For a long time, I operated based on a Naver blog, but for some reason starting at the end of last year (I don't remember), I started running a blog and pages on WordPress in my spare time, and I think I've used it for almost 10 months. (As of June 15, 2023, I am currently operating on Ghost)
Although I plan to write a separate post about this in the future, if I had to pick the most unique aspect of operating a blog on WordPress, it would probably be that most features require direct configuration.
When using a Naver blog, I had to implement SEO and search console features that were provided by default myself, so I had to try various things, and of course, while WordPress offers many plugins, finding the right one by trying each one one by one was quite frustrating for a WordPress beginner.
Regardless, in order to input information and get exposed across various platforms, SEO ( Search Engine Optimization ) is quite important. Since WordPress requires building it yourself and providing content, you have to think about and set up SEO directly.
Of course, it seems to handle basic sitemap creation and Open Graph data generation to some extent.. but in order to be properly exposed on Google or Naver, it seems necessary to use an SEO plugin to create high-quality posting data.
So, I'd like to introduce a few of the SEO plugins I've used over the last 10 months.
By chance, I've used all three of the most popular SEO plugins on WordPress, as shown in the image above, so I'm leaving a review.
1. Yoast SEO
https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/
I believe it is the SEO service with the most users worldwide among WordPress users. As of today, the WordPress plugin installation page shows that over 5 million people are using it.
Actually, since I was using WordPress again after a long time and looking for plugins for SEO settings, this was the first plugin I discovered, but the UI and environment looked old, so I didn't use it.
When I tried using it again during my future SEO nomad life, I could definitely see why it has powerful features and why so many users use it. However, it doesn't seem particularly convenient or anything like that.
Basic features are available for free, but it seems essential to use paid features to configure them properly. However, since the paid features are quite expensive, they need to be reviewed. To use proper features, you need to pay around $99 per year.
2. Rank Math SEO
https://rankmath.com/
Exhausted with the UI composition of SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, which feels a bit old-fashioned.. I tried switching between various plugins and discovered this one.
Compared to Yoast, it was very satisfying with a very well-organized and beautiful UI/UX composition and services. (Actually, it looked satisfying.) In fact, while using RankMath, the UX experience was well-designed, so I was able to learn the processes and knowledge for setting up SEO in a WordPress environment, and I understand it as a plugin that acted as a big teacher (?) in the current situation.
Another advantage was that the price of the paid license, which allows you to use powerful optimization features, was relatively inexpensive.
For paid licenses, it starts at $59, but it's not just cheap; unlike most plugins where even with a paid license the basic license only allows use on one site, RankMath offers unlimited personal websites! That is, it can be used without limit on personal sites.
At the time, since the company pages and community pages I was helping with were being built in a haphazard manner using WordPress, the paid license of RankMath, which didn't require purchasing licenses individually, was like rain in a drought, and I bought and used the Pro license with the thought that I would use it for a long time!
The reason this content ends with a past tense ending is... because I stopped using it for some reason...
3. All in SEO
https://aioseo.com/
This is the SEO plugin I have settled on and am currently using.
I know Yoast SEO to be the SEO plugin with the most users. And during the SEO plugin nomad era, after trying various ones, I settled on this one and have been using it.
Given that it has a large user base and many use cases, I believe it is easy to use and possesses powerful features. Considering that the well-organized UX and features of RankMath, introduced above, were in a familiar format for All in SEO, I think it is an SEO plugin with its main features very well organized.
The price also feels reasonable compared to Yoast. It is a bit disappointing that there are site limits depending on the license, but if you can easily use SEO with an annual investment of around $49, I think it is worth using.
However, RankMath, introduced above, has the advantage of allowing unlimited site additions for just 10 dollars more. As mentioned above, the author felt that RankMath improved upon All in One SEO and felt it was better designed, so they switched to RankMath and paid for the premium version to use it.
However, after switching to RankMath, which I had set up and was using very satisfactorily, my exposure rate on Google Search and others started to drop drastically. Actually, even when I searched directly on Google, the issue of not being displayed well began to occur..
Searching around, it seemed similar issues were being reported quite a bit among Rank Math users. To make matters worse, while trying to set up the site map for registration on Naver Search Advisor, I encountered a problem where the site map generated by Rank Math wouldn't register..
Of course, someone with more technical experience might be able to solve this issue, but for me, a WordPress beginner with limited web knowledge, the problem seemed too difficult to solve. I tried my best to use RankMath for nearly a month, but in the end, I decided to revert to All in One SEO. (Give my money back..)
결론 적으로 현재는 All in SEO 를 아주 만족 스럽게 잘 쓰고 있다. 사실 위에서 언급한 Yoast SEO 의 경우도 사이트맵 생성과 RSS 피드 페이지 생성 및 네이버 서치 어드바이저 등록 에서 문제를 얻었었는데.. All in SEO 는 몇번 실패하긴 했지만 결과적으로 현재 등록도 잘되고 구글에서 검색도 잘 되고 있는 것 같다.
虽然我不敢确定，但根据我有限的学识和经验推测，上述介绍的3个SEO插件中，All in SEO可能提供了更符合国内环境的功能。
That concludes the story of the three WordPress SEO plugins introduced above.
I will introduce it if I use a new SEO plugin or learn about one in the future.