard
We write for people trying to improve their digital marketing. If you want to take your SEO strategy above and beyond, learning about the best WordPress SEO plugins can help you. This post will help you assess the best WordPress SEO plugins and see if they suit your business.
Your business deserves customers. The trouble is, nobody will stumble across your website by accident – you need to get them there. With some know-how, you can use search engine optimisation (SEO) to draw your ideal audience to your site, but did you know that you don’t have to be an SEO expert to get started? Multiple SEO plugins for WordPress can make optimising your site and finding your dream customers easy.
Hiring an SEO expert is recommended if you want to take over your industry. However, an SEO plugin can do much of the heavy lifting if you’re just getting started. This guide covers ten of the best WordPress SEO plugins to help you grow your website.
First, though, why do SEO plugins make such a good investment?
Why You Need SEO Plugins for WordPress
There are plenty of free WordPress SEO plugins, but most have limited features unless you upgrade to a paid subscription. Every penny counts for small and medium businesses (SMBs), so it’s essential to consider just how vital SEO plugins are.
You can easily spend £100 (or more) per year on a good SEO plugin, which may seem like a lot. However, SEO plugins can help you quickly recoup your investment by bringing new customers through the metaphorical door and onto your landing page. Not to mention the time you save – when using an SEO plugin. SEO efforts are increased with a large part of the optimisation process being automated.
The best SEO tools can help you rank higher on search engine results pages, provide search volume data for optimising content, and even highlight broken links. All you need to do is sit back and relax while the plugin organises your keyword research. Many SEO WordPress plugins can also do the following:
- Generate sitemaps
- Add meta titles and meta descriptions
- Optimise site speed
- Optimise images
- RSS feeds integration
- Video SEO
- Broken link checker
Generally speaking, WordPress SEO plugins are worth it for businesses looking to improve their presence on search engines. With that in mind, here are the ten best WordPress SEO plugins on the market.
1. Yoast SEO plugin
Yoast SEO is one of the most popular WordPress SEO plugins, with over 13 million users. Better yet, it has over 16,000 5-star ratings, as a testament to its quality. The primary reason is that it’s robust, with various features to optimise your SEO. From SERP previews and XML sitemaps to target keywords, it’s basically an all-in-one SEO plugin.
Some of the more advanced features include adding multiple focus keywords, Google Search Console integration, keyword research, backlink analysis, and meta description optimisation. Yoast SEO even has an academy to help you understand SEO better, so it’s easy to see why this is one of the most popular WordPress SEO plugins.
The Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress is easy to use, making it simple to see what you should change on your site.
Who Is Yoast SEO for?
Yoast SEO is one of the best WordPress SEO plugins for optimising your whole site through a straightforward tool.
Yoast SEO Price
Yoast SEO is free to download and install, but you must upgrade to Yoast SEO Premium to access all the features. The Premium Yoast SEO plugin costs £99 per year, excluding VAT.
Some of the more advanced features include adding multiple focus keywords and Google Search Console integration. Yoast SEO has an academy to help you better understand SEO, so it’s easy to see why this is one of the most popular WordPress SEO plugins.
2. All-in-One SEO (AIOSEO)
All-in-One SEO (AIOSEO) is perfect if your business relies heavily on organic traffic. This SEO plugin is all about on-page technical optimisation. In other words, it’s less about keyword research than other SEO plugins. That said, knowing where to begin with on-page SEO can make a huge difference to your traffic.
AIOSEO provides an SEO audit that analyses your site, providing recommendations to improve your search rankings and produce SEO friendly content. The set-up wizard in the WordPress dashboard makes it easy to start almost instantly, giving quick suggestions to improve.
If you need local SEO, AIOSEO is even more critical. It’s probably the best SEO plugin for small businesses seeking local SEO. This SEO plugin automatically generates XML sitemaps and submits them to search engines, making your WordPress site easy to discover.
Who Is AIOSEO for?
If you own a business where on-page and local SEO are critical factors, then AIOSEO is for you.
AIOSEO Price
AIOSEO is one of the more expensive tools on the market. There’s a free option, but the SEO tools are limited. Meanwhile, the Basic plan starts at $124 per year. AIOSEO has frequent sales, so keep an eye out.
3. MonsterInsights
If you use Google Analytics, then MonsterInsights is the SEO plugin for you. MonsterInsights tracks your website’s performance and user behaviour, bringing Google Analytics and Google Search Console data right to your WordPress dashboard. You don’t need code to install the Google Analytics tracking script either, which makes it easy to set up.
As far as WordPress SEO plugins go, MonsterInsights is the best one for simplifying data. Many website owners are overwhelmed by the sheer number of data points presented on Google Analytics, but MonsterInsights makes this information digestible and relevant. As a result, MonsterInsights is the perfect WordPress plugin if you want to understand more about SEO and grow your site with a steady stream of organic traffic.
Who Is MonsterInsights for?
MonsterInsights is the best SEO plugin for WordPress to understand your site’s performance better and make improvements yourself. As a result, it’s suited to data analysts and marketers.
MonsterInsights Price
MonsterInsights has a free SEO plugin for WordPress. You can upgrade to Plus for $199 per year to access the full features. Other plans include Pro and Agency.
4. Rank Math SEO
The Rank Math SEO plugin is a fantastic tool for viewing your website’s performance. The Rank Math SEO plugin is similar to AIOSEO and Yoast SEO but has some additional features to make it worthwhile.
Like all the best WordPress SEO plugins, Rank Math SEO lets you evaluate posts, meta descriptions, and page titles. However, it goes one step further with a Content AI tool that uses artificial intelligence to improve your SEO.
With Rank Math SEO, you can see your organic rankings on search engines, the keywords you rank for, and any potential errors on your WordPress site.
