How to Use AI for SEO in WordPress (12 Tools)

After 15 years of building websites, I‘ve seen firsthand how difficult Search Engine Optimization can be. There are so many factors to juggle—keywords, links, meta tags, formatting, etc. The slightest mistake can tank your rankings.

Thankfully, artificial intelligence (AI) is coming to the rescue!

AI-powered tools can automate many of the tedious SEO tasks that used to keep me up at night. As a bonus, they provide data-driven insights no human could generate alone.

According to Statista, 61% of SEO professionals already use AI to enhance their efforts. In this post, I‘ll show you how to join them.

Below, I’ll share the 12 best AI tools to use for SEO with WordPress based on my experience. For each one, I’ll explain:

  • Key capabilities
  • Benefits for SEO
  • Ideal use cases
  • Cost

Let’s dive in! This guide will level up your WordPress SEO game faster than you can say "artificial intelligence."

Why You Should Use AI Tools for SEO in WordPress

I know learning new technology can be intimidating. But trust me, embracing AI for SEO is well worth the effort.

Here are four killer benefits you’ll unlock:

1. Automate Time-Consuming SEO Tasks

SEO projects easily eat up chunks of time. Consider these examples:

  • Keyword research – Finding profitable, low competition keywords requires analyzing search volumes, CPC data, competitor rankings, and more across dozens of tools. This can take hours per post.

  • Content optimization – Properly optimizing pages for keywords demands meticulously including keywords in titles, headers, body text, metadata, etc.

  • Competitor monitoring – Tracking competitors‘ SEO strategies means regularly checking their website changes, backlink profiles, and content.

Now imagine handing those tiresome tasks off to AI tools that can do them 10x faster with better results. That‘s invaluable time you earn back!

2. Uncover Actionable Insights

SEO comes down to understanding user intent for searches and aligning your content accordingly.

But how users think, write, and search is complex. AI tools use natural language processing (NLP) to study millions of searches and results to uncover patterns no human could spot.

These insights teach you exactly how to optimize your site and content. For example, AI can identify:

  • Better keywords and topics to target
  • Questions and informational gaps your content should answer
  • Ideal places to add keywords and internal links
  • Issues hurting your page‘s performance

This level of personalized intelligence is game-changing.

3. Adapt Faster to Changes

Search engine algorithms change constantly. If you‘re not keeping up, your rankings suffer.

AI tools monitor the SERPs around the clock to detect shifts in:

  • Desired content formats (long form vs shortform, video vs text, etc.)
  • New ranking factors
  • Penalties for poor optimization

They then recommend adjustments to your SEO strategy accordingly.

This automation keeps you ahead of the curve when Google and Bing update their algorithms.

4. Scale Your Efforts

Great SEO requires regularly publishing new, optimized content. But few teams can write enough quality posts manually.

AI writing assistants generate blog post outlines, drafts, headlines, and meta descriptions at scale. This steady stream of content keeps search engines and visitors engaged.

The table below summarizes the unique benefits you‘ll gain by incorporating AI into your WordPress SEO efforts:

Benefit Description
Save time Automate tedious SEO tasks faster
Gain insights Uncover optimization opportunities impossible for humans to find
Stay agile Adapt strategy to algorithm changes immediately
Increase output Produce more content more efficiently

Now let‘s explore 12 awesome AI tools to achieve these benefits!

12 Best AI Tools for SEO with WordPress

Through extensive testing over my 15 years in web development, I’ve handpicked these 12 AI platforms as the best for SEO with WordPress.

For each tool, I’ll share:

  • Overview
  • Key features
  • Ideal use cases
  • Cost

Let’s get started!

1. All in One SEO Pack – Best Overall

All in One SEO

Overview: All in One SEO Pack is the most popular SEO plugin for WordPress. It powers over 3 million sites with its comprehensive set of optimization features.

Key features:

  • AI-generated titles and metadata
  • Internal linking suggestions
  • Content analysis
  • Schema markup
  • Sitemaps
  • Google Search Console integration

Use cases: All in One SEO Pack is a great choice for any WordPress site owner looking to improve their SEO. It provides all the essentials for optimizing content, links, speed, and more.

The AI capabilities specifically help you create high-performing titles and descriptions, improve internal linking, and optimize written content.

Cost: Starts at $49.60 per year. A free version called All in One SEO Lite is also available.

