Many WordPress website owners often wonder which SEO (search engine optimization) plugins and tools they should be using to help maximize organic traffic to their site. That’s because search engines like Google are still the main source of visitors for most websites on the Internet. Therefore, optimizing your website for good SEO can help you boost your traffic, leads, and conversions.
These are 10 of the best SEO plugins and tools that WordPress site owners should consider using.
SEMRush
SEMRush is used by bloggers, internet marketers, and SEO professionals – because it offers them a comprehensive set of digital marketing tools to boost organic search engine traffic. For example, you can use SEMRush to search for target keywords that your website can easily rank for. Furthermore, you can conduct competitive research on the keywords that your competitors rank for, and more importantly, how to beat them.
SEMRush also offers an SEO writing assistant tool that can help you improve the quality of your content, so that your site will rank in the top 10 search results for your target keywords.
Google Search Console
If you are looking for free a SEO tool, Google Search Console is not only free but one of the best. The tool helps webmasters monitor their website’s performance in Google search results. For instance, it alerts you if Google has a problem with crawling and indexing pages on your site. It also offers tips on how to fix any errors that might be preventing your content from being crawled and indexed.
However, probably Google Search Console’s most valuable feature is that it shows you which keywords your site ranks for, as well as average search engine position.
Yoast SEO
Another popular SEO plugin for WordPress, SEO Yoast helps you optimize your WordPress site for higher search engine rankings. It makes adding SEO titles and descriptions to all of your content and web pages easy. It can also be used to add engaging social media images to your blog posts and articles.
Furthermore, Yoast SEO will automatically create a sitemap for all of your website’s content – which makes it easier for Google to find, crawl, and index your entire website.
Google Keyword Planner
The Google Keyword Planner is another free SEO tool to help bloggers and webmasters generate keyword ideas directly from Google. Think about it: No other organization in the world has more insights into what users are searching for on the Internet than the king of all search engines, Google.
While the tool was created for Google’s advertisers, anyone can create an account and use it for free. If you are thinking about running a Google Ads campaign, the tool can show you an estimate of how much you can expect to pay for each target keyword in your online ads. Basically, you can use it to analyze the popularity and competitiveness of potential keywords.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs offers an all-in-one SEO tool for bloggers, internet marketers, and small businesses that need to do keyword research and competitor analysis. The tool can help you check backlinks and keyword rankings as well. Plus, you can use Ahrefs to conduct a detailed content analysis of your website – which will help you improve your site’s content while targeting certain keywords and search phrases.
SEOPress
If you are looking for a simple, yet powerful SEO tool for WordPress, then you should check out SEOPress. Its features include everything that you would expect in an SEO plugin:
- Meta title and description
- Content sitemaps
- Redirects
- Open graph support
SEOPress comes with an easy setup for beginners – and advanced features for more experienced webmasters and digital marketing professionals.
Rank Math
Rank Math is another user-friendly SEO plugin for WordPress. It lets website owners optimize their site for search engines, as well as social media. Rank Math lets you easily add a meta title and description to your articles and blog posts. Furthermore, you can use it to generate sitemaps for your content to upload to the Google Search Console.
Schema Pro
Schema Pro can help your website stand out in search engine results by adding rich snippets to it. For example, rich snippets can display valuable information to search engine users like product pricing, reviews, images, and a short description. Displaying rich snippets from your website can help you increase visitors and conversions – if your target audience finds the information useful.
SEOquake
Another useful SEO tool for WordPress, SEOquake is available as a browser extension for the following web browsers:
- Mozilla Firefox
- Google Chrome
- Safari
- Opera
The plugin provides SEO related data for websites. For example, you can check a web page’s age, “health,” Alexa rank, and last update. It’s one of the most popular SEO browser extensions.
In addition to the data mentioned above, the SEOquake toolbar can also provide you with research data for potential keywords. That’s especially helpful for things like gauging the competitiveness of different keywords that you are considering using.
MosterInsights
MonsterInsights is one of the best Google Analytics plugins for WordPress. You can easily set up Google Analytics in WordPress and display SEO reports inside your WordPress dashboard. It also tells you where your visitors are coming from – and what they do on your website.
MonsterInsights lets you track your eCommerce SEO as well by showing you which of your products or services are popular and which ones are losing customers.
In short, if you are relatively new to WordPress site owner – or you don’t have a lot of digital marketing experience – there’s no reason to second guess every SEO decision that you make. Instead, you can find both free and paid SEO plugins and tools that will help you drive more search engine traffic to your WordPress website. For instance, these resources can help you optimize your keywords and content for your target audience, as well as provide you with key insights into your traffic sources and site’s visitors.
Jessica Frick
Jessica is a driving force behind the company’s mission to deliver the best managed WordPress hosting experience. Her dedication is rooted in her extensive experience with WordPress hosting, spanning over a decade. Since 2008, she has immersed herself in the WordPress ecosystem, holding various WordPress-centric roles since 2010. Her expertise extends beyond technical proficiency to encompass a deep understanding of the WordPress community and its needs. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, serving her community, watching hilarious dog videos online, and drinking a lot of iced tea.
