15 Best Free SEO Plugins for WordPress 2021

Undoubtedly, your site needs to be familiar with search engines to compete in organic search. The first page of the search results is crucial to every site as it drives the traffic to your website. We can say that WordPress is an SEO friendly CMS compatible with all search engines. Furthermore, SEO plugins for WordPress play a vital part in your website visibility in search engines. Many WordPress SEO plugins are available for free in the official WordPress repository. In addition, there are other tools to analyze backlinks, keyword competition, and rankings. So, how can we determine the best free SEO plugins for WordPress among the available ones?

In this post, we will discuss these things step by step. Subsequently, you will be able to choose SEO plugins and increase your site rankings.

What are WordPress SEO plugins?

With the help of WordPress Products like themes, plugins, page builders, etc. we can build the website. WordPress is not only an open-source CMS but also saves time and effort. You should have an idea about What is a WordPress plugin. SEO friendly plugins give a push to the site traffic which results in a positive ranking change. SEO plugins make the structure and code of the website effective and compatible with the search engines.

You should be clear that ranking cannot be achieved just by installing an SEO plugin. It helps you to add meta tags like title, descriptions, snippets, etc. to the posts and pages.

Furthermore, you should check WordPress version and be updated. These plugins recommend you for the better optimization by giving guidelines regarding your post. Each SEO plugin has its own way of operation but they have some common features like:    

• XML Sitemap
• Robots and htaccess
• Search Console Integration
• Meta tags
• Canonical elements
• Readability Index, etc.

Can you avoid SEO?

The answer is definitely no if you want to generate organic results. In the past, there are a lot of SEO issues. So, it is a must-have thing for the publishers who cannot code PHP. When plugins and SEO of site go side-by-side it will definitely boost your search engine traffic.

SEO Plugins helps to make your site discoverable for search engines. If a site has poor SEO, it is not compatible with search engines as well. As a website builder, WordPress has SEO plugins to make a search engine friendly website. As a startup brand, it is even more essential to gain desired organic visibility.

Advantages of SEO

You may be a store owner, service provider, blogger or any WordPress website owner. If you or your website depends on organic traffic, then there are several advantages of SEO plugins. Some of them are:

• Generates an XML Sitemap

XML Sitemap is a way to inform Google and other search engines about the posts and pages present in your site. You can set a higher priority for the most valuable page and changing frequency as well.

• Meta Tags

These include titles, descriptions, and keywords which is valuable to you. The plugin suggests you for a suitable edit to make it search engine friendly.

• Image Optimization

If you already have multiple images on your site, then it is not possible to manually optimize those images. It analyzes your site and suggests suitable compression, alt text, etc.

• Tags and Categories

You can add suitable tags to your post so that it becomes easier for Google to index your post. However, you need to be clear about the contents before assigning them to a specific tag.

Best Free SEO Plugins for WordPress

There are more than hundreds of popular WordPress SEO plugins. We have sorted this list and provided you some of them below:

Are there any SEO Plugins for free?

Probably, that’s the only reason we created this post. We want you to select the best free SEO plugins for WordPress.

Rank Math

The continuous process of optimizing posts kills a majority of our time. It is the real time-saver with its smart automation features. One of the major advantages over other plugins is integration with 13+ rich snippets.

If you are using any other SEO plugins, you can migrate to Rank Math with a single click import option. However, the migration tool is not perfect, but it extracts the associated metadata.

With all the features it has, possibly it is one of the best free SEO plugins for WordPress. After the release of the Pro version, we will have to possibly check out its advanced features as well.

Key Features:

• Google Schema Markup Snippets Integrated
• Unlimited Keywords Optimization
• LSI Tool Integration
• Tracking Google Keyword Rank
• Advanced SEO analysis

Yoast SEO

This is the highest reviewed, installed plugin in the SEO category. All the basic features of SEO are present in the free version. It tries the best to serve your content to both search engine spiders and visitors.

All you have to do is search the competitors in your niche and start writing like them. There are several levels of content analysis including snippet preview and mobile compatibility.

In addition, you can also create sitemaps and breadcrumbs. With the help of it, you can focus on creating great content. While cornerstone content internal linking features aids the site to pass more link juice.