2. SEMrush – Most Powerful

SEMrush

Overview: SEMrush is an elite all-in-one SEO and content marketing toolkit. It arms agencies and in-house teams with highly advanced analytics.

Key features:

  • AI writing assistant
  • In-depth keyword research
  • Hundreds of competitor tracking data points
  • Backlink analysis
  • Rank tracking across search engines

Use cases: SEMrush shines for users wanting to take a highly data-driven approach to SEO powered by machine learning. It provides incredibly granular intelligence to inform strategies.

The AI writing assistant gives excellent real-time suggestions to optimize content for rankings and engagement.

Cost: Starts at $99.95 per month. Offers various plans based on needs.

3. Surfer SEO – Best for Content Creators

Surfer SEO

Overview: Surfer SEO aims to make SEO easy for bloggers and content creators. It focuses specifically on optimizing written content.

Key features:

  • AI-generated content and headline ideas
  • Contextual keyword insertion suggestions
  • Questions and topics to cover
  • Readability improvements

Use cases: Surfer shines for producing SEO-optimized blog posts, articles, guides, and other text content quickly.

The AI guidance allows beginners to improve content without deep expertise. It‘s an affordable option tailored to sites relying on traffic from written content.

Cost: Starts at $59 per month. Offers bulk discounts for teams.

4. Jasper – Best AI Writing Assistant

Jasper AI

Overview: Jasper provides enterprise-grade AI copywriting assistance. It creates blog posts, landing pages, emails, social posts, and more tailored to your brand voice.

Key features:

  • Detailed content outlines and drafts
  • Natural language content generation
  • Customizable tone and voice
  • Integrates into WordPress editor

Use cases: Jasper excels at content creation. It‘s ideal for teams that need to produce a high volume of optimized content regularly.

Jasper can draft most of your content, which you then edit to perfection. This amplifies productivity enormously.

Cost: Starts at $39 per month. Offers custom enterprise plans.

5. INK Content Intelligence – Best for Content Analysis

INK

Overview: INK helps optimize your existing WordPress content for better engagement and conversions.

Key features:

  • Scores content on SEO, readability, uniqueness, and UX
  • Identifies low-performing pages to improve
  • Uncovers relevant keywords and topics to target
  • Tracks goal completions for different posts

Use cases: INK shines for auditing and improving existing content. Its AI provides tailored suggestions to refresh old blog posts or pages that now underperform.

This helps you get more value from your existing library of content.

Cost: Starts at $99 per month. Offers custom enterprise pricing.

6. Clearscope – Best for In-Depth Keyword Research

Clearscope

Overview: Clearscope specializes in AI-powered keyword and content research. It aims to help you rank #1 for your most competitive targets.

Key features:

  • Reveals questions people ask about your topic
  • Analyzes competitors ranking for keywords
  • Identifies optimal content structure and topics to cover
  • Integrates with Google Docs

Use cases: Clearscope excels at developing laser-focused keyword strategies and creating content that beats the competition.

It‘s ideal for ranking for ultra-competitive terms that require extensive research and diligent optimization.

Cost: Starts at $159 per month. Offers custom enterprise plans.

7. UberSuggest – Best Free Keyword Tool

UberSuggest

Overview: UberSuggest is a free AI-powered keyword research tool from Neil Patel. Despite being free, it offers impressive capabilities.

Key features:

  • Keyword ideas generator
  • Reveals questions people are asking
  • Analyzes content for SEO, readability, and engagement
  • Easy-to-use Chrome extension

Use cases: UberSuggest is a phenomenal starting point for keyword research. Its Chrome extension makes it easy to generate ideas and optimize content as you browse and write.

The tool works great for new sites just starting SEO or anyone seeking a free solution.

Cost: 100% free! UberSuggest makes money by being an entrypoint into Neil Patel‘s other paid tools and services.

8. Rank Math SEO – Best Budget Plugin

Rank Math

Overview: Rank Math SEO is a popular WordPress plugin with over 1 million active installs. It focuses on delivering robust SEO features affordably.

Key features:

  • Auto-generated metadata
  • SEO analysis and suggestions
  • Schema markup integrations
  • Some basic internal linking management
  • Optional AI content generation add-on

Use cases: Rank Math is great for WordPress sites wanting good, fundamental on-page SEO capabilities at a budget price.

It covers all the SEO basics. The optional Content AI add-on provides further AI optimization.

