The Best WordPress Plugins for Search Engine Optimization for Your Website. You want to get your website found by potential customers, clients or patients. Or maybe you are an agency looking for the best intel on the newest options for improving your clients SEO. Our comprehensive, unsurpassed-in-detail plugin reviews and comparisons will ensure you make the right choice when selecting a WP SEO Plugin for your website.

There are many ways to gain guaranteed SEO benefits for your website if you are using the WordPress CMS, some more effective than others. Most of your benefits will be with off site SEO but there can be some on site SEO advantages.

People reading this article may or may not be aware that the majority of your SEO benefits will come from off site SEO, back linking is a huge one, especially if you are anchoring your back links with the correct text. Here I will not go into this aspect of SEO however, this article is more concerned with how you can improve on site SEO via WordPress plugins.

As you are probably already aware there are thousands upon thousands of WP plugins that all claim to benefit you in some way, not all are made equally however and sorting through all the garbage to actually find something of real use is extremely hard work, especially if you are new to WordPress and all the plugins that are available.

I cannot claim to be an expert on every single plugin available, the number to be tested is just too many and would take a lifetime to test individually but the following list shows a few of the plugins that I find are most useful for my personal needs and do give me guaranteed SEO advantages of one description or another.

Your list may vary depending on the reason why you are building a WP site but I think most people will find the list to be of use for the basics plus a few added extra bonuses.

While some of these plugins are not directly related to SEO they may help you to avoid disasters that will ruin your sites credibility with both search engines and visitors alike so do not be fooled by the simplicity of what some of them do.

While on site and off site SEO are very, very important the integrity of your site as a whole does come into play. If your site goes down or is slow or littered with links that go nowhere these problems will all add up to a bad site that both man and machine will dislike and avoid.

One more point that you should bear in mind when installing plugins:

Do not over do it! I bring up page speed further into this article, one of the things that will slow your site down is a lot of plugins. Certain plugins are non optional, a sitemap and a database backup are for example 2 things that you absolutely need but if others are going to be of little use to you, forget them! Use your head in regard to what you need for the function of your site.

Never install a plugin just for the sake of it, only use them to improve functionality!

WordPress plugins with guaranteed SEO benefits

The first thing that any site needs is a sitemap, you don't need to be a coding expert and create your own thankfully with 'Google XML sitemaps'. There are other sitemap plugins out there but this is one of the most trusted out there and something that no WordPress site should be without.

'Yoast breadcrumbs' is a great breadcrumb plugin that will leave a trail for your readers to be able to find their way around with greater ease. If set up correctly it will also help with internal SEO as it makes the text bold for the current page in the breadcrumb trail and also allows to set your own anchor text for both the homepage and blog page.

For those who are worried about posting duplicate content on the internet, the canonical URLs feature on the WordPress SEO by Yoast will come in very handy. In this section, you specify whether a particular URL will be left blank or if it will point to a specific page. To leave it blank means that the default permalinks settings will be applied.

Write yoast style on your blog and you'll learn the key components of popular SEO writing results that work anywhere you might write.

Yoast is a plugin for WordPress. If you don't have it, you might want to ask your webmaster to add it to your WordPress blog. If you do have it, follow the directions below to learn how to best use it.

1 - Keyword Phrase

Use your keyword phrase as the first 3 - 5 words in your title, in a sub header (header 2), and as the alt text for a graphic you use in your article. If possible, use the same words as anchor text for a link you place in the content, as well.

2 - Edit Meta Description Snippet

Edit the snippet in the yoast file box, by adding about 20 words using your keyword phrase in the snippet. This is an important part of helping others find your article online.

3 - Write 300 Words or More

If you don't have more than three hundred words to say about a given topic, it probably isn't worth the effort, because that's the minimum number of words you need. And they should be value driven words. Don't be lazy. Add real content and make sure they add value to your site.

4 - Use Short Sentences

Yeah, I know. I can't do this, even if I'm forced... But I try. So, because the program requires it. I'm learning to shorten my sentences. Sometimes, using odd methods to CUT the length of a sentence.

5 - Keep it Simple Stupid

Okay, that word may not be nice, according to my granddaughter, but it's a word. Furthermore, it's a principle. Use it. The principle, not the word.

6 - Use Transition Words

Yeah, this one drives me nuts too. But it's a requirement. Yoast wants at least 30% of your sentences to have a transition word, because they say so. Words like: and, first of all, finally, in addition, because, since, therefore, same, less, yet, opposite, consequently, most noteworthy, most of all, especially, and relevant. If you don't use these words, you'll quickly become superfluous, in the eyes of yoast. Just do it.