Key Features:

• XML Sitemaps and Breadcrumbs
• Title and Meta Description
• Readability Analysis
• Cornerstone Content
• Internal Linking Features

All in One SEO Pack

This is a plugin for WordPress beginners. It comes with different features like other SEO plugins. However, the layout (user interface) is not as pleasing as it should have been. The good thing about this is that it is being updated on a timely basis.

Furthermore, users of this plugin have said this plugin to work well on their sites. Users of all skill levels find this plugin easy to handle. Not only it includes support for Google analytics and Amp but also it has its own built-in API.

The plugin generates the meta tags automatically and integrates with WooCommerce. It illustrates some factors for the WordPress performance tweaks. The premium version provides access to video tutorials, additional social media integrations, priority support, etc. However, the free version is sufficient to be listed among the best free SEO plugins for WordPress.

Key Features:

• RSS Sitemap
• Google AMP Support
• Built-in API
• Amp and Analytics Support
• Nonce Security to avoid WordPress Vulnerabilities

The SEO Framework

As soon as you activate this plugin, your site is protected against prominent SEO attacks. It follows the rules and white-hat guidelines prescribed by search engines. The adopted methods include proven results after years of practice.

In addition, the plugin prefills critical meta tags which saves your time. If you look at the support status, all support queries are completed by the support team. So, this plugin has a high review rate as well.

It helps you to prevent canonical issues as well as it does not create any cookies. The migration to the SEO framework is easy if you are using any other SEO plugins.

Key Features:

• Preconfigured
• Metadata Optimization
• Exceptional Support
• Easy Social Sharing options
• Ad-free

SEOPress

Not only it boosts traffic but also it improves social sharing. There are no footprints and no advertising while you use this plugin. In addition, the content analysis helps you to write contents friendly for the search engines.

You can import metadata and post from other plugins in a single click. You can also remove a category from the URLs.  After the success of the free version, SEOPress has also launched its pro version with added features.

Key Features:

• Google Knowledge Graph
• Twitter Card
• Meta Robots
• Redirection
• Content Analysis

Squirrly SEO

It gives an indication of the necessary changes to be made for better search results. The profile strength is seen in the dashboard. As the SEO of the site improves, the strength gradually increases.

From the settings, you can load live-assistant for posts, pages, media, and other options. With the help of clear maps, the chance of being found on the search engines is high.

In addition, the technical setting can be easily migrated to Squirrly. The features are the same in the free and premium versions. There are only volume-based limitations in the free one.

Key Features:

• Focus Pages
• Bulk SEO settings
• SERP Checker
• Automation
• Sitemap XML enhanced with pictures and videos.

WP Meta SEO

With the help of Meta SEO, the editing of meta-information of a website can be done with ease. In fact, the search for duplicate meta titles and duplicate meta descriptions can be enabled from the dashboard.

You can also edit content as well as image meta for better on-page optimization. It will list all images, posts, pages and custom post types. Every change is Ajax saved which ensures you better.

In addition, there is a bulk copy feature that saves time during optimization. It has a comprehensive redirect manager from where you can check broken links and set redirect rules.

Key Features:

• HTML image resizing
• AJAX SEO analysis
• Content Analysis
• Search engine snippet preview
• Additional SEO

SmartCrawl WordPress SEO checker

With no more juggling settings, you need to give a try to SmartCrawl. Not only it works on a real-time keyword but also it has improved social sharing. The scans and reports during content analysis help you to optimize your content.

It is easy to set up with a single click. The dashboard shows you regular SEO score, checkups, sitemap, and content analysis. In addition, the reporting frequency can be set for daily checks. There are recommendations and more information on each set of data that you have provided.

In addition, Noindex and Nofollow options are under the post type tab in the plugin. Like other plugins, open graph and twitter cards can be enabled and the default settings can be changed.

Key Features:

• Leverage Social Media
• Smart Page analyzer
• Integration with MOZ SEO tools
• Quick Import/Export
• Sitemap Generator

Platinum SEO pack

The plugin works well for your blog or website as it has been written from scratch. It is a package of on-page SEO solutions to improve search engine visibility. It has features like other SEO plugins.