Cost: Starts at $89 per year. The SEO Content AI add-on costs $10 for 20 credits.

9. WordAI – Best for Automated Content Spinning

WordAI

Overview: WordAI automatically creates new, unique versions of your content while preserving the original meaning.

Key features:

  • Spins text by replacing words with synonyms
  • Varies sentence structures
  • Avoids duplicate content penalties by generating new versions

Use cases: WordAI excels at repurposing existing content quickly. It‘s great for creating multiple pages around the same topic or giving old posts new life.

The spun versions incorporate new keywords to help them rank for more searches.

Cost: Starts at $49 per month. Offers custom enterprise plans.

10. Scalenut – Best for Ecommerce SEO

Scalenut

Overview: Scalenut focuses on providing advanced SEO capabilities specifically to ecommerce stores.

Key features:

  • Complete technical/on-page site audits
  • Tracks keyword rankings across search engines
  • Monitors backlinks and keywords of top competitors
  • Identifies product content gaps

Use cases: Scalenut shines for ecommerce SEO. It provides the research and competitive insights online stores need to grab traffic in crowded markets.

The tool helps stores benchmark themselves against competitors and identify areas to improve.

Cost: Starts at $50 per month. Offers custom enterprise pricing.

11. Link Whisper – Best for Internal Linking

Link Whisper

Overview: Link Whisper is a WordPress plugin that uses AI to find opportunities to add internal links between your content.

Key features:

  • Analyzes your content to detect relevant pages to link to
  • Tracks existing internal links
  • Helps fix broken links
  • Automates suggested link insertion

Use cases: Solid internal linking is tremendously important for good SEO. Link Whisper makes it easy to interlink your content effectively as your site grows.

It‘s a huge time saver compared to manually trying to keep track of what to link to from each post.

Cost: Starts at $75 per year.

12. Serpstat – Best for All-in-One SEO & PPC

Serpstat

Overview: Serpstat provides a suite of AI tools to manage SEO and PPC campaigns together.

Key features:

  • In-depth keyword research
  • Tracks search rankings for targeted keywords
  • Analyzes competitors‘ organic and paid strategies
  • Creates optimized PPC ads

Use cases: Serpstat excels at developing integrated SEO and PPC strategies. It uses automation and AI to help manage every aspect of driving traffic.

This unified intelligence saves toggling between separate tools.

Cost: Starts at $99 per month. Offers custom enterprise pricing.

Comparison Table

Here‘s a quick overview of the key capabilities of each tool:

Tool Best For Key Features Starting Price
All in One SEO Overall SEO Metadata generation, content analysis, schema markup $49.60 per year
SEMrush Data-driven SEO Writing assistant, rank tracking, competitor research $99.95 per month
Surfer SEO Optimizing content Keywords suggestions, outlines, readability $59 per month
Jasper Content creation Detailed outlines and drafts, integrates with WordPress $39 per month
INK Content analysis Scores content, uncovers optimization opportunities $99 per month
Clearscope In-depth keyword research Competitive analysis, optimal content structure $159 per month
UberSuggest Free keyword research Related keywords, questions, content analysis Free
Rank Math Affordable SEO plugin Metadata, schema markup, basic internal linking $89 per year
WordAI Content spinning Creates unique versions of posts $49 per month
Scalenut Ecommerce SEO Technical audits, content gap analysis $50 per month
Link Whisper Internal linking Analyzes best pages to interlink $75 per year
Serpstat Unified SEO & PPC Keyword tracking, ad creation, rank monitoring $99 per month

Start Using AI to Level Up Your WordPress SEO!

I hope this guide has shown you how you can leverage artificial intelligence to slash your workload and boost your WordPress site‘s search performance.

The key is picking one or two tools that solve your biggest SEO pain points. Avoid overcomplicating things unnecessarily.

Are you struggling with content creation? Give Jasper or INK a try.

Need help beating the competition for tough keywords? Check out Clearscope or SEMrush.

My personal recommendation is starting with the All in One SEO Pack plugin. It will handle all the SEO fundamentals for your WordPress site right out of the box.

Once you have the basics covered, you can layer on advanced tools like Surfer or UberSuggest to further enhance your efforts.

What AI SEO tools have you tried? Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to help fellow WordPress users.

Written by Jason Striegel

C/C++, Java, Python, Linux developer for 18 years, A-Tech enthusiast love to share some useful tech hacks.