7 - Write in Active Voice

This is important. It makes the article easier to read, and gives it more impact. Shorter sentences also help with readability and voice, because you don't overwrite your thoughts.

All these features mean that you can optimize each post well for the chosen keyword you want to rank in Google for. So you get a higher ranking hence, more traffic.

What is the WordPress SEO Plugin by Yoast?

This is one of the most complete SEO plugins available. It includes a snippet preview and a page analysis function (I'll explain these in more detail later). You won't find these features in many SEO plugins. They help to ensure your posts are optimized well for SEO.

The WordPress SEO plugin allows you to easily optimize your post content, titles, images and meta tag descriptions for Google listings. Your blog posts are then indexed with more relevance for a particular keyword. This means higher rankings and traffic.

Here's a full list of the WordPress SEO plugin features:

1. Post titles and meta descriptions2. Page Analysis3. Robots Meta configuration4. Permalink clean up5. XML Sitemaps6. RSS enhancements7. Edit your robots.txt and.htaccess8. Clean up head section9. Canonical URL10. Breadcrumbs11. API Docs

Let's talk about each one in more detail...

1. Post titles and meta descriptionsThe WordPress SEO plugin lets you set a template for each page. This template includes the fields: SEO title, meta description and the keyword you want to optimize the page for.

You also get a snippet preview here. So you know how your site will look when listed in the Google search results. This also shows your chosen keyword in bold.

Another cool feature is the ocus keyword. Here, you can see the keyword density in the post heading, title, URL, content and meta description. This way, you can tell if your keyword has been used the right amount of times.

All these features mean that you can optimize each post well for the chosen keyword you want to rank in Google for. So you get a higher ranking hence, more traffic.

2. Page AnalysisThis checks whether your posts are long enough, have alt tags for the images, and if you've written a meta description/subheadings for your post and more. These are important elements for good SEO.

3. Robots Meta ConfigurationsThis feature helps you to block any page or post from getting indexed by Google. You can also
oindex categories, tags, custom groups of pages that you don't want to be indexed.

4. Permalink clean upIf you get weird variables at the end of links, by checking one box this function gets rid of that. This means your content gets found in Google under the URL you want it to be found under.

5. XML SitemapsThere are many sitemap plugins to choose from. But what makes the WordPress SEO plugin XML sitemap different? Well, it talks to your SEO plugin unlike the others. So if you
oindex a page from showing in Google, it may still be in your sitemap, so may still show in Google.

With the WordPress SEO plugin, your sitemap also looks good. Humans can read it because it uses an XLST stylesheet. And because the sitemap is built into this plugin, there is no need for a separate sitemap plugin!

Write yoast style on your blog and you'll learn the key components of popular SEO writing results that work anywhere you might write.

Yoast is a plugin for WordPress. If you don't have it, you might want to ask your webmaster to add it to your WordPress blog. If you do have it, follow the directions below to learn how to best use it.

1 - Keyword Phrase

Use your keyword phrase as the first 3 - 5 words in your title, in a sub header (header 2), and as the alt text for a graphic you use in your article. If possible, use the same words as anchor text for a link you place in the content, as well.

2 - Edit Meta Description Snippet

Edit the snippet in the yoast file box, by adding about 20 words using your keyword phrase in the snippet. This is an important part of helping others find your article online.

3 - Write 300 Words or More

If you don't have more than three hundred words to say about a given topic, it probably isn't worth the effort, because that's the minimum number of words you need. And they should be value driven words. Don't be lazy. Add real content and make sure they add value to your site.

4 - Use Short Sentences

Yeah, I know. I can't do this, even if I'm forced... But I try. So, because the program requires it. I'm learning to shorten my sentences. Sometimes, using odd methods to CUT the length of a sentence.

5 - Keep it Simple Stupid

Okay, that word may not be nice, according to my granddaughter, but it's a word. Furthermore, it's a principle. Use it. The principle, not the word.

6 - Use Transition Words

Yeah, this one drives me nuts too. But it's a requirement. Yoast wants at least 30% of your sentences to have a transition word, because they say so. Words like: and, first of all, finally, in addition, because, since, therefore, same, less, yet, opposite, consequently, most noteworthy, most of all, especially, and relevant. If you don't use these words, you'll quickly become superfluous, in the eyes of yoast. Just do it.

7 - Write in Active Voice

This is important. It makes the article easier to read, and gives it more impact. Shorter sentences also help with readability and voice, because you don't overwrite your thoughts.

