WordPress is undisputedly one of the best open-source Content Management Systems (CMS) available, powering over 74 million websites around the entire world. The ability to easily customize WordPress with vast array of plugins is one of its primary selling points. The plugins are easy to install and can support a large variety of functions. The biggest issue with this is the sheer amount of plugins there are in the WordPress plugins directory – over 30,000 plugins to choose from! In previous articles, we’ve covered some of the best IDX plugins, but in this article, we’re going to cover some of the best CRO, SEO, and Social plugins available for WordPress.

The Best SEO WordPress Plugins

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. But what does that really mean? Simply put, SEO determines the ranking of your website on search engines (such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo) when a user queries a related search term. A well optimized website is one of the primary factors that affects your standing in the search results. The WordPress plugins directory has several amazing plugins that can help you achieve the best optimization and guide you through the process if you’re new to SEO.

WordPress SEO by Yoast: This is one of the most well-recommended and highly-downloaded SEO WordPress plugin, if the not THE most downloaded and recommended. It’s a great, comprehensive plugin that can suit all of your SEO-related needs. The list of features of this plugin is supremely long so we’ll focus on the highlights. This tool allows you to easily add meta titles, descriptions, and keywords to all of your posts and pages. It links your social media profiles, generates sitemaps, and a variety of other amazing features.

All in One SEO Pack: Another popular SEO plugin, this plugin also offers sitemap creation. It’s very beginner friendly but also offers a more complex Premiere version. It generates Meta tags automatically, automatically optimizes your webpage titles for Google, and helps you avoid duplicate content. It’s easy to use “out-of-the-box” but you can also customize and fine-tune it if you’re more familiar with the SEO process.

Redirection: This plugin is almost in a different category from the others; however, we decided to add it because of how critical redirects are in the SEO process. Redirection, like the name suggests, is a WordPress plugin that allows you to redirect users from webpages that may be broken to the correct page using 301 redirects. Typically, you’d need a web developer to change this, but within this WordPress plugin, you just need to go to the admin area to do it yourself for free.

Best CRO WordPress Plugins

CRO stands for Conversion Rate Optimization and is the method of using website analytics and user feedback to determine what on your website encourages conversions (whether that’s signing up for a newsletter, buying a product, or contacting you – it all depends on the action you want your visitor). The plugins below are very helpful in improving CRO.

Gravity Forms: If your conversions are mostly form-based (you want your users to take action by using a web form) then you should consider purchasing Gravity Forms. In the game of CRO, you will want to make your forms as short as possible, making it easy for your users to complete and submit the form. Data show that too many form fields can discourage a user from using a web form.  With this plugin, you can configure the forms easily making them look and work the way you want them to. It also offers some of the most robust integration and addons in the web form market.

WordPress Calls to Action: This plugin allows you to create customizable call-to-action buttons in WordPress pages. It also allows you to monitor and track conversion rates, run testing (both a/b and multivariate), and increase lead flow. All of this will help you drive and convert more leads!

BugMeBar: The BugMeBar plugin easily allows you to add a customizable, dismissable message/notification to your users at the top of your webpage(s). The plugin is responsive and can be used on a phone or tablet. It’s also very affordable especially compared to its competitors, priced at $11.

Best Social WordPress Plugins

Social media sharing plugins are often overlooked which is unfortunate because a lot of website traffic can be generated from this. Being able to share is a really important part of the “internet experience.” The plugins we have listed below are some of the best social media sharing plugins available. We hope this will help you decide if one of these plugins is right for your website.

Disqus Comment System: This plugin allows users to easily write and read comments on a blog or article. It provides an easier way for users to discuss your webpage and also lets the discussion be more interactive. It allows threaded comments and replies, keeping these digital conversations simpler. It also provides users with subscription and RSS options and aggregated comments. Overall this increases your readership (potentially) exponentially.

Social Warfare: This is a great social sharing package, allowing your website to have support for popular social networks and develop eye-catching themes. It is mobile responsive and allows you to also upload Pinterest images and descriptions to your post (allowing you to boost traffic from Pinterest). There are also floating share buttons and it’s easy for your users to see how often an article/post has been shared. And one of its best features is the “click to tweet” widget that can be placed in your webpage content. It starts from $24/year.

Shareaholic: This plugin is supremely easy to use and allows you to amplify and share your content easily. Their share buttons are award winning, including sharing optons for LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, etc. These buttons are much more visually appealing than most other share buttons. You can also utilize a share count button, showing your users how often an article has been shared (or not).It’s a free plugin, all you need to do is signup for an account.

Choosing the Best Plugin For Your Website

This compilation of amazing SEO, CRO, and Social WordPress plugins should help you get started. However, depending on your needs and budget, you may have to do some more exploring before you make your final decision.

At digiTech Web Design, we’re committed to helping our clients develop the best webpages possible in order to increase their CRO, SEO, and Social sharing. Over the years, we have used many different WordPress plugins to achieve the unique goals of each of our clients. For more information on how we can help you with your web design and internet marketing goals, please contact us today!