How to Choose an SEO Plugin for WordPress?

Hithere, Dear Friends! As always, I’m glad to welcome you to this account dedicated to SEO and the professional aspects of this field.
Today, let’s talk about plugins for WordPress, their comparative analysis, and what they represent.

If you have ever worked with WordPress, you know that the WP CMS is quite user-friendly. Most complex integrations and tools are enabled through special extensions known as plugins.

Search engine optimization for WP websites is no exception, and in most cases, special plugins are used for SEO purposes. The top three contenders in the field are Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and All in One SEO.

In this article, we will compare practically everything, from the overall number of features to advanced settings for local search engine optimization.

Brief Plugin Descriptions

All in One SEO for WordPress

• Plugin Link: wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack
• Official Website: aioseo.com
• Cost: Freemium, paid plans starting from $124
• Description from the official website:

AIOSEO — The best Worldpress SEO plugin & toolkit.
All in One SEO for WordPress is the original WordPress SEO plugin started in 2007.

Over 3 million smart website owners use AIOSEO to properly setup WordPress SEO, so their websites can rank higher in search engines.

We believe you shouldn’t have to hire an SEO expert or developer to properly setup WordPress SEO. That’s why we built AIOSEO as the most comprehensive WordPress SEO plugin and marketing toolkit, so you can improve your website’s SEO rankings and uncover new SEO growth opportunities in less than 10 minutes.

Yoast Seo

• Plugin Link: wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/
• Official Website: yoast.com
• Cost: Freemium, paid plans starting from €99
• Description from the official website:

YOAST SEO: The #1 Worldpress SEO plugin
Since 2008 Yoast SEO has helped millions of websites worldwide to rank higher in search engines.

Yoast’s mission is SEO for Everyone. Our plugin’s users range from the bakery around the corner to some of the most popular sites on the planet.

Yoast SEO Free contains everything that you need to manage your SEO, and the Yoast SEO Premium plugin and its extensions unlock even more tools and functionality.

Rank Math

• Plugin Link: wordpress.org/plugins/seo-by-rank-math/
• Official Website: rankmath.com
• Cost: Freemium, paid plans starting from €69
• Description from the official website:

RANK MATH SEO — Best SEO plugin for WordPress
1st WordPress SEO Plugin to use AI (Artificial Intelligence) ?
★★★★★

SEO is the most consistent source of traffic for any website. We created Rank Math, a WordPress SEO plugin, to help every website owner get access to the SEO tools they need to improve their SEO and attract more traffic to their website.

Plugin Comparison

After briefly familiarizing ourselves with each of the extensions, let’s move on to comparing Yoast vs Rank Math vs AIO SEO. If you would like to add any plugin, welcome to outsourcing with us!

#1 — Number of Features

Rank Math clearly takes the lead in terms of the number of features.

Yoast offers a wide range of features, including:

• SEO analysis with recommended optimization capabilities
• On-page keyword analysis with helpful information
• Smart tags for page/post titles and meta descriptions
• Advanced WooCommerce search (separate extension)
• Social media preview and optimization
• Intelligent sitemaps and automatic structured data submission to Google
• Schema Markup for rich snippets
• Local SEO (separate extension)
• Redirect manager
• Internal linking suggestions
• Integration with SEMrush, Wincher, Elementor, Zapier, and WordProof

Rank Math offers a slightly more extensive list of features:

• Automated SEO analysis, reports, and optimization suggestions
• On-page keyword analysis using focus keywords and content analysis
• Intelligent meta tags for page/post titles and descriptions
• SEO for WooCommerce
• Advanced image optimization
• Social media optimization with default thumbnails, watermarks, badge overlays, quick previews, social account integration, and more
• Automatic generation of XML files, news and video sitemaps, and notifications for search engines
• Advanced schema snippets with special support for schema blocks for events, instructions, FAQs, recipes, and videos
• Local SEO
• Keyword comparison tools and Google Trends integration
• Shortcodes for displaying contact information
• Specialized SEO for improving site speed
• Bulk SEO editing
• Post and keyword ratings on your website
• Version control
• AI content generation tool
• Keyword rank tracker with position history

And what does AIO SEO have to offer? Let’s take a look:

• Automated website SEO analysis and recommendations
• On-page keyword analysis with additional helpful information
• Smart tags for page/post titles and meta descriptions
• WooCommerce SEO for increased sales and optimization of product pages
• Image SEO optimization
• Integration with social media for proper sharing formatting
• Intelligent sitemaps in XML, RSS, and HTML formats, with automatic notifications to Google and Bing
• Schema markup for rich snippets
• Local search optimization features

Summary:

Rank Math receives 1 point for its extensive functionality,
Yoast takes second place with 0.5 points, while
AIO SEO earns only a quarter of a point.

I absolutely do not want to offend the developers of any extensions, and I can even say more that AIO SEO is an excellent extension that meets all the basic needs of an SEO specialist. However, sometimes it still lacks some advanced features that are available in the other two competitors.

#2 –Size (Server Load)

To determine the winner in this category, we will use the plugin comparison tool from WP Hive.

First, let’s compare Yoast and Rank Math, and then compare the winner with AIO SEO.

First Comparison — Memory Usage

The winner is Rank Math. Let’s move on to the second comparison — page speed.

Once again, Rank Math takes the lead. You can find the full comparison at the provided link.

In terms of memory usage, AIO SEO even falls behind Yoast. Surprisingly, the winner once again is Rank Math. Next, let’s consider page speed.

And once again, Rank Math emerges as the winner. You can find the results of this comparison at the provided link.

