SEO plugins are an very important part of any website, especially if you are just a beginner who doesn’t have the experience or the knowledge to rank your site’s pages in the top of the search results.
You might think that search engine optimization is a really difficult thing, but it doesn’t have to be if you have the right tools at your disposal.
There are many different kinds of SEO plugins available for WordPress that you can simply download and install for free on your site. These plugins give you checklists and content insights to follow in order to optimize the content on your site for a better position in search results.
But you might feel confused when you find out how many SEO tools and plugins are available for your usage, which is the reason why I compiled this list.
I have listed down the best SEO plugins of 2022 that you can use for free on your website and improve your site’s SEO score within seconds!
Best SEO Plugins for WordPress (2022)
1. Yoast SEO
True to its mantra, “SEO for Everyone,” Yoast SEO has made it easier for websites to climb higher in search engines like Google and Bing since 2008. It’s considered the most popular WordPress SEO plugin because it can help you create a search engine optimized website within minutes.
Unsurprisingly, Yoast SEO has an outstanding list of features that you can utilize to improve search rankings. For instance, it contains meta tags and canonical URLs for automated technical SEO enhancement and templates for titles and meta descriptions for improved branding.
The integration of Schema.org and site breadcrumbs control to this SEO plugin can help search engine applications recognize your content and know your presence.
Moreover, the Yoast SEO plugin allows you to use the free version before switching to its premium package. Needless to say, the paid version gives you more tools to manage your website, including e-mail support and add-ons such as News, Video, Local, and WooCommerce SEO extensions. But the free version is just as powerful and is perfect for small website owners!
Lastly, this powerful SEO plugin works well with all kinds of WordPress block editors and page builders so you won’t have issues while editing and optimizing your content.
2. Rank Math
With Rank Math, you can expect consistent traffic to your website because your content will always be optimized for search engines, and this will help you garner more audience for whatever content you may have. Plus, it’s also easy to install, thanks to the Setup Wizard that provides the step-by-step installation process.
One of the many unique features of the Rank Math plugin is that it allows user to optimize their posts using over five keywords – which is the default configuration – by adding a specific filter. It also efficiently integrates the Google Search Console and displays the key information about your webpage right inside your WordPress dashboard.
Rank Math is also known for its user-friendly pre-selected settings which can help you save more time in the long run. Nonetheless, it can be modified, depending on your preference.
Local-based websites may also take advantage of this useful plugin since it helps local sites become more noticeable in the search engine optimization pages, thus allowing them to attract more visitors.
3. The SEO Framework
For digital marketing folks who are looking for all-in-one SEO plugins, The SEO Framework seems like a smart option. It’s an intelligent system that can generate meta tags in any language by simply inspecting your website’s environment.
Although you can tweak some of the standard programs, this SEO plugin can optimize your pages instantly. It’s also developed with Google’s guidelines in mind, so you won’t have to worry about critical mistakes that can affect your website’s SEO rankings.
The good news is that you won’t ever have to worry about distractions because The SEO Framework plugin can seamlessly fit into your dashboard. It’s also very easy to navigate using your keyboard – and it even supports a screen reader!
Besides, this plugin works hard to prevent SEO attacks due to pagination exploits and instinctively gives Google or other networks an update when sitemaps are turned on.
It’s also worth mentioning that installing an affiliate plugin called Extension Manager can help you maximize results. As the name implies, this program allows you to add other extensions such as Origin, Incognito, Title Fix, and AMP for free. Paid extensions include Articles, Honeypot, Focus, Local SEO, and Monitor.
4. All in One SEO
All in One SEO for WordPress is a proven plugin that has been around since 2007. It has already catered to more than two million website owners to help improve their website’s SEO scores. This beginner-friendly plugin also offers a powerful toolkit that can help improve your SEO ranking by following stringent standards and practices.
Furthermore, AIOSEO developers have integrated the TruSEO score, a system that provides an in-depth analysis of your website and an SEO must-do list to optimize each page. Readability is also gauged to help you understand your readers.
Apart from enhancing search engine rankings, the AIOSEO plugin has also been integrated with different social media websites, such as Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Additional features include a WordPress XML, news, and video sitemap feature, as well as the schema markup option, for better SEO results.
If you are into WooCommerce SEO, you can easily optimize your product categories and pages using the AIOSEO. It also supports Google Knowledge Graph and offers a Local SEO module.
5. SEOPress
If you are looking for a low-cost plugin that can help improve your search engine rankings, SEOPress may be the perfect solution. Whether you have a small or multinational business, you can get a handful of tools including title and meta generation, XML sitemaps, meta robots, and comprehensive analysis to boost your website traffic.
Yoast SEO users can also switch to SEOPress without losing all posts and term metadata by simply importing them. Plus, it has a clean slate with virtually no advertisements that can sometimes distract you from work. You also don’t ever have to worry about data tracking.
SEOPress also updates itself to make sure that it can keep with the changing times which is enough to make it one of the best SEO plugins for WordPress!
6. Squirrly SEO
In 2012, the Squirrly SEO was launched in the United Kingdom to help small and medium-scale businesses and content creators to market their websites. However, through the years, it has already worked with Microsoft and BBC. It has also received positive feedback from its users, especially how this plugin has helped them optimize their pages.
Squirrly SEO provides reports on how Google sees your websites. It also analyzes your website to figure out which tasks must be prioritized and create a step-by-step procedure on how to boost your search engine rankings. Even complicated monitoring of SEO performance and adjusting strategies can be handled by this smart plugin system.
