One of the best SEO plugins for WordPress
I’ve been using SEO plugins for WordPress sites for a few years now. So far I have focused on the All in One SEO plugin and XML Sitemaps plugin for search engine optimisation. They have helped me to get my clients’ blogs in on the first page and sometimes top billing for certain keywords in Google. Recently they have been flying up the Alexa league table. But now I’ve swopped them out for a new Plugin – WordPress SEO by Yoast.
Why have you changed the SEO plugin?
Well, having played with it for a few weeks I found it to be a more elegant solution to getting your SEO right on your blog. It integrates into your dashboard in such a way that it becomes an indespensible guide for making sure your SEO is as good as it gets.
Benefits of SEO WordPress Plugins by Yoast
- Target keyword allows you to check that the keyword you want to rank for is in all the relevant places – title, URL, description, content etc.
- Gives a visible representation of how your page or post will appear in a Google search. I really like this as it gives you a feel of what it’s like to be in your visitor’s shoes when they find you in Google. It helps you to make your entry more compelling and relevant.
- Checks you have the right amount of characters in your title, description and your Slug!. This is important as truncated text (text that get’s cut off because there are too many characters) in either of these can confuse your visitor and put them off making that vital click.
- It’s free. Having looked at various reviews of SEO plugins for WordPress this one is considered to be as comprehensive and effective as others you have to put your hand in your pocket for! The only plugin I pay for at the moment is Commentluv. I may look at purchasing a more powerful SEO plugin in future but results so far show this is having a positive effect on blogs it has been installed on.
- One plugin for the price of two. SEO plugins for WordPress can do various tasks for you. The beauty of this one by Yoast is that includes XML sitemaps so you can dispense with your other SEO plugins and those that generate XML sitemaps – that helps declutter things so your site runs a bit faster too.
- It gives you step by step indicators to get the following factors right for your SEO:Keyword density
Readability
Use of stop words in keyword phrase
Keyword in first paragraph
Alt descriptions on images include keyword
Sub-heading tags include keyword
Word count over recommended 300 words
Outbound links - It also covers the fact that you might have spent many hours getting your SEO right with another plugin. Those carefully crafted titles and meta descriptions can be imported easily with this plugin.
- And lastly it has comprehensive settings to make your blog SEO tailored to your requirements.
Look no further at other SEO plugins for WordPress. This one is as good as it gets for free.
What’s your opinion?
Rosie Slosek says
September 5, 2012 at 9:11 pmI did a lot of research before installing WordPress SEO over Yoast. What’s the advantage? I also have Google XML sitemaps installed. I should mention that I haven’t customised anything yet so no settings to lose.
Judy Heminsley says
September 6, 2012 at 9:26 amI thought I was pretty good at SEO, but Yoast has shown me loads of stuff I wasn’t doing before, even if sometimes it does feel like a little dictator in the computer! I’ve noticed I’m higher up the first page of Google for ‘work from home’ and I’m getting more referrals. If I can cope with it, anyone can 🙂
Eve says
September 14, 2012 at 3:38 pmBeing a newbie I love the fact that it’s free, if it has a positive effect and brings in good results as you recommended then i’m laughing.
ioana moise says
September 23, 2012 at 10:50 amyou have share a nice post.i jus visit your blog today thats really nice …i am new in blogging so i read daily many blogs.
Segundo says
September 26, 2012 at 5:09 pmHi, I’m a newbie so have learnt loads from you today, I don’t fancy the thought of spendind many hours getting the SEO right with another plugin. I really appreciate your advice.
Fern says
October 5, 2012 at 2:42 pmYa know, I thought i had SEO sussed but Yoast has shown me loads of stuff I wasn’t doing before, thoroughly recommend it to everyone!
Swan says
November 15, 2012 at 11:09 amHi,
Being a newbie I love the fact that it’s free, if it has a positive effect and brings in good results.
Yoast solve my problems and show me load of stuff.
Thanks for such a nice post!
Jerry says
November 16, 2012 at 9:33 amSeo plugin by Yoast it’s a great plugin that have a lot of options. This can be really helpful for optimization. Also, platinium plugin is an excellent alternative to Yoast. Thanks for this info. Interesting article.
Regards,
Jerry
Trent says
November 20, 2012 at 9:12 amYoast has created a plugin that is so user friendly its crazy! You can know absolutely nothing about SEO but if you use that All in One SEO plugin you’ll have the basics of on-page optimization down pat in no time!