· Whether there are any images and whether there are alt tags· The length of the page title as only so much is seen when searching· Whether the page title contains the keyword· How easy the article is to read-it may need shorter sentences· The keyword density

What is the WordPress SEO Plugin by Yoast?

This is one of the most complete SEO plugins available. It includes a snippet preview and a page analysis function (I'll explain these in more detail later). You won't find these features in many SEO plugins. They help to ensure your posts are optimized well for SEO.

The WordPress SEO plugin allows you to easily optimize your post content, titles, images and meta tag descriptions for Google listings. Your blog posts are then indexed with more relevance for a particular keyword. This means higher rankings and traffic.

Here's a full list of the WordPress SEO plugin features:

1. Post titles and meta descriptions2. Page Analysis3. Robots Meta configuration4. Permalink clean up5. XML Sitemaps6. RSS enhancements7. Edit your robots.txt and.htaccess8. Clean up head section9. Canonical URL10. Breadcrumbs11. API Docs

Let's talk about each one in more detail...

1. Post titles and meta descriptionsThe WordPress SEO plugin lets you set a template for each page. This template includes the fields: SEO title, meta description and the keyword you want to optimize the page for.

You also get a snippet preview here. So you know how your site will look when listed in the Google search results. This also shows your chosen keyword in bold.

Another cool feature is the ocus keyword. Here, you can see the keyword density in the post heading, title, URL, content and meta description. This way, you can tell if your keyword has been used the right amount of times.

All these features mean that you can optimize each post well for the chosen keyword you want to rank in Google for. So you get a higher ranking hence, more traffic.

2. Page AnalysisThis checks whether your posts are long enough, have alt tags for the images, and if you've written a meta description/subheadings for your post and more. These are important elements for good SEO.

3. Robots Meta ConfigurationsThis feature helps you to block any page or post from getting indexed by Google. You can also
oindex categories, tags, custom groups of pages that you don't want to be indexed.

4. Permalink clean upIf you get weird variables at the end of links, by checking one box this function gets rid of that. This means your content gets found in Google under the URL you want it to be found under.

5. XML SitemapsThere are many sitemap plugins to choose from. But what makes the WordPress SEO plugin XML sitemap different? Well, it talks to your SEO plugin unlike the others. So if you
oindex a page from showing in Google, it may still be in your sitemap, so may still show in Google.

With the WordPress SEO plugin, your sitemap also looks good. Humans can read it because it uses an XLST stylesheet. And because the sitemap is built into this plugin, there is no need for a separate sitemap plugin!

People reading this article may or may not be aware that the majority of your SEO benefits will come from off site SEO, back linking is a huge one, especially if you are anchoring your back links with the correct text. Here I will not go into this aspect of SEO however, this article is more concerned with how you can improve on site SEO via WordPress plugins.

Write yoast style on your blog and you'll learn the key components of popular SEO writing results that work anywhere you might write.

Yoast is a plugin for WordPress. If you don't have it, you might want to ask your webmaster to add it to your WordPress blog. If you do have it, follow the directions below to learn how to best use it.

1 - Keyword Phrase

Use your keyword phrase as the first 3 - 5 words in your title, in a sub header (header 2), and as the alt text for a graphic you use in your article. If possible, use the same words as anchor text for a link you place in the content, as well.

2 - Edit Meta Description Snippet

Edit the snippet in the yoast file box, by adding about 20 words using your keyword phrase in the snippet. This is an important part of helping others find your article online.

3 - Write 300 Words or More

If you don't have more than three hundred words to say about a given topic, it probably isn't worth the effort, because that's the minimum number of words you need. And they should be value driven words. Don't be lazy. Add real content and make sure they add value to your site.

4 - Use Short Sentences

Yeah, I know. I can't do this, even if I'm forced... But I try. So, because the program requires it. I'm learning to shorten my sentences. Sometimes, using odd methods to CUT the length of a sentence.

5 - Keep it Simple Stupid

Okay, that word may not be nice, according to my granddaughter, but it's a word. Furthermore, it's a principle. Use it. The principle, not the word.

6 - Use Transition Words

Yeah, this one drives me nuts too. But it's a requirement. Yoast wants at least 30% of your sentences to have a transition word, because they say so. Words like: and, first of all, finally, in addition, because, since, therefore, same, less, yet, opposite, consequently, most noteworthy, most of all, especially, and relevant. If you don't use these words, you'll quickly become superfluous, in the eyes of yoast. Just do it.

7 - Write in Active Voice

This is important. It makes the article easier to read, and gives it more impact. Shorter sentences also help with readability and voice, because you don't overwrite your thoughts.