Key Features:

• JSON LD Schema Markup
• SEO relevant meta tags
• Redirection
• Content Analyzer
• Search Engine Optimization

Schema & Structured Data

It helps your site to structure with the help of Google Rich snippets. This is one of the best free SEO plugins for WordPress available in the official repository. Currently, there are 33 schema types namely Blog, Article, Product, etc.

In addition, the plugin will start to add all the schema types in the future. You can even request the one you want. The data from other schema plugins can be migrated with easy import.

Furthermore, when you create content, there will be an automatic addition of JSON schema markup. In addition, the plugin has been updated time and again to review the suggestions made by the community.

Key Features:

• 33 Schema Types
• Full AMP Compatibility
• Google Review
• Schema Blocks in Gutenberg
• Knowledge Base Support

LuckyWP Table of Contents

With the help of this plugin, you will be able to create an SEO friendly table of contents. It can be created for post, page or custom post types. You can choose automatic or custom insertion of the table of contents.

The insertion can be done with the help of shortcode, widget or Gutenberg block. As a result, it will be best suited for Gutenberg Themes. While on the classic editor, it appears on the toolbar. The table can be inserted in different positions as chosen by the author, top or bottom of the post content.

Moreover, if you want an automatic table of contents to a certain post type then that can be done. In case, you want to insert different table positions in each case then that can be done manually.

Key Features:

• SEO Friendly Table
• Color Schemes
• Smooth scroll
• Pretty hash in URL
• RTL Support

External Links

This plugin helps to control or support link juice. You can also set the attribute for the data. Certain links will be ready to be processed. When the value ignores is added, the link will be completely ignored.

You can control if you want to link your post to an external website with nofollow or not. In addition, the links can be opened in a separate tab.

Key Features:

• WPMU Support
• Follow/ Nofollow attributes
• Ad link icons
• SEO Friendly Link
• Template tag

MetaSlider

Being one of the best free SEO plugins for WordPress, this slider plugin can create powerful SEO optimized slideshows within a short interval of time. In addition, it gives you access to free photos. You can add images to the slider one-by-one or in a bulk.

Not only, the caption and URL of the image can be specified but also title text and alt text can be implemented for better SEO. There are 3 fields namely General, SEO, and Crop from where you can make these changes. If you are tired of cropping images, it has been simplified.

There are multiple types of a slider like Flex Slider, Nivo Slider, Coin Slider, etc. that you can make. Furthermore, you can set the navigation to dots, hidden, thumbnail or filmstrip. When you add the shortcode while adding a new page with necessary designs, you are ready to view the slider that you created.

Key Features:

• SEO optimized slideshows
• Drag and drop slide reordering
• Fully localized
• Compatible with translation plugins
• Extensive developer API

BoldGrid Easy SEO

It helps to analyze your content in real-time. With the help of available resources, it suggests you for content optimization. According to the targeted keyword, multiple sets of suggestions will be made to improve on-page SEO.

The title and descriptions editor helps to control how your pages appear in Google search rankings. Furthermore, it checks the inclusion of the target keyword.

Key Features:

• Content-Length Monitoring
• Image Alt tags
• Header Tags
• Optimal Keyword Density
• Page Titles and Descriptions

Premium SEO Pack

You can decide how you want to see your pages in the search engine with a Premium SEO pack. It increases the SEO value of the pages, posts, etc. Not only it has the inclusion of on-page SEO options but it also included social media.

Besides that, you will find more than 25 modules to optimize your website. In addition, the mass optimization module helps you to modify pages, posts, and custom taxonomies at once. Not only you can modify but also you can mass optimize meta titles, meta descriptions, and meta keywords.

Furthermore, you can also add multiple focus keywords for your posts or pages. This helps your post to rank for multiple focus keywords. Summing up, you gain complete control of your website.

Key Features:

• Multisite
• Integration with WooCommerce and other eCommerce plugins
• Customize with post review/top bar
• Open Graph Image
• Twitter Card Image  

Wrapping Up

If your aim is to rank higher in search engines then you should definitely use one of these above-listed Best Free SEO plugins for WordPress. We will be happy to solve your queries regarding this post. If any, have your say in the comment.

Further Readings