Andy Britnell says
November 22, 2012 at 12:06 pmIt’s a great guide Trent although occasionally irritating when you just can’t see a way of getting enough keyword density! However as the search engines get better, alternative key phrases are getting more important. So it’s useful to get a Thesaurus out for alternatives or see what related terms you can find in Google Insights.
James Dean says
December 5, 2012 at 7:19 ammyself currently using yoast wp seo plugin, and find it really great. previously using All in one Seo which also works great but that does not let you tweak the post title and search engine description as yoast can.
Brady Partridge says
December 14, 2012 at 11:49 pmI use the All In One plugin, which works very well. Does Yoast’s plugin make that much of a difference when it comes to Google rankings? Does anybody who’s used both plugins have an opinion about this?
Vaginal Mesh Lawyer Blog says
December 16, 2012 at 4:09 amI’m a newbie in WordPress and reading about this plugin gives me a lot of ideas. I will try this one. Thanks for this post.
Mirena Lawsuit Blog says
December 17, 2012 at 4:02 amNice plugin, I hope I can see more plugin suggestions in this site. Thanks
Jewel says
February 23, 2013 at 3:34 pmWow! I am already using it with thesis. Though thesis have many SEO options by default . That’s cool.
Jessica says
February 25, 2013 at 6:53 amHi,
It sometimes it does feel like a little dictator in the computer! I’ve noticed I’m higher up the first page of Google for ‘work from home’ and I’m getting more referrals. Thank you.
Health and Fitness says
March 11, 2013 at 1:36 amI think that all in one seo pack is much better and is easier to use!Personally I’ve tried both but I rank in search easier with all in one seo pack!
Andy Britnell says
March 12, 2013 at 11:25 amThat’s interesting to hear. I agree All in One SEO Pack is the easier option. WP SEO works for me in some very competitive markets such as work from home and leadership niches. Thanks for sharing that point. I’d be interested in what other bloggers experience is to see if there is a case for moving back to All in One SEO.
Smartkathy says
March 12, 2013 at 7:29 amPlugins are very helpful and WordPress is my favorite CMS as it is very user friendly. And also we can install plugins in WordPress very easily. Thank you.
Rajkumar Jonnala says
April 1, 2013 at 12:05 pmamazing wordpress plugins and really i am impressed thanks for sharing this article
Lavindra says
June 5, 2013 at 10:38 amI Like the actual fact that it’s free, if it’s a positive impact and brings in sensible results
Andy Britnell says
June 29, 2013 at 4:10 pmFree is beautiful as long as it works 🙂
Andy Britnell says
June 29, 2013 at 4:07 pmYes Marc that’s one I haven’t mentioned as it hasn’t been updated in the last 2 years and could possibly have compatibility issues with newer updates of WordPress. Although it’s been downloaded by over 840,000 people I think this one has had its day unless your running your blog on an old WP version and are happy with that. Appreciate you bringing that possibility up though to add to the conversation.
Best wishes
Andy
Andy Britnell says
June 29, 2013 at 4:09 pmThanks for the positive feedback – always appreciated.
nadeem says
July 16, 2013 at 9:41 amthis is a true fact that Yoast is one of the best and the best thing is its free, its effective and beneficial also.
adityakumar says
July 29, 2013 at 6:59 amOn Page SEO and Choosing Keywords wisely is essential these days. I have seen many bloggers struggling in Tech niche for long years just because they were not able to pick up right keywords.
duniya says
July 29, 2013 at 9:32 amHi Andy,
Thanks for the information about free plugins,
i think this are the best plugins right now,,
Thankyou sir,
Jimmy Leroo says
September 12, 2013 at 10:06 pmYeah I totally agree, WP SEO by yoast is truly a amazing free plugin, I even decided to review the top 10 seo plugins and yoast topped my list. Just love the snipper feature 🙂
Andy Britnell says
September 15, 2013 at 12:49 pmThanks Jimmy
What’s the snipper feature? I’ll have to investigate 🙂
Ray Mysterio says
January 4, 2014 at 9:11 amThis smart SEO plugin has proved to be very useful to the bloggers in the technology era of today. Yoast is one of the best plugin for SEO and it has helped my blog in an impressive manner. This post is very useful for the bloggers who like to know about the features and working of a WordPress blog. The author has done a magnificent work in writing this post in which he has impressively covered all the aspects of this SEO plugin. Great job!
Sound Smiles Dental says
January 19, 2017 at 3:20 pmThe SEO plugin by Yoast is the best! I only use it, thanks for sharing this article.