An SEO plugin gives WordPress the things it does not do well on its own: editable SEO titles and meta descriptions, XML sitemaps, schema markup, redirects and control over what gets indexed. Here is how the four most popular options compare, and how to choose.
The quick answer
- Yoast SEO is the most widely used, with a gentle learning curve and readability guidance. A safe default for most sites.
- Rank Math packs a lot into its free version (schema types, redirects, keyword tracking integrations) and suits people who like more control.
- All in One SEO (AIOSEO) is beginner-friendly with a setup wizard and strong local SEO and schema options.
- SEOPress is lightweight, has no ads in the dashboard and is popular with developers and agencies.
Any of the four will do the job. The plugin is a toolkit. It will not write your content or tell you what to publish, and content is what earns rankings.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Yoast SEO | Rank Math | AIOSEO | SEOPress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEO title & meta description editing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| XML sitemaps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Schema markup | Yes (basic, more in premium) | Yes (many types free) | Yes | Yes |
| Redirect manager | Premium | Free | Pro | Pro |
| Readability / content analysis | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free version available | Yes | Yes | Yes (Lite) | Yes |
Plugin features and plans change regularly, so check each plugin’s own site for the current details before you buy a premium tier.
How to choose
- Already using one? Keep it. Switching rarely improves rankings, and migrations can lose settings if done carelessly.
- Brand new site and want simplicity? Yoast SEO or AIOSEO.
- Want the most free features? Rank Math.
- Want something lean and ad-free? SEOPress.
Whichever you pick, install only one, run its setup wizard, connect Google Search Console and submit the sitemap.
Yoast SEO for WordPress: the essentials
If you go with Yoast, the settings that matter most are: set your site to a person or organisation in the knowledge-graph settings, make sure the post types you want indexed are set to show in search results, then fill in the SEO title and meta description for every important page. The green “traffic lights” are a guide, not a ranking factor, so prioritise genuinely useful content over chasing a perfect score.
What an SEO plugin will not do
- Research which searches you should target.
- Write the articles that answer those searches.
- Publish consistently every week.
- Build links to your site or track your Google rankings over time.
That is the gap WordPress-SEO fills. We plan, write, optimise and publish articles to your WordPress site every week, and the SEO title and description go straight into Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO or SEOPress. Our own WordPress-SEO Connect plugin is not an SEO plugin; it simply connects your site to us in two clicks so articles can publish automatically.
For the bigger picture, read our complete guide to SEO for WordPress.