If you did everything the internet told you to do, you’d probably lose the plot (and all of your money, thanks to Nigerian princes and crypto investment ‘opportunities’). But when it comes to your WordPress website, one thing you probably do listen to is your SEO plug-in.
SEO plug-ins are tools that help you improve your website’s SEO, optimising it to rank higher on Google. But just because you can listen to your plug-in, does that mean you always should? SEO plug-ins are awesome and helpful, for sure, but they’re not gospel. Here’s what you need to know about improving your SEO with plug-ins.
What is the best SEO plug-in?
What is the best SEO plug-in for WordPress? We love Yoast, as both the free and paid versions are super effective and simple, and basically tell you what to do every step of the way. Easy. But is Yoast the best SEO plug-in?
Truth be told, we’re also smitten with All in One SEO. Both have great free versions, so we recommend playing around with each. Yoast is a winner when it comes to content analysis, with a simple traffic light system to show you what you’re doing right and what needs to be improved. All in One integrates well with social media and has lots of useful functionalities, such as a site audit tool and search appearance (which controls what’s shown in Google’s search results).
Want to make money from your website? You need to have a fine balance between decent SEO and quality information that’s useful to your clients.
So is All in One SEO better than Yoast? It really depends on your aims and goals, so it’s worth looking into both options. But whichever plug-in you use, know that following it to the letter can actually be detrimental, especially with site copy – which needs to be natural and organic, not weirdly altered to please the SEO gods.
With blogs, you can follow your plug-in a bit more closely, as they can be set for SEO with keywords, H2 headers, etc. – but be sure you’re still creating quality info to your readers!
Your clients matter most – not the green ticks
Wondering “how do I get more green ticks with Yoast?” We know it’s a thrill to see all of those green traffic lights, but you need a balance between SEO optimisation and authenticity. If clients feel like something’s written just for SEO, you won’t get conversions.
Plug-ins are essentially cookie cutters that don’t know your site, your clients, or your aims, so always put authenticity above green ticks. Definitely use the plug-in as a guide, as it’ll be super helpful in giving your pages the best possible chance of success to rank high – but don’t feel pressure to follow every suggestion it makes.
When writing anything for your site, keep your ideal client persona (i.e. your audience) in mind above everything else. And remember: if you have a well-written site with targeted keywords and no broken links or glaring issues, chances are that you’re already scoring high. Don’t change your aesthetic to something completely different just to get that elusive green tick.
Like everything in life – it’s all about balance, baby!
What Is Yoast SEO Premium And Why Should I Use It On My Blog?
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Featured image by Stephen Phillips – Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash
