But first, what is a plugin?

If you have any experience building websites, or are at least familiar with the process even just a little bit, then surely you have an idea what a plugin is. But for the sake of beginners reading and those who are unaware of plugins and what they do, here’s a quick definition:

Plugins, such as those in WordPress, enable users to add features and provide websites the capacity for more functionalities. It’s similar to an app or an extension that allows a website extra capabilities.

That being said, there are 58,983 free plugins on WordPress, and in this article, we’ll be talking about 10 useful SEO plugins that can help improve your website.

And what is SEO?

A basic way to describe your website is that it serves as your digital real estate. It’s your property, just like a home, but online. And with this analogy or likeness, we can proceed talking about SEO and how it can impact your website.

Should your website, say an eCommerce business, have any appeal to customers, what factors would get people to visit your online store, browse your goods or services, and buy?

First of all, your store has to be attractive, clean-looking, and welcoming. Second, people are more likely to visit your store if they hear good things about it. In short, it helps to have a good reputation. And lastly, does your store offer value and a pleasurable experience for customers?

Basically, SEO serves to help improve and transform your website, so that search engines like Google deem it as relevant to users. Think of Google Search as the authority figure that tells customers your website is all the things we’d mentioned earlier—it’s attractive and clean, reputable, helpful, and previous customers have found it an enjoyable experience to go there.

With the thousands of plugins available, how do you know which ones you really need to prepare your website for these visitors?

The factors for a good website

Before we dive deep into the most useful SEO plugins, it’s essential for you to know the factors that generally tell users that you have a website that offers value. It’s important to always consider how a user can benefit from what your website has to offer, but it can also help to know what Google’s search engine ranking factors are.

But instead of stressing yourself out trying to find the ways to address all these particular factors – as there are at least 200 of them – here are 10 things that you can focus on to deliver a truly worthwhile experience to your users in accordance with Google’s criteria:

  1. Relevant and useful content (EAT)
  2. Quality backlinks
  3. RankBrain
  4. Freshness
  5. Mobile friendliness
  6. Page speed
  7. Core Web Vitals
  8. Schema markup
  9. Social signals and domain power
  10. HTTPS

We won’t go into too much detail for each factor, but it’s worth understanding how every aspect can contribute to a better website for your target audience and Google’s search algorithms.

Relevant and useful content (EAT)

This should be a no-brainer, but it’s still worth nothing that “content is still king.” For example; if your website is an eCommerce store providing toys, collectibles, and action figures, having high-quality content relevant to your niche helps build your EAT.

EAT refers to expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. So, going back to our example, being an industry leader in the toy industry or a widely regarded collector providing content through an online toy store can help your website rank better on Google’s search engine results page (SERP).

Quality backlinks

Remember to never pay for backlinks, as it can potentially be harmful for your SEO. For better search rankings, it helps to have multiple high-quality domains linking back to your website through organic means. These high-quality backlinks basically tell Google that your website provides a wealth of information that many others consider worth referencing.

RankBrain

RankBrain serves to provide users with the most useful search results by understanding the intent behind every search query. This involves using machine learning to comprehend user behavior with every set of query and users’ corresponding actions. By successfully providing value to users for a wide context through content relevance, a website is rewarded with better rankings on the SERP.

Freshness

Google’s Freshness algorithm prefers to prioritise “fresher” content, which means that as time passes by, updated relevant content will likely perform better on the SERPs when compared to outdated relevant content. Again, this simply echoes the core purpose of providing value to the searcher.

Basically, it’s Google’s way of telling website owners to keep their content relevant and up to date.

Mobile friendliness

With mobile usage increasing in recent years, Google has effectively implemented mobile-first indexing, which means that for a website to perform better on the SERP, it has to be built for mobile first, and desktop use secondarily.

It is a reflection of a changing society, where more and more people have been searching with their mobile devices.

Page Speed

Related to user experience, Google understands that slow-loading web pages are only going to be problematic for a searcher. So, for a web page to provide value to a user and rank on the SERP, it has to have fast loading times.

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals is a fairly recent Google search ranking factor that zooms in on three elements of a website: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). To simplify, Google rewards websites that have fast loading times, responsiveness to user interaction, and visual stability. All necessary elements of user experience.

Schema Markup

A schema markup code serves to help search engines like Google understand content, such as business information. Think of your brand name, business address, and phone number (NAP) getting identified by Google as random text—schema markup structure gives it context and immediately makes it make sense.

For local SEO, implementing a site-wide schema can help your website perform better on SERPs.

Social signals and domain power

For greater search visibility and wider online presence, having positive social signals from websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, Quota, and others can contribute to better search engine rankings for brands.

As for domain power, having exact match domains that are in line with the website’s niche can still impact search results. Thegreattoystore.com, for instance, will likely have a chance to perform better than a competitor with a domain like Petersspecialitygoods.com.

HTTPS

HTTPS encryption is a ranking signal that emphasises a website’s security, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to have this prioritised as a factor to building a good website. After all, who wants to visit a website with malware, right?