Summary:

Rank Math takes first place in server load, earning 1 point.

Yoast follows with 0.5 points, and

AIO SEO comes in third with 0.25 points.

From these results, it can be concluded that Rank Math minimally utilizes your server’s memory and has no significant impact on the page loading speed of your website.

#3 — User Interface

When it comes to the user interface, the requirements are quite clear for a better user experience:

• Simplicity and transparency of the interface.
• Automated onboarding processes.
• On-page SEO interface.
• Plugin navigation.
• Overall SEO status monitoring.

All-in-One SEO

AIO provides a straightforward dashboard that displays the current site status:

The plugin navigation is also clear, and there are no questions about where to find the function you need.

• Page snippet
• Metadata
• Focus keywords
• Basic SEO
• Microdata
• Internal links
• Redirects
• Additional settings

What’s especially convenient is that all the important sections are highlighted with vibrant colors, subtly indicating that they need to be filled in.

Yoast SEO

Yoast has the simplest user interface compared to other plugins. Regardless of your version (free or premium), Yoast provides a dashboard and tabs for features, integrations, and webmaster tools.

The navigation within the plugin is more minimalist than in AIO or Rank Math, which can sometimes cause slight confusion for new users.

In a blog post or on a page, Yoast modules are located to the right and below your content. There is a Google preview, the ability to edit metadata, and content analysis based on target keywords.

This SEO analysis also includes additional tools, such as configuring social media snippets.

Rank Math

And finally, Rank Math. The plugin interface can be described as something in between AIO and Yoast. The dashboard is more extensive than in All in One SEO — it includes more graphs, report variations, and position tracking. We particularly like how everything, from search traffic to keyword positions, is displayed on the main monitoring dashboard.

The navigation within the functionality is as good as in AIO SEO. Here are the sections available in the navigation:

• Analytics
• General settings
• Titles and meta
• Sitemap settings
• Schema templates
• Role manager
• Redirects
• SEO analysis
• 404 Monitor

Regarding on-page optimization, all the points are neatly divided into 4 sections: Basic SEO, Advanced SEO, Schema Markup, and Social SEO.

Summary:

In our subjective view,
Rank Math takes first place with its convenient navigation, earning 1 point.
AIO SEO rightfully claims second place with 0.5 points, while
Yoast takes third place with 0.25 points.

#4 — Indexing and Sitemap

Proper indexing of your website is one of the key requirements when choosing an SEO plugin.

All in One SEO automatically generates a sitemap in three formats:

• XML
• RSS
• HTML

The most common format is XML, which is used by most search engines, including Google.

One interesting feature of AIO is the ability to generate sitemaps for video and news websites. The developers claim that this is an excellent way to get noticed as a new publisher from Google.

In general, the All in One SEO plugin provides excellent automatic indexing, where sitemaps are submitted and regularly updated in search engines like Google and Bing.

One nice feature of All in One SEO is the easy configuration of the sitemap without the need for code. Additionally, there is a function that helps determine the priority of the most effective pages to ensure their indexing by Google.

Yoast uses a standard XML sitemap and instantly indexes your website in Google. It also includes webmaster tools for verification in search engines such as Baidu, Bing, Google, and Yandex.

In Yoast, sitemap generation happens within the plugin, and most beginners may not even be aware that it has occurred. Therefore, it is a great option for getting started but may not be suitable for experienced SEO specialists working with e-commerce, news sites, and other complex resources.

Indexing in Rank Math occurs both globally and for each individual page. You can choose the pages you want to index, and the plugin takes care of the rest by creating or updating the XML sitemap and submitting it to search engines.

An interesting feature in Rank Math is that the plugin displays the Sitemap status to keep you informed. You can even see when Googlebot last visited your site.

Rank Math also offers specialized Sitemaps for news sites, videos, and local SEO.

Summary:

In this case, AIO takes first place with 1 point,
followed by Rank Math with 0.5 points.
Yoast takes third place based on remaining scores.

Note: Despite its limitations, we can definitely recommend Yoast SEO for small projects to address basic tasks.

#5— Markup

AIO SEO uses Google Knowledge Graph for generating rich snippets. The snippet markup is initially generated automatically, but customization options are available.

The following markup options are offered for objects:

• Products (WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads)
• Items
• Courses
• Recipes
• FAQ sections
• Software programs
• Companies

In Yoast, the functionality is slightly more limited. It includes:

• Automatic generation of rich snippets
• Rich snippet preview
• Company snippet generation

The plugin with the widest range of functionality is Rank Math. In addition to automatic generation, it offers a full-fledged editor with a wide range of templates.

There are templates available for almost all sets of objects that exist in modern markup.

Summary:

Rank Math — 1 point for the most extensive functionality.
We give second place to AIO SEO — 0.5 points.
And Yoast receives 0.25 points.

Let’s summarize:

The article has come to an end, which means it’s time to calculate the final scores.

As expected, Rank Math has scored the highest number of points. And it’s not surprising considering the extensive functionality this plugin offers. All in One SEO takes second place, while Yoast SEO comes in third.

In this article, we did not touch upon the cost criterion, but let’s briefly discuss it now. Yoast and Rank Math offer the largest set of features for free.

If we talk about premium versions, Yoast is the most affordable option, but there is one catch: the license is purchased separately for each website. If you need a single license for multiple websites, choose Rank Math.

n any case, this review is our subjective opinion. Please share in the comments which plugin you use and why. I hope the article turned out to be interesting, and I would be very happy if it benefits you. See you soon!