I came across Yoast SEO when I was new to WordPress. However, I mistakenly called it Toast due to its rhyming name. I was unfamiliar with the term SEO, which is an acronym for search engine optimization, and I didn’t realize that Yoast SEO was simply a plugin meant for WordPress. Later on, I learned about the importance of SEO and began using both Yoast SEO and Rank Math on my WordPress websites. However, I’ve also discovered that there are several other WordPress SEO plugins available in the market.
If you’re looking for an excellent WordPress SEO plugin to improve your search engine ranking, you’ve come to the right place. After conducting thorough research, comparing various plugins, and testing the best ones, I have compiled a list of the top 6 SEO WordPress SEO plugin
Top WordPress Tools For Better Search Engine Ranking
- Yoast
- The SEO Framework
- Squirrly SEO
- SmartCrawl
- Slim SEO
- Rank Math
How To Find The Greatest Seo Plugin For WordPress?
On the Internet, you can find several articles listing the best WordPress SEO plugins, and what makes this list different? There I have done the best FREE and premium SEO plugins for WordPress. The essential difference between free WordPress plugins and others is that they incorporate more than just the bare SEO needs. You will pay for a basic version that doesn’t cover an application schema or a link management function.
Also: I didn’t just sit there and read these apps’ marketing stuff and client details. I was looking for an easy way to optimize my website SEO with numerous WordPress SEO plugins. I installed and activated every single one sequentially, followed the step-by-step implementation guidelines, and ran tests regarding the SEO features.
In essence, SEO plugins for WordPress operate similarly with varying degrees of efficacy.
- Setup. Except you’re already a seasoned professional in the field, we can only assume that you’re scared to death by the overwhelming jargon and acronyms that constitute the world of SEO. For all these plugins, setup wizards are available, minimal configuration is provided and in almost all cases the choices are there to be able to transfer settings from other SEO plugins.
- Ease of use. Now that the plugin is up and running, you need something that is built on logic yet and without the overkill. Plugins that weren’t user-friendly and had too many internal settings alongside craze uses of technical jargon were eliminated.
- Technical SEO. Make sure you elaborate on the site structure and content before creating them. These plugins help you build and add a site-wide XML sitemap, and run basic site audits that indicate where you need to correct any issues.
- On-page SEO. Moreover, be sure to install a plugin that makes your articles SEO-friendly. They scan, looking specifically for on-page SEO factors like meta tags, schema markup, keyword density, and readability to ensure that your content is all good.
- Extra features. The best WordPress plugin will also allow you to move beyond the basic SEO. Let us take an example where you want to work on other aspects such as eCommerce or Local SEO. As for this particular one, I looked at what plugins and apps to integrate with and how you can extend the functionality.
I cut the list down to the top 6 greatest SEO plugins for WordPress.
Quick Look: Top SEO Plugins For WordPress
| Name | Best for | Standout feature | Pricing |
| Yoast | Content analysis and guidance | Content analysis and traffic light system | Starts at $99/year |
| The SEO Framework | Speed and automation | Auto-generates meta descriptions | Starts at $84/year |
| Squirrly SEO | Covering the entire SEO lifecycle | AI-powered educational goals and suggestions | Starts at $29.99/month |
| SmartCrawl | A balance between features and simplicity | Automatically prompts Google to re-crawl your site | Starts at $90/year |
| Slim SEO | Beginners | Hands-off, beginner-friendly approach | Starts at $39/year |
| Rank Math | Extensive free feature set and affordable scalability | Extensive free feature set | Starts at $79/year |
Top WordPress Tool For Checking And Guiding Your Content’s SEO
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO Pros:
- The traffic light system has made it simple for me to detect what content is working well by only looking at it.
- The capability to import the settings of the previous SEO plugin and to clean up the old data is a function that is different from other SEO plugins.
Yoast SEO Cons:
- Lacking in free features that other premium SEO plugins have.
When I first blogged over a decade ago, Yoast SEO was the SEO plugin that I used and it is still the go-to plugin used by many WordPress users. You always have a feeling that you have the most reliable company around you as Yoast SEO is the proven tool. It’s a trusted source for SEO generally, and Yoast SEO Academy gives you access to five valuable courses: SEO for beginners, Yoast SEO for WordPress (block editor), and the basics of structured data.
The very beginner is a well-laid-out and smooth flow that walks you through the fundamental settings of SEO for your site in a few steps. In case, other SEO plugins like AIOSEO, TSF, or WPMeta have been already used—import the data settings and, unique to Yoast SEO, clean up the old plugin data, in the end.
Yoast SEO’s content analysis and traffic light system are proof that your article is standing firm with a list of points to improve, such as having your meta description less than 156 characters, using your keyphrase at the beginning, and further increasing your (Flesch) readability score. In the Posts and Pages dashboards as well as inside each Post/Page, you will be able to closely look at the SEO Traffic Light scores as well as the Readability Traffic Light scores.
