WordPress is the most popular website builder out there. We use it for our website design services, and we love every aspect about it. One of our favorite features is the huge library of plugins you can incorporate into the site to make it even more effective. There are WordPress plugins for almost every feature you can think of; however, they are not all worthy of your time. As an experienced digital marketing agency, we are well-versed in all of the WordPress plugins that are worth incorporating into your site, so without further ado, here is our top 10 list of the best WordPress plugins for SEO:
Yoast SEO
With Yoast SEO, you can integrate all types of features that making ranking on the SERPs easier. They have a redirects manager, offer internal link suggestions to help you improve your site structure, and help you get more attention on social media. With this WordPress plugin for SEO, you can gain insight into what your search listing will look like and you can make sure your meta data is up to par. If you are not using the Yoast SEO WordPress plugin then you are making your job much harder than it has to be.
Google XML Sitemaps
An accurate and detailed sitemap is your only way to tell the search engine crawlers about every page of your site and what each one has to offer. With the Google XML Sitemaps WordPress plugin, creating this detailed sitemap just got a lot easier. The plugin allows you to create distinct XML sitemaps for each of the main search engines, and it will work with all of your WordPress pages as well as any custom URLs you may have. What’s more, it will alert the search engines whenever a new post is created.
Autoptimize
One of Google’s ranking factors is your site speed, and if yours is too slow, you can forget about ranking well. With the Autoptimize plugin, it has never been simpler to optimize your website and make it faster. The WordPress plugin compresses all styles and scripts and caches them, moves styles when necessary, minifies the HTML code, and puts CSS in the page head. Essentially, it makes your page run as quickly as possible by minimizing the space every detail takes up.
Redirection
If your site is laden with 404 errors and ineffective 301 redirects, then you will have a very hard time seeing any traction. Not only will Google not want to rank you, your visitors will get frustrated and leave your site. With the Redirection plugin, you can easily keep track of all of the 301 redirects your site has and make sure they are all working. You can also be notified of any 404 errors so that you can fix them promptly and keep your rankings intact. Redirection has been available for more than ten years, and we love how useful it is in catching inefficient redirects.
<WP> Rich Snippets
Rich snippets are an amazing way to make key information show up in an eye-catching way on the SERPs. From highlighting recipes to event lists to movie times, rich snippets help your website show up at the top of the SERPs; however, you need to use schema markup if you want to make them work for you. With the <WP> Rich Snippets WordPress plugin, it is simple to add this structured data to your website. It makes your data more accessible by the search engine bots and it provides a more engaging experience on the SERPs.
Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights
Your analytics are everything if you want to be successful. You need to know what is working and what isn’t and then make adjustments accordingly. With Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights, it is simple to gain access to the insights you need to effectively evaluate your website. Learn how people are finding your website, what they are doing what they arrive, and more, so that you can make the changes necessary to improve your stats. There are currently over 15 million downloads of this SEO plugin for WordPress, so they are clearly doing something right.
Really Simple SSL
SSL certificates are a big deal to Google, and they should be a big deal to you. Essentially, the SSL certificate tells Google that your site is secure and users can enter their personal information without having to worry about their private data being compromised. As its name implies, the Really Simple SSL WordPress plugin makes it extremely easy to convert your site so that it operates securely. The plugin is straightforward and effective. All you have to do is get your SSL certificate, activate the plugin, and enable https with one click.
Smush Image Compression and Optimization
As mentioned earlier, your site speed plays a big role in your rank on the SERPs. And one of the biggest culprits of slowing your site down is your images. With the Smush Image Compression and Optimization WordPress plugin for SEO, you can effortlessly resize any of your images. And even though they will take up less space on your site, they will still be just as good of quality. The plugin also allows you to specify dimensions and it will size down the image while it is compressing it.
IP Geo Block
As amazing as most SEO plugins for WordPress are, some of them can make your site vulnerable to hacks or exploits. That’s where the IP Geo Block plugin comes in. It monitors the back-end of your site and checks for any threats of an attack, such as invalid login attempts. The plugin will also block any spam from posting to the comments of your blogs, and it will notify you if any unfavorable countries request to access the front-end of your system.
iThemes Security
Security is always a top concern when operating a website, and with the iThemes Security plugin, you can relax a little knowing that the most common security risks are being monitored. This WordPress security plugin provides you with over 30 forms of protection and it can stop automated attacks and repair potential security holes. It also features additional security features for advanced users to make it the top WordPress security plugin available.
Even though there are so many amazing WordPress plugins for SEO, ranking highly on the SERPs is a complex process that requires experts to be effective. Our digital marketing agency is well versed in every angle of SEO and we would love to help you achieve a top spot on the SERPs.