Focusing on these 10 factors – and prioritising users at the core of your build – can make your website ready for SEO. So, now you’re probably wondering, “How can plugins help with these efforts?”

How impactful can WordPress plugins be?

As an intricate element into software apps, plugins are designed to be integrated into the WordPress platform, which empower you to build an assortment of websites for a range of uses.

Plugins, for instance, can help you set up an eCommerce business through an online shop; set up a job board and recruit employees for a project; create a fandom site, podcast, or portfolio—just to name a few. And yes, all this is possible with plugins.

If there’s a desire for a certain web functionality for WordPress, then it’s likely that there’s a plugin for it.

Essentially speaking—plugins serve to help users build WordPress websites that can improve their SEO performance, utilise contact forms, brandish social media buttons, showcase a gallery of photos, and much more.

So, how do WordPress plugins work?

Since WordPress allows developers to add their own code or modify the functionalities in the world’s most popular open-source content management system (CMS), WordPress has grown and develop to make building websites so much easier for many others looking to get on the web.

Once you’ve had a WordPress plugin installed on your website, it is also registered in your database, which allows you to either activate or deactivate it accordingly just like Google Chrome extensions.

Upon every user’s visit to your WordPress website, the platform connects to the WordPress database, the core software is loaded, and is then followed by any of your activated plugins. All from your server straight to the user’s browser.

And so, with these out of the way, listed below are 10 useful WordPress plugins that can help you improve your website.

10 Useful SEO plugins for WordPress

1. All In One SEO Pack (AIOSEO)

The name of the WordPress plugin is self-explanatory. Since 2007, AIOSEO has been offering a versatile and easy-to-use solution for a wide range of SEO needs.

What makes it an easy-to-use plugin is its beginner-friendly interface, which doesn’t warrant heaps of experience to get the hang of, so you can implement changes to your website without much hassle.

Here are some of its key features (and there’s a lot!):

  • Support for XML Sitemap and Google Analytics
  • Automatic meta title optimisation
  • Automatic meta tag generation
  • Flags duplicate on-page content
  • Overrides previous settings

Rated 4.5 stars out of 5, the AIOSEO plugin enables a webmaster to optimise their website through its user-friendly platform, making it a popular choice for many.

2. Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO boasts 5 out of 5 starts with as much as 25,000+ reviews, placing it among the top-tier choices for WordPress plugins for SEO.

The Yoast SEO plugin is preferred by many webmasters for its efficient capabilities, which include crafting better content on top of the optimisation opportunities that it presents. With a bevy of features, here are some that stand out:

  • Page analysis tool
  • Technical WordPress SEO
  • Functionality for XML Sitemaps

Through the page analysis tool, Yoast SEO ensures that you’re executing SEO strategies accordingly. From scanning the images on web pages and checking for keyword-matching alt texts, to reviewing content length and evaluating meta data, Yoast SEO provides you with the validation you need to proceed in improving your website.

3. Google Analytics by MonsterInsights

The MonsterInsights Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress plugin helps webmasters improve their website traffic and boost sales through a comprehensive understanding of their web analytics and statistics, effectively enabling for better business decision-making.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars, Google Analytics by MonsterInsights provides the following features:

  • Utilising Google Analytics API for installation
  • Capability to make use of either the asynchronous or universal tracking code
  • Tracking outbound and internal links
  • Accessibility to different reports like user demographics and interest

And its key feature is the seamlessness that enables webmasters to check GA data within the WordPress dashboard. Imagine—no more back and forth between different platforms.

Depending on your preference, this WordPress plugin helps you save time, especially when you’re reviewing your website data for SEO, which can enable for more efficient processes.

4. Schema Pro

With Schema Pro, the plugin for WordPress that automates schema markup, webmasters can generate rich snippets for their website that are optimised for search.

Rich snippets can help place your brand at the top of people’s minds as it offers a more detailed display of what your website offers. These can include star ratings alongside a review, an image or video of the product or service, and the prices of the offering—just to name a few!

Schema Pro primarily banks on the following advantages:

  • Eye-catching results
  • Potential increase in CTR
  • For all post types

And while the top-tier SEO plugins for WordPress have similar features such as generating structured rich snippets data, Schema Pro offers a prolific plugin for this exact element to building a good website.

5. Ahrefs

The Ahrefs SEO plugin offers a versatile suite of SEO tools for digital marketers and business owners using WordPress. While comparable to other all-in-one SEO plugins, its unique selling point is its excellent backlink analysis feature.

The backlink analysis that the Ahrefs plugin provides is a peek into a competitor’s backlink profile, enabling an SEO analyst to strategise better for their own campaigns’ backlinks. This feature also includes having the capability to check the competitor’s best ranking content. Nifty for ideation, right?

The Ahrefs WordPress plugin also offers the following features:

  • Keyword research
  • Keyword ranking monitoring
  • Detailed content analysis tool
  • Identification of duplicate content and keyword cannibalisation

Overall, the Ahrefs plugin is severely underrated at only 3.5 stars despite the discovery opportunities that it presents for SEO.

