SEO isn’t everything these days, but it definitely is a large part of any website. You have to be found on Google to basically exist.
So, search engine optimization is likely going to be at the top of your mind, especially when you’re just starting out. And if you’re using WordPress, a plugin can really help you out in this area.
There are a ton of those types of plugins though. A simple search for “search engine optimization” on the WordPress plugin directory returns over 960 such plugins. So how do you figure out which one is the best fit for your website?
Well, here are the three SEO plugins I would recommend to basically anybody asking that question.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is the top result you’ll get with an search for WordPress SEO plugins. And it’s not without merit. For a long time, Yoast has been the standard for helping WordPress websites get their SEO up to snuff.
They make your site easier to read for search engines like Google and Bing without you having to write any code. And their traffic signal-like system for helping you make sure your posts and pages SEO and readability can be pretty helpful (if you don’t read into it too, too much). Plus, their use of blocks to make it easy for your to write FAQs and how to’s for search engines is pretty neat.
There are some concerns, however, that Yoast has too much bloat, among other things, and that’s not without its merit. There is a lot that goes on under the hood to make it run, and it could slow down your website, especially if you don’t need every single feature.
But if you’re looking for something that’s at the top of the list and gets the job done quick and easy, Yoast SEO is going to be the one for you.
Website Care Plans that help your SEO
A lot of things can go into your website’s SEO. Proper web hosting, continual updates, security, content planning and more. The WordPress Website Care plans make it super easy to make sure each of these up to the latest standards to help your website. You’ll get a great foundation for everything SEO. Let’s give your website care it needs to help your SEO efforts and your business.
Let’s Help Your Website’s SEOSEO Framework
Now, if you’re looking for an SEO plugin that doesn’t have quite the bloat of Yoast, the SEO Framework is probably going to be your next option. This plugin has been rising in the ranks recently and has emerged as a pretty good alternative to Yoast.
Like Yoast SEO, the SEO Framework allows you to edit the title and description metadata, have XML sitemaps, gives you a score for the SEO of a page and plugin and supports Open Graph information.
But at the same time, it doesn’t introduce a lot of features that some people might feel are too much. There’s no advertising, nothing really screams at you. And it focuses on subjects as opposed to keywords, which might make you feel a bit freer when writing.
Unfortunately, because of its minimalism, the plugin might be a bit challenging for beginners to use, especially if they don’t know SEO. It might be bit confusing to figure out when you first start out.
But once you can find your way around, it’s really a pretty good plugin. It does what it needs to and nothing more. And if you’re worried about speed and bloat, that might be all you care about.
All in One SEO
Another good choice if you’re still not satisfied is the All in One SEO Pack. This one’s been around the block and then some. I remember using this for my old arena football blog earlier this decade. So you know you’ve got a history to fall back on for this one.
This plugin does all of the basics the other ones do. It’s got your title and description meta data, support for Google AMP, sitemaps and Open Graph support. And it also keeps attachment pages from showing up in results (which you probably wouldn’t want them to do anyway).
But that’s where it kind of ends. Unlike the previous two, it doesn’t look through the content to rate your SEO for pages and posts. The free version doesn’t support taxonomies in SEO, which is kind of disappointing.
But if you’re just looking for something quick and basic, this is definitely a plugin worth checking out.
So there you have it. Those are the three SEO plugins I highly recommend if you’re looking for one for your website.
In researching this post, I did run across SEOPress. The reviews I found look promising, but I’ve never personally used it, so I’m a bit hesitant reviewing it myself. But it might be worth taking a look at if you want.
Either way, find one that works for you and your website. I don’t think there’s any wrong choice. Just pick one, install it and get to work making sure your SEO is as good as it can be.
