Having the best SEO in a blog or for that matter at any site can make a huge or even critical difference in how well your site/blog does. Since we’re dealing with WordPress here we also have a major advantage over HTML sites – you can use plugins to change your preferences and settings in minutes. Below are the top 5 SEO plugins we use all the time.

Now some of that’s personal option as WordPress has a huge variety of plugins obtainable and there are other plugins that will do the exact same or similar actions. If you look to alter your title tags, create a sitemap or manage your pinging you will find multiple options obtainable.

This list has worked nicely for us and do not conflict with the other plugins and themes I use frequently. All of these plugins are within the WordPress codex and could be put in directly into your blog.

All In 1 Seo – Getting the ability to make custom title tags is a must have for the Search engine optimization efforts. Being able to do that can create a huge difference in how your post ranks in the numerous search engines.

SEO Friendly Images – We are dealing with images all the time and also most of the time the proper image settings are overlooked. This little plugin will add proper title and alt text to all your images, taken from the post title.
Google XML Sitemap – Getting a correctly formatted sitemap makes it easier for that search engines to spider your website. No matter the plugin you use for creating a sitemap make sure that you’re submitting it and verifying it in Google Webmaster Instruments.

All in one Webmaster – Easy way to authenticate your blog with Google, Yahoo and Bing, Facebook, Alexa it also adds a host of other useful features like sitemap submission and Google Analytics. Check the video below for more.

cbnet Ping Optimizer – Another must have as this will add the option to add your own ping list and optimize pinging. It will prevent pinging when saving a post version or making changes, so you will avoid “ping spam”

These would be the 5 Seo plugins I see as a must have. We use these all the time, in every blog we install and we found that the above list work the best compared to other options out there.  Of course we add other plugins to the mix but we consider these as the most important ones. If for whatever reason you choose not to use the above list make sure your other plugins will cover your needs as above.

These are my choices. What are yours?