SEO Plugins – Free Versus Premium

Hi,

Any plugin be it free or paid will let you do the basic SEO you need.
With the free version of Yoast you can…
1) set titles and meta information
2) create a site map
3) crate a robots.txt
4) create a htaccess file
5) order taxonomies / categories
6) edit the snippet of each page (how a page looks in google)
7) set social media meta info and images for pages.

It is a handy little tool to do the basics and check if a page/site is okay SEO wise. You get a traffic light system that tells you if a page is missing say, a focus keyword, or an image tag.

It has it’s limitations though and the plugin should only be used as a guide. It has been known to not pick up content in some shortcodes or miss H1 tags on a page. Is it worth using? Absolutely yes but only to get the basics right.

SEO is so much more than just using a plugin. You get ranked on server up time, domain authority, internal links, external links, back links, domain black listings, email spam, site structure, correct use of urls…. the list goes on.

Things to consider….

1) Build your site with a good structure and page hierarchy.
2) Build pages correctly. H1 tags, images, images with alt tags, no duplicate content, add in some links.
3) Focus on creating content that answers a question your target audience is asking. Write some blogs around your profession. Google wants GOOD quality and the mission statement is to make information universally accessible. So be concise and helpful in your writing

Once you have a site that is built well and has some good solid content get it on google…

4) decide on keyword strategy
5) create a site map and get your site indexed on search engines.
6) get yourself a Google webmaster tools account. This will allow you to monitor any errors and react proactively.
7) if you are a local business sign up for google my business
8) if possible get a youtube channel and post some videos. Youtube has over 3 billion search a month!!

All of the above are what is termed organic SEO. You build your site and stick it out there and naturally people or bots find it. If it’s an option..

9) consider using PPC / adwords. This will get you top 3 guaranteed (well not 100% true but for all intents and purposes it is)

Any plugin worth its salt will do all of the above except numbers 5 to 9. They require your touch.

I wouldn’t pay for a premium plugin as the ROI isn’t really there. Only plugin i would consider is the Yoast Local Search one, but only if applicable to your profession. Good for local business not good for big corps.

SEO is also a slow burner so it may take awhile to see results but getting these things correct will start you on a good path.After that you can decided if you need to pay for a plugin or company.

Avoid like the plague anyone who says they will get you on page 1 of any search engine. Or that guarantees you 10,000 backlinks a month or 100,000 likes on social media. They will take your site url and spam other site’s / blog’s comments sections in the hope they don’t have adequate protection. Eventually they’ll find a site that isn’t protected and start leaving random comments with links back to your site. Yes they may get you x amounts of links but they will all be useless. I’m sure you’d rather have ten interested people hit your site than 10,000 people who have no interest in engaging.

My fingers are hurting now so I’m going to stop typi…………

TJ

** some links **

Google analytics
Google webmaster tools
Page speed tester
Google page speed insights
Google safe site checker

Those links will allow you to check and react to any search related issues far quicker than any plugin

• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by tjswarbs78. Reason: added some links