The plugin will be perfectly compatible with SEO tools such as Semrush and Wincher, so you will investigate keywords and check keyword ranking positions directly from WordPress. What’s more, it cooperates with many other WordPress plugins like WooCommerce Elementor and so forth.
Simply put, Yoast Premium offers extra courses and tools. Such as the AI tool that enables to write meta titles and descriptions faster, as well as the redirection of already existing or removed URLs, and the suggestions for the enrichment of content and the creation of internal links while writing.
- Local SEO by Yoast — get local customers.
- Video SEO using Yoast—boost search traffic for your website videos
- Yoast News SEO—hone your site for Google News.
- WooCommerce SEO by Yoast—get your online store in front of more people.
To sum up, the Yoast SEO tool itself is an excellent one. In the free version, you will learn about all the essential things and get you on the right track on the way to search engine optimization of your website and content. Next, if you want to supercharge your SEO with the advanced premium feature and the extra functionality of the niche add-ons then go for it.
Yoast SEO pricing: Access the free version; upgrade to premium for $99 a year and niche add-ons are $79 each.
Top WordPress Tool For Making Your Site Faster And Easier To Manage With Automation
The SEO Framework
The SEO Framework Pros:
- Auto-generates meta descriptions
- Straightforward and fast performance
The SEO Framework Cons:
- Extremely long settings panel
The SEO Framework (TSF) is the most powerful and high-speed SEO plugin which has all the necessary features. It’s likewise free, with the ability to add these free and premium extensions for an extra cost.
The plugin that you have just installed, its artificial intelligence reads your WordPress environment and sets the parameters to what it thinks is most suitable. For now, although you can try to adjust these settings, but possibly it will be bothering you. It is also possible to transfer the default SEO settings from plugins such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or SEOPress.
Digging inside, the engine is capable of creating a sitemap, making breadcrumbs for Google Search, and generating titles and descriptions according to Google’s rules. The first we had just an “auto description” generator. The first few lines of a post or a page on the home page are used to generate a perfectly structured meta description automatically.
Each page/post is unique and has its on-page SEO settings for defining meta title and description, social graph, as well as the URL settings for canonical URL, indexing, and following or not following links. By displaying the codes in color, you can see which bits are wrong such as the unbranded ones and the blocked indexing.
- Try to write content that contains focus keywords and synonyms.
- Getting Content which helps to add structured data to the articles already being published automatically.
- Local by providing local business information to search engines.
- Title Fix: Make sure you put your page title captivatingly.
In essence, this SEO plugin performs all the hard work without hassle and with efficiency. Hence, The SEO Framework is a great option if you are looking for an SEO plugin that does this.
The SEO Framework Pricing: There is a free version available and you can get additional free and premium extensions from $84/year.
Top WordPress Tool That Handles All Aspects Of SEO From Start To Finish
Squirrly SEO
Squirrly Pros:
- A detailed solution that goes through the entire SEO cycle such as keyword research to rank tracking.
- Provides an arcade-style experience in SEO learning.
Squirrly Cons:
- The premium version is more expensive compared to the other available plugins.
Squirrly SEO is Ai powered WordPress plugin and SaaS duo. It interacts with Google Search Console and Analytics synergistically, and does its job together with its technology and algorithms, making all the search results available inside WordPress – there is no need to switch between tools. It also integrates with the most widely used caching plugins such as WP Super Cache and WPRocket to keep website speed issues at bay.
Squirrly SEO has two setup modes to choose from, one for everyone, from start-ups and social media influencers to big marketing teams and agencies. Within the beginner mode, you delegate the “AI consultant” regarding the best settings for your website. In expert mode, you adjust and tune the different settings that meet your SEO experience. Plus, if you understand how SEO plugins like Rank Math, Yoast SEO, and The SEO Framework work, you can import them as well.
Inspiringly enough, Squirrly SEO comes with settings for each page/post that include meta tags, rich snippets. And open graphs that also govern its visibility. However, its SEO live Assistant provides search engine optimization live, feedback about your content while typing it into the WordPress editor, either the Classic Editor, the Gutenberg Editor, or a page builder like Elementor.
Squirrly SEO offers a full lifecycle solution covering every stage of the SEO process: discovering the best possible keywords. And content optimization to technical audits and rank tracking. It is functionality such as gamification and training classrooms like Daily SEO Goals, 14 Days Journey to Better Ranking. And The Race to the TOP, so even though you’re an SEO novice, on-the-job training makes it possible to rank your content.
Squirrly Pricing: Native version—limited by the number of people filling up the quota, not the features—then starting at $29.99/month for premium plans.
Top WordPress Tool That Combines Useful Features With Easy-to-use Design
SmartCrawl
SmartCrawl pros:
- The process of Google autonomously revisiting the site is triggered.
- Solid without being flashy
SmartCrawl cons:
- A premium of the plugin is the bundle by default.
The same situation is with Smartcrawl which is one of the SEO Plugins that slips under the radar. Interest level can’t be high on it, yet it just does its work without drawing extra attention.
With each time you publish new content on your site. The SmartCrawl plugin will let Google know that the page has to be crawled again – hence the name: SmartCrawl. It was the only app out of all those I tried that offered this kind of service.
