WordPress SEO Plugins

SEO is an essential activity for any site owner. Fortunately, this is now an easy task for WordPress users thanks to the vast array of SEO plugins. The right tool can help you stay on top of your meta descriptions, optimize content to rank for your chosen keyword, create XML sitemaps, and more.

What is a WordPress plugin?

A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that “plugs into” your WordPress site. Plugins can add new functionality or extend existing functionality on your site, allowing you to create virtually any kind of website, from ecommerce stores to portfolios to directory sites.

Plugins can make small tweaks on your site or massive changes, depending on their features. For example, you could use a plugin to add a WhatsApp share button to your site or to create a fully multilingual site. Or, if you run an ecommerce business, you might install a plugin to assist with payment gateways or allow visitors to book appointments online.

There are also plugins that can help you enhance your contact forms, make beautiful sliders, backup your site in case of data failure, and make email opt-in easy — plus much more.

Six best WordPress SEO plugins in 2022

Now that we’ve discussed why you should use an SEO plugin, let’s look at six excellent alternatives. The one that’s the best fit for you will depend the depth of features you need, but they all offer a budget-friendly way to implement your SEO strategy.

• Yoast
• All In One SEO Pack
• Google XML Sitemaps
• Squirrly SEO
• SEOPress
• Rank Math
• Elementor

1. Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is one of the most popular WordPress SEO plugins, and it’s easy to see why. It comes packed with excellent features out of the box to help you produce search-engine-friendly content that is easy to read.

For instance, Yoast SEO adds a meta box to all your pages and posts, which enables you to easily set your focus keyword, meta description, canonical URLs, and more. Also, its readability analysis will help you optimize your posts with practical suggestions for copy improvement.

Other features include:

• Advanced XML sitemaps
• Schema markup
• Breadcrumbs control
• Support for ‘noindex’ content
• Title and meta description templates
• Language support
• Access to free Yoast courses

Pricing: Free.

The premium version also includes advanced functionality such as internal linking suggestions, content insights, and a redirect manager. Pricing starts at $89 per year for one website.

2. All In One SEO Pack

The All in One SEO Pack plugin is an excellent alternative to Yoast. With it, beginners won’t have to worry about complex settings as it works well immediately upon activation. For example, it automatically generates meta tags and optimizes your titles for Google and other search engines.

That said, advanced users will be able to customize their experience and override automatic features. Additionally, you can use the Robots.txt editor to instruct web crawlers about the contents of your site. All In One SEO Pack will automatically notify search engines about changes to your site as well.

Besides that, it also includes features such as:

• XML and RSS Sitemap support
• Image SEO
• Schema markup
• Advanced canonical URLs
• AMP support
• Duplicate content detection
• API support
• Ecommerce SEO

Pricing: Free.

The premium version gives you access to more advanced features and support for unlimited keywords starting at $39.60 per year.

3. Google XML Sitemaps

If getting your site indexed by search engines is your only concern, Google XML Sitemaps could be an excellent solution. This plugin enables you to automatically generate a sitemap so that crawlers can easily assess your site. Also, you can save your settings and re-apply them each time you publish new content.

It also gives you more control/flexibility than the built-in XML sitemap feature that WordPress added to the core in WordPress 5.5.

This tool’s sole focus is on providing complete XML sitemaps, so you won’t get as many features as you would with other SEO plugins. Still, it’s an excellent no-frills option that supports all WordPress generated content without overloading your site.

Pricing: Free.

4. Squirrly SEO

Squirrly SEO is a beginner-friendly SEO tool that generates recommendations in real-time. It enables you to optimize content for your chosen keyword as you’re writing your content. Also, it provides a competitor analysis with suggestions of what you can improve to outrank similar pages.

Besides that, Squirrly SEO comes with innovative features to help with your marketing efforts. For instance, it measures your audience engagement and offers actionable advice to improve your click-through rates (CTRs). Plus, it will transfer all your pre-existing settings if you switch from another SEO plugin.

Other features include:

• Schema markup
• Free coaching sessions
• ‘Noindex’ options
• Advanced eCommerce features
• Google Analytics integration
• Custom Robot.txt for site crawlers
• Sitemap XML
• Social media monitoring

Pricing: Free.

If you want to access the advanced features, pricing starts at $20.99 per month.

5. SEOPress

SEOPress is a powerful plugin that’s completely white-labeled and free from ads. It comes with comprehensive features that enable you to fully optimize your site. As such, you can build your custom XML sitemap, manage redirections, analyze content based on keywords, and more.

The plugin is fully integrated with Google Analytics, enabling you to track your SEO efforts. Additionally, its content analysis tool will provide optimization tips to help you write better posts. Developers will be able to apply additional hooks to customize the plugin fully as well.

Beyond that, it also provides features such as:

• Intuitive setup wizard
• Support for unlimited keywords
• Image SEO
• Social media monitoring
• Dynamic titles and meta descriptions
• Custom canonical URLs
• ‘Noindex’ support
• Free SEO tutorials

Pricing: Free.

The premium version costs $39 per year and is suitable for multiple sites. It comes with advanced features for WooCommerce, breadcrumb optimization, and more.

6. Rank Math

Our final recommendation is Rank Math, a feature-rich SEO plugin that’s easy to use. It comes with an intuitive setup wizard and smart automation features that will help beginners optimize their content in a few clicks.

Rank Math is also integrated with Google Search Console and keyword ranking tools, which is useful if you want to stay ahead of your competitors. Besides that, its built-in 404 monitor helps you resolve errors for a better user experience. Plus, its module-based system enables you to pick the features you need without overloading your site with unnecessary functions.

Some other key features include:

• Schema markup
• Support for unlimited keywords
• Advanced SEO auditing
• Redirect manager
• Local SEO
• Breadcrumbs optimization
• Internal linking suggestions
• XML sitemap
• Image SEO

Pricing: Free.

There’s also a premium version, which starts at $59 per year. It lets you track up to 1,000 keywords and adds other advanced SEO features.

Elemetor

Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder for WordPress. This plugin helps you create beautiful pages using a visual editor. It’s designed for you to build dynamic websites quickly without knowing codes.

This WordPress plugin is an all-in-one solution — letting you control every part of your website design in a single platform. You can customize your website to fit your brand with motion effects, multiple fonts, and enhanced background images.

Why You Should Use Elementor

Elementor works for all types of professionals on your team. If you’re not tech savvy, the visual editor gives you the flexibility to drag any of the 90+ widgets to create content, like buttons, star ratings, and progress bars. For WordPress developers, it’s still a top-choice platform with script optimization, custom attributes, and rollback versions.

What Can You Build With Elementor?

Elementor is an effective tool for building anything — from entire websites to specific landing pages. You can design sales pages, promotional pages, and even custom forms. If you can imagine it, this platform can help you design it.