Who Is Rank Math for?
Rank Math is the best SEO plugin for business owners who do everything themselves, including running the site and writing content. It lets you see everything in one place to make quick improvements.
Rank Math Price
Rank Math is free to install. Pro tools start at $59 annually or up to $499 annually for the Agency plan.
5. SEO Press
SEO Press was explicitly designed as a WordPress SEO plugin. The free plugin contains all the essential tools to optimise your content for search engines, including generating XML and HTML sitemaps, optimising meta tags, and tracking the number of visitors to your WordPress site. Thanks to Google Analytics integration, SEO Press is great for helping you plan an effective SEO strategy.
Meanwhile, the advanced features from the premium SEO plugin allow you to perform targeted local SEO, monitor 404 errors and provide internal linking suggestions.
Who Is SEO Press for?
SEO Press is an ideal WordPress SEO plugin if you’re seeking something budget-friendly and easy to use. It’s one of the cheaper options, making it suitable for businesses on a budget. If you want an all-in-one solution for a small business, choose SEO Press.
SEO Press Price
SEO Press is free, but the Pro option costs $49 per year.
6. HubSpot
HubSpot has built an empire as a software marketer, with an extensive educational hub for marketers and business owners. The HubSpot SEO plugin for WordPress is a handy tool if you want to rank higher in search engines, but also if you want to learn how to develop an effective SEO strategy yourself.
This SEO plugin collects valid, actionable data and presents it on a simple dashboard. The best part is that it integrates with HubSpot’s other tools to allow optimised email marketing, live chat, and more. In other words, if you want to take your business to the next level and boost conversions and rankings on search engines, HubSpot is for you.
Who Is HubSpot for?
Designed for marketers, HubSpot provides actionable ways to improve SEO strategy through a helpful SEO plugin. If you like data, this one’s for you.
HubSpot Price
You can install the HubSpot WordPress SEO plugin for free, but plans for all the features start at £17 per month.
7. XML Sitemaps
Let’s say you want to hire an SEO expert to help you grow your business with optimised, engaging content. There are still uses for WordPress SEO plugins, including XML Sitemaps. This WordPress plugin does one thing: generate sitemaps. If you want, this plugin will also let search engines know when your site changes. You can generate your XML sitemap and submit it directly to Google Search Console for easy crawling and indexing.
This is a free SEO plugin you can use if you want something simple. However, remember that you’ll need more robust features from another plugin if you plan to write and optimise content in-house.
Who Is XML Sitemaps for?
If you only need XML sitemaps and want to handle the rest of the SEO strategy yourself, XML Sitemaps is the natural choice.
XML Sitemaps Price
XML Sitemaps is a free WordPress plugin.
8. Rankie
If you view keywords as the lifeline of SEO, then Rankie is for you. This WordPress SEO plugin is all about rankings, which is incredibly useful to streamline your strategy and make the best SEO decisions. It’s one of the best SEO plugins for tracking how different keywords are performing, how your WordPress website is ranking, and more.
Of course, most SEO tools assess rankings to some extent. However, Rankie is the best SEO plugin for the job if you don’t care about all the bells and whistles and want a simple SEO tool to track the numbers.
Rankie removes the need to check Google Analytics because it gives you all the data you need in one easy-to-use dashboard. Its simplicity is reflected in the price, making it perfect for those on a budget.
Who Is Rankie for?
Rankie is ideal if you want to keep an eye on your ranking in search engines and track various keywords. If you prefer more actionable insights, look elsewhere.
Rankie Price
Rankie comes for a small flat fee of $27. That’s a bargain!
9. Internal Link Juicer
If you want the best SEO plugin for internal linking suggestions, it’s Internal Link Juicer. This WordPress SEO plugin does what it says on the tin, with an automated linking process that saves you time and effort. This WordPress plugin is perfect for those who hate the tedious task of adding internal links. Instead, you get an SEO tool to do this job for you, with the ability to automatically add links to anchor text, block content you never want to link to and limit the number of links per post.
Internal Link Juicer simplifies linking, making on-page SEO a breeze. Not only does a solid strategy improve your search rankings, but it also boosts the time customers spend on your site, ensuring your business performs better.
Who Is Internal Link Juicer for?
If you aim to increase the time visitors spend on your WordPress website, this is one of the best WordPress SEO plugins you can use. It’s ideal if you struggle with your linking strategy.
Internal Link Juicer Price
The essential features of the Internal Link Juicer are in the free version. Or, you can get Premium for $69.99 per year.
10. Ahrefs
One of the most complicated aspects of on-page SEO is backlinks. This is where Ahrefs comes in, with backlink analysis and the largest backlink index you can find online. As a result, search engines will view your site as an authoritative, trustworthy resource.
Alongside backlinks, the Ahrefs WordPress SEO plugin has several other great features, from content audits to actionable advice to improve your content. Furthermore, you can view competitors’ performance through Ahrefs WordPress SEO plugin, which is helpful if you’re trying to beat other sites and improve your ranking.
Who Is Ahrefs for?
Ahrefs is one of the best SEO plugins for WordPress SEO to improve your site. With keyword research, linking strategies and more, it has everything you could need in an SEO plugin for WordPress.
Ahrefs Price
Ahrefs WordPress plugin is free to download or costs £79 per year for the Lite package. Plans go up to £799 for the most comprehensive features, ideal for SEO agencies.
Work with the SEO Experts
Whether you use a WordPress SEO plugin or strike out on your own, working with SEO experts can take your business to the next level. SEO plugins for WordPress are just one part of the puzzle, but crafting and honing a strategy can be exceptionally difficult and time-consuming.
If you’re ready to find your way, contact our SEO experts today and take your business to the next level.
