There’s no competition, the SEO plugin for WordPress space is dominated by two key front runners. Yoast SEO and RankMath.
Yoast has been the most successful of the two and it still holds the crown as the most popular based on its 5 million+ active installations.
However, RankMath has been the new kid on the block with clear ambition to take that crown in recent years.
And RankMath is becoming more popular by the day with its 2 million+ active installations.
But it’s not just about these general SEO plugins, there are also some great plugins for WordPress out there that suit some specific SEO tasks like internal linking, schema markup and even plugins that can be adapted to use for SEO purposes.
I’ve compiled a list to share some of my favourite WordPress plugins that can be used for WordPress SEO. Of course, you can expect to find the obvious, general SEO ones but there may be one or two in there that might surprise you.
Best WordPress SEO plugins list:
- RankMath
- Yoast
- Link Whisper
- All export
- Schema Pro
- Elementor Pro
- Redirection
- GTM4WP
- WPRocket
- Hubspot
WordPress SEO plugins
(Free Plugin & Paid Options)
Rank Math is one of the complete SEO plugins that you can install for your WordPress website. Advertised as the swiss army knife of WordPress SEO it really does live up to hype.
I’ve been using Rank Math on a variety of WordPress websites for about 3 years now and I love it.
I love it so much they even featured my testimonial on their YouTube channel.
In short, Rank Math gives so many great SEO capabilities out of the box and within the free version of the plugin. You don’t even need to pay for the premium membership to get the best out of it! There are so many technical SEO features that you don’t need to pay extra for that really does set it apart.
It also feels fresher than other SEO plugins like Yoast, and although more of a superficial point, I prefer the design, colours and branding of Rank Math.
Essentially, Rank Math does the same as Yoast, but with added benefits and features.
(Free Plugin & Paid Options)
Yoast is the long-standing reliable friend who could even be the best-man at your wedding.😛🤵♂️
There’s no doubt as to why this is the most popular, all in one SEO plugin for WordPress; it’s simple and easy to use and has a whole tonne of features if you go onto the paid version.
Yoast integrates exceptionally well with lots of other plugins and third party software too, simply because it’s been around for such a long time and is pretty much the industry standard that everyone knows about, therefore people develop new plugins with this in mind.
Yoast is a great SEO plugin for WordPress and even though I slightly prefer Rank Math, I still use Yoast and often choose it depending on the website I’m working on. Just like I mentioned on X (twitter) recently in reply to Alek Asaduryan, it’s all about selecting the right tools for the job!
https://twitter.com/SCarroll_/status/1700115498627715359?s=20
(Paid Plugin)
Link Whisper makes light work of internal linking on WordPress. It’s such a great tool and I was delighted when I discovered it, simply because I knew how much time it would save myself and our SEO team on internal linking.
There are a few similar tools out there but Link Whisper is always my go-to for its ease of use and functionality. I especially love the orphaned posts report which gives you a quick and detailed overview of all your orphaned posts that require your attention.
It also has great customisable settings so you can configure Link Whisper to make it more bespoke to your needs and requirements.
Link Whisper also gives you a simple dashboard that you can use to track your progress as you chip away at your internal link building.
*We are an affiliate of LinkWhisper as we love the product so much that we’re happy to endorse and recommend it. This means that the above link is an affiliate link and if a purchase is made from our recommendation, we may receive a small commission.
Here’s my first slightly surprising inclusion into the list; All Export.
The reason why I’ve included this neat little plugin is because it simplifies the process of quickly exporting a .csv file of all of your posts and pages on your WordPress website. It’s an unbelievable time saver and gives you so many ways to customise your export.
For example, perhaps you want to quickly generate a CSV file that shows you all of your posts by a single author, or within a certain category on your blog. All Export has got you!
It makes an SEO’s life much easier! Especially if you’re building a spreadsheet for a working document or looking to review some key data across your pages and posts.
Of course Schema Pro makes it onto my list, this tool is great!
Schema pro was my go to for all things Schema implementation on WordPress websites (until Rank Math came along). However, Schema Pro still has many benefits and is great to use when you’re not using Rank Math as your SEO plugin.
The reason for this is because Rank Math has many great schema features that come free, whereas SchemaPro is a paid tool, therefore you can get away with using Rank Math for FREE rather than pay for Schema Pro.
Having said that, Schema Pro’s cost is worthwhile in my opinion if you’re looking for a dedicated Schema implementation solution for your WordPress website. Once again it goes back to the point I made earlier about choosing the most suited tools for the job at hand and sometimes, Schema Pro is the most suited tool for your Schema needs.
