5 Best SEO Plugins for WordPress in 2025

Are you searching for the best SEO plugin to rank your website higher in search results?

Yoast SEO was a name that I kept hearing when I first started using WordPress. It sounded fun — it rhymes with “toast”! At the time, I didn’t even know what SEO was let alone why I needed a plugin for that. But eventually, I learned how essential SEO is for getting my website seen. In the past, I have used plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math to optimize my website rankings.

Yoast and Rank Math are not the only SEO plugins, of course. There are plenty of fantastic options available to help simplify SEO and make it more efficient for any WordPress user.

Therefore, I’ve tested and reviewed the most popular ones to identify the five best SEO plugins for WordPress in 2025. Whether you’re a complete novice or already familiar with the basics of SEO, these tools can help you level up your website. By the end of this guide, you’ll know which SEO plugin suits your needs best.

How to choose the best WordPress SEO plugin?

There are countless lists ranking the top WordPress SEO plugins, but what makes this one stand out? Unlike others, I didn’t simply rely on marketing claims or user reviews. I dedicated many hours to in-depth research and hands-on testing of the most popular plugins. I installed and activated each one, followed the setup instructions, and assessed their SEO capabilities firsthand.

In this guide, I’ve highlighted the top free and premium SEO plugins for WordPress. What sets these plugins apart is that their free versions provide all the essential SEO features and more. You only need to upgrade to the premium versions for advanced tools like complex schema options or link management.

Ultimately, these WordPress SEO plugins all serve the same core purpose, though with varying degrees of effectiveness. During my testing, here’s what I focused on:

Setup Process: SEO can feel confusing, especially for beginners, with all its technical terms and abbreviations. Thankfully, most of the plugins I tested come with simple setup guides, require very little configuration, and even allow you to import settings from other SEO tools.

User-Friendliness: Once installed, an SEO plugin should be straightforward to navigate. I eliminated any plugins that were overly complicated, required excessive configuration, or were packed with confusing technical terms.

Technical SEO: A solid foundation starts with a strong site structure. The plugins I tested allow you to implement key technical SEO features, such as generating XML sitemaps and running basic site audits to identify potential issues.

On-Page Optimization: The ideal plugin should also assist with optimizing individual content. These plugins help with important on-page SEO elements, such as meta tags, schema markup, keyword density, and readability to ensure content is well-optimized.

Additional Features: The best SEO plugins go beyond the basics. For instance, if you’re working on an eCommerce or local SEO project, integrations with other plugins and apps are essential. I evaluated these features to see how they can enhance your site’s functionality.

In the end, I narrowed down my recommendations to the six top WordPress SEO plugins.

1. Rank Math – Best Free WordPress SEO Tools in 2025

Rank Math stands out for offering one of the most feature-packed free versions of any WordPress SEO plugin, making it an excellent choice for both beginners and those looking to scale affordably. Its premium version, starting at just $79/year for multiple sites, remains highly affordable.

The setup process is simple, with an option to choose between easy or advanced mode. The easy mode is ideal for those who want to manage basic SEO settings while letting Rank Math handle the more complex tasks. For users seeking full control, the advanced mode provides customization for every SEO aspect. You can easily switch between these modes at any time— for instance, you can enable image SEO to automatically add alt tags and title tags if you switch from easy to advanced mode.

As you go through the setup, you can connect your site to Google Search Console and Analytics to get a complete SEO overview. Rank Math also allows you to import settings from other SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO, AIOSEO, and SEOPress. I found Rank Math’s importer to be the best in the industry, as it captures nearly every setting without missing important details, something that other plugins often overlook.

Once the basic settings are configured, including the XML sitemaps, you can move on to editing meta titles, descriptions, social sharing settings, and schema directly from the on-page SEO editor. The plugin’s SEO analysis highlights areas needing improvement and provides guidance on how to fix errors. However, the readability analysis is not as thorough or intuitive as Yoast SEO’s, in my experience.

Rank Math integrates seamlessly with major page builders like Elementor, Divi, and the WordPress Gutenberg and Classic editors, as well as other builders like Oxygen and Beaver Builder. This allows you to manage all SEO settings from within one interface, no matter what builder you’re using.

Out of the box, Rank Math offers several features for free that other plugins typically charge for, including:

• Basic local SEO schema and optimization
• Image SEO
• Internal link suggestions
• Basic WooCommerce SEO

Despite offering a robust set of features, Rank Math maintains fast loading times and ensures your site runs smoothly.

The premium version unlocks advanced features like a powerful schema generator, advanced SEO analytics, keyword rank tracking, and a more in-depth content SEO overview. Additionally, users can purchase Content AI credits to access over 40 AI tools, which can assist with generating ideas, intros, conclusions, titles, descriptions, and more for content optimization.

2. Yoast SEO – the #1 WordPress SEO Plugin

Yoast SEO remains a top choice among the WordPress community and has been my go-to SEO plugin for over a decade. Known for its reliability, Yoast SEO is a trusted resource in the world of SEO, offering valuable learning opportunities through Yoast SEO Academy, which includes courses such as SEO for Beginners, Yoast SEO for WordPress (Block Editor), and Structured Data for Beginners.

The setup wizard is simple and user-friendly, helping you configure all the important SEO settings for your site in just a few steps. If you’ve used other SEO plugins (like AIOSEO, TSF, or WPMeta), Yoast SEO allows you to import your previous settings and offers the added benefit of cleaning up any leftover data.

One standout feature is the content analysis tool, complete with a traffic light system to evaluate SEO and readability at a glance. The plugin checks key factors, such as the meta description length (should be under 156 characters), usage of the keyphrase in the introduction, and the Flesch readability score. These insights appear clearly on both the post/page dashboard and individual posts/pages.

