Here is our list of the absolutely most critical plugins that your WordPress site or blog NEEDS.
We firmly recommend the below plugins for any website, new or old due to their combined value of utility, ease of use, and the fact that they are free (some having premium features of course if you get really serious).
Now keep in mind, there are alternative plugins to those listed below, we are simply listing out our favorite plugins (for the reasons stated above) that fulfill important SEO/Keyword Ranking “objectives”.
All in One SEO Pack is a WordPress SEO plugin to automatically optimize your WordPress blog for Search Engines such as Google.
The All In One SEO Pack is great for managing your meta details to the tiniest detail.
An easy, fast and secure plugin that adds both an XML and an HTML sitemap to your site, which updates and maintains themselves so you don’t have to!
Simple WP Sitemap will make your sitemap building last no more than 10 seconds.
Huge-IT Image Gallery is the best plugin to use if you want to be original with your website.
As we mentioned, images are critical in today’s SEO environment. Huge-It Image Gallery makes your images beautiful.
4. W3 Counter
Adds real-time web stats to your dashboard including visitor activity, top posts, top referrers, searches, and location maps.
The best way to manage your SEO growth and see what you are doing right (or wrong).
Floating Social Share bar WordPress plugin lets you add social media sharing buttons on your blog posts.
Everyone wants their site to go viral. Having quick and simple social share capabilities help make that dream come to reality.
6. JetPack
JetPack is a critical plugin. The fact that mobile-friendly site designs are required in order for a site to be relevant, JetPack should actually be first on the list. With the click of a button, JetPack helps to check and make sure your theme is mobile-friendly, and if not, it will create a mobile-friendly version for phone users, without altering your desktop version.
Bonus
Have you ever visited a blog and noticed the comment section had about 9999.9 comments that had nothing to do with the blog post? Well, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk is a fantastic plugin that will help you manage spam….by blocking it. Its algorithm helps easily identify spam and block it out throughout your site, including posts, pages, and even WooCommerce product review sections.
Having a spam-filled blog can potentially be a risk that diminishes your SEO score. Anti-Spam will help protect you from that.