Since the company that created Squirrly SEO plugin cares about its clients, it provides Education Cloud and coaching sessions for free.
Now, if you are wondering whether you can get this plugin for free, you’ll be happy to know that you can get Squirrly SEO without spending anything. Nonetheless, getting the PRO, Web Dev Kit, or Business version can help you get better optimization.
Other features of Squirrly SEO include the Live Assistant, Focus Pages, Keyword Research, Audit Suite, Briefcase, and the SERP Checker.
7. SEMRush SEO Writing Assistant
Another big name in the best SEO plugins arena is SEMRush SEO Writing Assistant. It’s an intuitive system that provides suggestions in optimizing your web content depending on Google’s top-ranking pages, keywords, and locations.
It’s one of the go-to options for marketing professionals and bloggers who want to make sure that their content will always pass the quality requirements for higher search engine rankings.
You can count on this plugin to check the quality of your article based on the following criteria – target keywords, text length, and readability. It will also point out how you can improve your writeups following the Flesch-Kincaid reading ease score.
By using this SEO plugin, you can also save time from searching the perfect keywords for your article. It recommends related keywords that you can utilize to help your page perform better.
Additionally, the SEMRush SEO Writing Assistant ensures that the tone of your written output follows the desired formality. It also helps detect plagiarized parts of your content to avoid any issues.
To get started, you’ll only need to create a SEMRush account. You may then immediately start setting keywords to receive the necessary recommendations. After that, simply pick a target device or location. Once you’re all set, you may then start making your SEO content template.
More conveniently, anyone who is authorized to access the post will be able to catch a glimpse of the SEO Writing Assistant interface, when for instance, the content manager has made an SEO content template connected to a post.
Like the previous SEO plugins, SEMRush SEO Writing Assistant comes in a free or pro version.
8. ShortPixel Image Optimizer
For web content professionals who are looking for a stable image compression plugin, the ShortPixel Image Optimizer is simply the perfect choice. It’s a valuable tool that can help you optimize the images that can be found on your website and improve your site’s SEO score.
In a nutshell, this plugin compresses all your previous images as well as PDF documents in just a few clicks. Newly uploaded images are also resized automatically. Plus, it works well with any type of gallery, e-commerce, or slider plugin.
Digital marketers and website owners also have the option to scale down images without the need for other plugins. This plugin is also compatible with WooCommerce, WPEngine hosted websites, and FOO Gallery as well WPML and WPML Media plugins.
Users, nonetheless, have the option to deactivate the auto-optimizing feature for images on upload. With over 200,000 active users, it’s safe to say that ShortPixel Image Optimizer is a trusted and one of the best SEO plugins.
9. SEOPressor Connect
This 5-year-old SEO plugin has already optimized over millions of WordPress pages across the globe since its launch. It operates a highly competitive system that offers everything you need to help improve your site’s SEO rankings in no time. Its straightforward design allows you to optimize your pages minus the hassles.
The key features of SEOPressor Connect include on-page analysis, Semantic Builder, SEO Intelligence, Link Management, and Crawler Control.
It also has an impressive algorithm that emulates Google’s on-page SEO analysis, which encompasses Multiple Keywords, LSI Keywords Engine, Over-Optimization Check, and SemantiQ Density Analysis.
On the other hand, you won’t also have to keep on wondering what you’re doing wrong with your website. SEOPressor Connect’s SEO Intelligence comes with features like Sitewide SEO Audit, Score Manager, and SEO Trends that can help you identify the mistakes you’re doing that are hurting your website’s search engine rankings.
When you install this SEO plugin, you will also have access to Google Knowledge Graph, Dublin Core, Facebook Open Graph, Local SEO, and Twitter Card, among others.
10. Really Simple SSL
If you want to step up your digital marketing game, then installing SEO plugins like Really Simple SSL that can help detect your settings and configure your website to run over HTTPS in a jiffy is ideal.
Getting an SSL certificate, however, is what you need to the ball rolling. With the help of this plugin, the entire process is simplified.
While you may use Really Simple SSL for free, the premium version has more advanced features including the mixed content scan that displays what to do if you do not have the secure lock, the option to allow HTTP Strict Transport Security, and comprehensive feedback on the configuration page.
Premium users will also receive an email whenever your SSL certificate is due. You can also gain access to an excellent support system.
11. Broken Link Checker
Digital marketing professionals often face broken links, which often undermine the SEO performance of a website. Fortunately, there are plugins like Broken Link Checker that can help you solve this problem.
In general, this highly configurable SEO plugin monitors both the internal and external links in your pages, posts, and comments. It will then notify you through its dashboard or your e-mail of the links that no longer exist and the ones that you need to address right away.
The good news is that you don’t have to manually edit each post since you can directly make the changes from the plugin’s page.
Which SEO Plugins Are Your Favorite?
SEO plugins are simply tools that help you optimize your webpages for a better search engine performance. They are not a magic button that will immediately optimize your site for you. It can show you everything that needs to be taken care of and give you an idea of how the on-page optimization looks like.
If you are an experienced blogger who knows exactly what needs to be done to get your site’s SEO to the top, then you might not feel the need to use any plugins or tools. But if you are a beginner, I would highly recommend you to go with one of the best SEO plugins for WordPress that I have listed in this article!
And make sure to share which of these SEO WP plugins are your favorite? And why? Also, let me know if you have a preferred SEO tool you use that I haven’t mentioned in the article!