It is a very easy process to start with a one-click setup wizard, and then through further menu options, you can configure sitewide meta, schema, social, and XML sitemap settings. Along with this, the comfort of working in a clean WC, without the mess, is very good too.
From the dashboard of your SmartCrawl, you will be able to manage the SEO settings for the site as well. As run SEO audits (powered by Google Lighthouse) to follow up on SEO recommendations. One limitation: they don’t offer solutions to the issues that exist on the whole site, but only on the Homepage. The other SEO strategies are site-wide.
- SEO: Meta title and description should be edited to show as search results. And recommendations should be given for content optimization purposes.
- Readability: Demonstrating how easy or hard your content is to understand by using the Flesh-Kincaid Test as a gauge.
- Social media: To customize the title, the description, and the featured photo for social sharing
- Advanced: When doing configuration for indexing, canonical URLs and redirects for the page is needed.
The premium version offers such capabilities as an opportunity to set SEO audits. And white-label reports, automate linking for certain keywords, and track for broken URLs, 404s, and other redirects.
SmartCrawl Pricing: Free version available later, then $90/year for the whole WPMU DEV bundle which includes premium plugins.
Top WordPress Tool For Newbies Learning About SEO
Slim SEO
Slim SEO pros:
- Automatic configuration
- Simple to use
Slim SEO cons:
- Only a little form of the functionality of on-page content optimization
Slim SEO is a slim but full-fledged SE0 plugin enabling automatic site configuration in WordPress. If you are the type to prefer the hands-off approach. And don’t want to be bamboozled with SEO lingo then this was a perfect option for you.
- Meta tags
- Image alt text
- XML Sitemap
- Breadcrumbs
- Schema (structured data)
- Redirections
Such as Meta tags are supported, and Slim SEO creates a meta description from your web post or page automatically. The description field is your winning card, so, if needed, you can also add your description. Alt text is the text that describes the image. If you fail to add some alternative text while you upload an image. Then the plugin names the image file as alt text. Not so brilliant, but better than Zilch.
Moreover, you can migrate and import SEO data from other different plugins like Yoast SEO. Rank Math, The SEO Framework, Redirection, and 301 Redirects. Slim SEO’s seamless compatibility with other tools, namely page builders such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi, is really good.
Nevertheless, the Slim SEO program does very little to help you optimize on-page content. You will have the opportunity to readjust the meta title. And description on each post/page and determine the image that will be shared on Facebook and Twitter. To do so, you can also include a canonical URL and unhide/hide the page from search engines. While the important features are with this plugin, there is no content analysis or readability feature like the other plugins have.
In conclusion, Slim SEO is undoubtedly very powerful and a perfect plugin for your WordPress SEO.
Slim SEO Pricing: Complete free version + two $39/year premium options: Slim SEO schema to highlight structured data in your WordPress posts. And Slim SEO Link Manager to mend broken links and build internal ones in WordPress.
Top WordPress Tool Offering Lots Of Free Features And Scalable Pricing For Everyone
Rank Math
Rank Math pros:
- Extensive free feature set
- Comprehensive settings importer
Rank Math cons:
- The feature of readability analysis of Yoast is not as extensive as that of Yoast.
Rank-Math is featured packed among the free version of the WordPress SEO plugins which makes the scaling to the premium plan. Eery affordable when you reach the premium tier—starting at $79 per year for multiple sites.
The wizard will let you decide either to choose the easy or advanced mode. Ease is good for sites that are just going to alter basic things. And let Rank Math perform the majority of the heavy work. Thanks to Advanced, you can control each aspect of SEO. Nevertheless, they can be taken off or put on whenever you need them. For example, by selecting a higher SEO setting, you can enable the creation of image tags and title tags automatically.
While you are doing the setup process, you can link to Google Search Console. And Analytics together to have the whole SEO coverage of your site. Additionally, You can import the settings you used in the other SEO plugins like Yoast, AIO SEO or SEOPress. It was my top choice among the importers — the majority of them missed some of the settings upon import.
After you’ve completed the core site settings, like XML sitemaps. You need to move on to the on-page SEO editor for editing meta titles, social sharing, descriptions, and schema. SEO audit addresses improvement areas and shows you how to eliminate flaws. Of note: the readability statistics provided by using Yoast entirely were not as elaborated or clear to me, as I thought.
Rank Math is compatible with the Elementor and Divi page producers as well as the standard WordPress Gutenberg. And Classic editors without issue. However, where it stands out is that it works well with other page builders, such as Oxygen. And Beaver Builder; therefore, you will be able to control all your SEO settings from one place.
The implementation of local SEO basics schema and optimization are essential
- Image SEO
- Internal link suggestions
- Basic WooCommerce SEO
Even with a lot of advanced features than others. Rank Math still loads very fast and lets you enjoy high website speed.
Rank Math Pricing: Try it for free and then get the affordable premium plan for only $79/year ($69 for the first year) for personal, business, or client websites.