In short, I find that Schema Pro lets you implement more complicated schema markup on your site with minimal effort, and that’s all an SEO can ask for!
(Free & Paid Plugin Options)
I hear so many mixed reviews about Elementor. I’m starting to find that people either love it or hate it! A proper marmite situation. Even on our team, there’s such a mix of opinions. However, I’m wholeheartedly giving all of the love to Elementor and Elementor Pro.
Another surprising inclusion on the SEO plugins for WordPress side I’m sure but hear me out…
Elementor is a page builder first and foremost, it integrates well with Yoast and Rank Math SEO plugins but its purpose is to be a page builder that simplifies the process of building WordPress websites while supercharging that at the same time!
It allows you to build visually stunning websites on WordPress and enhance its capabilities but where I have found tremendous value, is in the fact that it allows you and your team to easily create new, SEO and design-led pages.
In the past, when creating a new page, your WP template would largely determine how that page is going to look. Sometimes limiting the vision you have for your new piece of content. With Elementor, you can create a visually striking page to go with your amazing content and you can do it without having to work with the developer.
Of course, you need to be careful not to go overboard with your creative expression but great SEO content also needs to think about the user experience, not just the writing part.
The drag and drop page builder makes this a breeze as you can simply add a CTA image after your first paragraph, or drop in a little button there. Why not add an icon list? Or drop shadow that container and make a section of content stand out?
There’s so much more you can do with Elementor that you can really get into making the UX of your page second to none (without having to annoy the developer).
(Free plugin)
Redirection is my absolute favourite tool for setting up and managing 301 redirects on any WordPress website.
It’s super simple to use and does exactly what you need it to do. You can even bulk upload your 301 redirect .csv file if you’re doing a whole load of redirects on your website.
It also has a 404 page log so you can see what 404 pages your web traffic has landed on and from there you can set up a quick 301 redirect. Or you can use this report to inform your 404 page management planning.
(Free)
One of my all time favourite WP plugins. Created by Tamás Geiger of JabJab Online Marketing, this tool seamlessly allows you to install Google Tag Manager on your WordPress website with minimal fuss.
It also adds in additional data layer variables that you can utilise in your tags when setting up your events or website tracking. This tool is great for those who do not want to mess around with the .php files or manually add code into your website, so it’s particularly beneficial for those who do not have a web developer on hand to help them install Google Tag Manager on their website.
GTM4WP allows you to easily install Google Tag Manager so that you can quickly start to utilise setting up tracking tags so that you can measure user behaviour on your website. For example, tracking CTA button clicks, downloads or even form submissions.
(Paid plugin)
WP Rocket is my usual go-to for all things cache. There are other free versions out there so if you’re on a budget you may want to consider those, however, your cache management and general website speed is worth the investment in a paid solution as your website grows.
(Free & Paid)
Hubspot!? Why is Hubspot in this list!? Well, as your WP website grows and you get more and more leads or customers then you’re going to need a CRM (Customer relationship management) system to manage your database securely and get the most out of it from the marketing perspective. This is where Hubspot comes in.
They have a dedicated WP plugin that connects directly with your Hubspot account and installs the tracking code on your site for you (therefore, remember that you don’t need to implement the Hubspot tracking code manually or using GTM if you’re using the plugin. This is so that you avoid setting up the Hubspot tracking twice!).
CRM systems like Hubspot are hugely valuable resources when it comes to analysing how you are acquiring customers and the performance of your different website traffic sources. This is especially true in more recent times as people transition to Google Analytics 4 and realise the limitations or difference of its reporting capabilities in comparison to Universal Analytics. Therefore, Hubspot is a great alternative in the interim in order to evaluate the performance of your organic search traffic against your overall marketing goals.
Other WordPress SEO plugins:
I also asked other members of the Vixen Digital team for their recommendations. Here are some of their favourite WordPress plugins that they use for SEO:
- AIOSEO (All in one SEO)
Valentina mentions that one of her favourite SEO plugins is AIOSEO. Similar to Yoast and RankMath, you’ll most likely hear about this plugin in the same discussion as these. - GeneratePress
Annie recommends this WordPress theme page builder. A possible alternative for Elementor Pro. - SEOPress
Katie had mentioned SEOPress, one of the newer additions to the WP SEO plugin solutions.
Final thoughts
Everyone has their own favourites when it comes to WordPress plugins, let alone when it comes to ones you specifically use for SEO. This list compiles some of my favourites as well as some selections from the team here at Vixen Digital. However, every website is different and like we mentioned above, always select the right tools for the job!