Yoast SEO integrates seamlessly with other SEO tools, including Semrush and Wincher, allowing you to conduct keyword research and track key phrase rankings without leaving your WordPress site. It also works well with plugins like WooCommerce and Elementor.

The premium version of Yoast SEO unlocks additional features, including more courses from the Yoast Academy, generative AI for quick creation of meta titles and descriptions, automatic redirects to handle URL changes, and suggestions for content quality and internal links while writing.

For niche needs, Yoast SEO offers specialized add-ons:

• Yoast Local SEO: Boost local visibility
• Yoast Video SEO: Drive search traffic to your videos
• Yoast News SEO: Optimize your site for Google News
• Yoast WooCommerce SEO: Enhance traffic to your online store

3. SmartCrawl – WordPress SEO checker, SEO analyzer, SEO optimizer

SmartCrawl is one of those SEO plugins that doesn’t make a lot of noise but gets the job done effectively. It’s not the most exciting plugin, but it performs reliably without overwhelming you with features.

A standout feature of SmartCrawl is its automatic notification to Google whenever new content is added, prompting the search engine to re-crawl your site. This is a unique feature that I didn’t find in many other plugins I tested.

Getting started is easy with its one-click setup wizard, followed by an intuitive interface where you can configure sitewide meta, schema, social, and XML sitemap settings. The clean, uncluttered admin panel makes it a breeze to navigate and manage.

From the SmartCrawl dashboard, you can track your overall SEO settings and perform SEO audits powered by Google Lighthouse, which provides actionable recommendations. However, one limitation is that these suggestions are mainly focused on the homepage, not the entire site, even though other SEO actions are applied sitewide.

Each post and page has a SmartCrawl section with four key tabs:

• SEO: Edit meta titles and descriptions for search pages and optimize content.
• Readability: Evaluate the readability of your content using the Flesch-Kincaid Test.
• Social Media: Customize titles, descriptions, and featured images for social sharing.
• Advanced: Manage indexing, canonical URLs, and redirects for specific pages.

The premium version adds more advanced features, such as the ability to schedule SEO audits, generate white-label reports, automate internal linking for specific keywords, and check for broken URLs, 404 errors, and multiple redirects.

4. Squirrly SEO – Best WordPress SEO Plugin

Squirrly SEO is a smart WordPress plugin powered by AI that works smoothly with tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics. It uses its own technology to give you clear SEO insights directly within WordPress, so you don’t have to switch between multiple tools. Plus, it’s compatible with popular caching plugins like WP Super Cache and WP Rocket, ensuring your website stays fast.

When setting up Squirrly, you can choose between beginner or expert mode. This makes it suitable for everyone—whether you’re a blogger, a small business owner, or part of a larger marketing team. In beginner mode, you can let the “AI consultant” select optimal settings for your site. For more experienced users, expert mode provides control over the SEO settings, allowing you to tweak configurations based on your knowledge. Additionally, if you’ve previously used other SEO plugins like Rank Math, Yoast SEO, or The SEO Framework, you can import your previous settings with ease.

Squirrly SEO covers all the essentials like meta tags, rich snippets (schema), open graph settings for social sharing, and indexing or redirects for each page or post. What sets it apart is the SEO Live Assistant, which provides real-time SEO feedback as you write in the WordPress editor. It supports various editors, including the Classic Editor, Gutenberg, and popular page builders like Elementor, Oxygen, and Divi.

One of the standout features of Squirrly SEO is its comprehensive approach to SEO, covering the full lifecycle from keyword research and content optimization to technical audits and rank tracking. It also introduces a gamification element, offering training classes like Daily SEO Goals, 14 Days Journey to Better Ranking, and The Race to the TOP, making it an engaging learning experience. Even beginners can learn as they go and improve their rankings over time.

5. AIOSEO – The World’s Best All in One SEO Plugin for WordPress

A WordPress plugin called AIOSEO makes it easier for Google to find your website. It includes many useful features to improve your website and is really simple to use.

It is quite easy to set up initially. Don’t worry if you don’t know anything about SEO, which is how you get your website to appear on Google. The majority of the work will be done for you. However, you may make changes and improve your website if you have more knowledge.

AIOSEO assists you in optimizing your page names and descriptions for search engines. Additionally, it adds something called schema, which adds extra information or stars to your site to make it appear better when it appears in Google.

It also makes it easier for Google to discover every page on your website. It accomplishes this by generating an XML sitemap. Additionally, it helps you resolve broken links and speeds up site loading so visitors won’t abandon your site because it’s too slow.

AIOSEO may assist local businesses appear in local searches, such as Google Maps. It also makes it easier for your product pages to appear if you run an online store.

AIOSEO provides you with a checklist to address issues on your website, such as sluggish images and broken links. It functions similarly to a to-do list for improving your website.

Conclusion

Choosing the proper SEO plugin for your WordPress site is a step toward being in better visibility search engines, thus driving more traffic. Be it a complete newbie willing to enter this world called SEO or a widely experienced pro searching for more-advanced features-the plugin is at your disposal.

From feature-rich Rank Math to robust and intuitive Yoast SEO, every plugin has certain unique advantages when it comes to optimizing your website. None of SmartCrawl, Squirrly SEO, or AIOSEO misses even a single tiniest technical SEO, on-page optimization, or engagement point in your strategy.

That’s the beauty of WordPress SEO plugins: they let you focus on content by automating a lot of other things that are just as important. The guide will literally equip you with such insights and tools to choose the best plugin for your site, taking it to new heights.

Keep in mind that SEO is long-term, and the right plugin might turn out to be a very strong ally on your way to reaching top positions in the search results. So, chose your ideal plugin and watch your website grow!