6. SEOPress

Yes, it’s another SEO plugin for WordPress. SEOPress offers a free and paid platform that both have an extensive range of features. And as expected from an SEO plugin for WordPress, SEOPress comes with all the necessary tools and capabilities, such as meta data generation, open graph support, XML sitemaps, and more.

It’s relatively straightforward to use, which makes it manageable for beginners, but more experienced webmasters will enjoy its advanced configurations, especially for the paid version. Here are some of its selling points as a WordPress plugin for SEO:

  • Universal SEO meta box which allows meta data edits from any theme builder
  • White label in both the backend and frontend, which means no advertising
  • Content analysis for content optimisation opportunities
  • Hassle-free importing of meta data from other plugins
  • Trusted by over 150,000 WordPress websites since 2017

With a rating of 5 stars out of 5, SEOPress delivers the goods as a WordPress plugin for your website SEO – in both free and paid versions.

7. SemRush SEO Writing Assistant

The SemRush SEO Writing Assistant provides a tool for content writers and bloggers, one which utilises the characteristics of Google’s top-ranking pages to help craft optimised content. Its features include the following:

  • Provides an overall quality score based on metrics that cover readability, word count, and target keywords
  • Evaluates a content’s readability score through the FRE or Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease and provide recommendations
  • Displays recommended target keywords based on search volume and difficulty
  • Displays semantically relevant keywords that can add further context
  • Analyses the tone in the content’s voice
  • Plagiarism checker
  • Link checker

With WordPress integration, this plugin can help your website’s SEO through high-quality, clear, concise, and keyword-focused content, effectively fetching an average rating of 3 stars out of 5.

Feel free to check out SemRush as your fully functional SEO tool as well. Professional SEO services that deliver in-depth digital marketing strategies make use of SemRush throughout various parts of the process. It is preferred by many SEO analysts and digital marketers for its competitiveness as a keyword research tool and rank tracker.

8. Google XML Sitemap Generator

Having the Google XML Sitemap Generator plugin for WordPress, webmasters get to generate a sitemap automatically, which then makes it easier for search engines like Google to index your website.

Here are a few of this plugin’s extensive array of features:

  • HTML, RSS, and Google XML Sitemap formats
  • Sitemap index support for websites with larger architecture
  • Support for custom posts and naming conventions
  • Efficiently lists every WordPress page, post, category, etc.
  • Wide range of compatibility, including WooCommerce

If you’re looking for a sitemap generation tool that makes your life so much easier, opt for this WordPress plugin. It’s rated a 5-star average and for good reason, too.

9. Broken Link Checker

For website owners with a long history of posting content like blogs and articles, hygiene upkeep and maintenance can be a tad challenging. You’ll understand when your website has been around long enough, consistently publishing content. So, here’s a WordPress plugin that can help.

The Broken Link Checker, rated 4 starts out of 5, aims to help webmasters address and fix bad links by reviewing all internal and external links on a website.

Its key features as a WordPress plugin includes:

  • The capability to monitor every link throughout a website, including posts, pages, comments, and custom fields
  • Identify the links that no longer work
  • The capability to change the appearance of broken links
  • The capability to halt search engines from following broken links

And for a website to be ready for SEO, it is absolutely necessary that all the broken links on every page are removed. Leaving these unaddressed can result in a drop off in rankings and a negative user experience.

Simple and easy-to-use, the Broken Link Checker WordPress plugin offers a powerful tool that can immediately help you improve your website’s SEO. It’s quite necessary, really.

10. WPtouch

Remember how we mentioned that Google prioritised mobile-first design? Here’s a WordPress plugin that can help you do this without any trouble at all.

The WPtouch WordPress plugin, recommended by Google, instantly enables a mobile-friendly version of your website for mobile visitors. Wptouch transforms your website through a mobile theme that you can customise as you see fit, which basically prevents any negative effects on your search rankings for not having a mobile-friendly design.

Here are some of its features:

  • WPtouch admin panel and WordPress Customiser
  • Deliver a fast-loading mobile version of your website without any coding needed
  • Retain the desktop version of your website for non-mobile visitors and users

Allow mobile users to visit your website in a seamless manner, especially when your website isn’t optimised for mobile. However, if you want to do SEO, it’s important that your website be mobile-first, if not mobile-compatible. And this is made possible through the WPtouch plugin for mobile SEO.

Wrapping it up: The 10 Useful SEO Plugins from WordPress

These are just 10 of the thousands of WordPress plugins available, so you’ll also want to look around and discover what works best for your website. Every website will have its own set of problems and require unique solutions.

As for improving your website for SEO, don’t hesitate to check and try out the SEO plugins for WordPress included in this list—from AIOSEO to Yoast, Ahrefs, SEOPress, and SemRush—if you don’t find one effective, feel free to test the next one until you find the SEO plugin you’re most comfortable with. Stick to using your chosen plugin, gain experience, so that you can challenge yourself, and hone your skills.

It always helps to remember the factors that make up a good website in the eyes of Google. Use the necessary WordPress plugins accordingly to nail down these factors and you’ll be just fine.