WordPress: the best plugin for SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a technique for editing web pages, content and images to obtain the best possible ranking in search engines. When we talk about the latter, we are mainly referring to Google and its SERP (Search Engine Results Page), i.e., the search results page that a user sees after performing a keyword search.

One of the strengths of WordPress is definitely the large range of plugins that allow you to extend the basic features. From the plugin that allows you to create contact forms and the one that allows you to  integrate social networks like WhatsApp with the site in a few minutes, to plugins that allow you to secure the website, simply and automatically checking the internal links: the list of these extensions’ purposes and features is virtually endless. Figuring out the best WordPress plugins to download (or buy, if it’s premium) can be difficult.

And of course this endless choice includes extensions specifically dedicated to SEO. So let’s take a look at the best WordPress SEO plugins.

With more than 5 million users, Yoast SEO is inspired by the motto “SEO for Everyone.” It’s the SEO plugin preferred by most users. First, its features include tools for content analysis in an SEO-friendly optimization perspective. This helps authors write texts that include the most effective keywords.

The analysis of the contents is then associated with that of readability: a text that people can understand is also accessible to search engines. For all content, you can preview how it will be seen on Google, including mobile devices.

Yoast SEO also allows you to generate sitemaps that suggest your website structure to search engines. That makes it possible to correctly set meta-tags scanned by crawlers that analyze network content. It also creates templates for titles and meta descriptions to ensure consistency of the information proposed to Google and other similar platforms.

The plugin also offers useful solutions to improve Web page performance, since content loading time has become a basic criterion for positioning. This takes place thanks to a data management system that relieves the impact of requests sent to the WordPress database during navigation.

Rank Math SEO is a WordPress plugin that is reported to have been the first to use Artificial Intelligence. This allows you to access features for optimization that would not have been available before, such as a smart automation system with which to generate content natively designed for positioning.

The extension dynamically generates suggestions to make your pages SEO-friendly and provides recommendations on what to do and what not to do to secure better search results. There’s also advice on suitable links and keywords, partly based on the relations between keywords.

The plugin allows you to easily configure Google Schema Markup, i.e., the structured data allowing the search engine to understand page contents. Such data are made available through a standardized format for classifying content. Since technical specifications for standard compliance are required, defining them manually can be challenging and time-consuming.

An indefinite number of keywords can be optimized for each post. By default, there can be a maximum of five keywords, but you can change this number with the appropriate filters. Full integration with the Google Search Console and Google Analytics statistics is also available.

The All in One SEO plugin is a real pack rather than a plugin. It allows you to optimize a WordPress website for search engines through the SEO workflow best suited to your project. Designed to simplify the work of small companies, positioning experts, marketers and developers, the extension is also suitable for those who do not have advanced SEO skills.

Plugin configuration takes just 10 minutes. After that you have all the tools you need to manage keywords, meta-tag definitions, sitemap publication and integration with both the Google Search Console and its Webmaster tools.

One of the greatest strengths of this solution is TruSEO score, a feature that gives detailed analysis of the optimization level of the Internet pages. TruSEO score also provides a dedicated SEO checklist to identify and use the best keywords for each content to get the maximum level of traffic.

It’s possible to integrate All in One SEO with all major social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and more). It’s also been developed to comply with both Google specifications as well as those of other platforms that could bring visitors, such as Bing, Baidu (for the Chinese market) and Yandex (for Russia).

With a rating of 5 out of 5 stars by its users, The SEO Framework is a plugin designed for those who have tested other SEO extensions and were not satisfied with them. Its features include a tool that allows you to migrate your website’s local SEO data with a 5-minute procedure and import meta-data, canonical URLs. URLs for redirects and much more.

The SEO Framework is compatible with the WordPress Application Programming Interface (API). This feature makes it a reliable security plugin to integrate with any other website extension. Minor incompatibility issues also result in faster page loading.

The extension can automatically protect a WordPress-based project from errors that would make it less SEO-friendly. For example, it identifies duplicate content that could be interpreted as spam and takes into account elements that could represent a violation of Google, Bing and other search engine guidelines.

Here too, there is a high level of integration with social media and their protocols, such as Open Graph in Facebook and Twitter Cards, as well as increasingly used platforms such as Discord and Pinterest. Finally, there are also features designed for accessibility that, as well being a positioning criterion, allow you to extend your audience to those using tools such as screen readers to navigate.

WordPress provides numerous plugins for SEO. In order to identify the one best suited to your project you should try at least the most tested and popular. That way you can evaluate the impact on website positioning in search engine results.