Let’s save you some time.
None of us like trawling the net to find out what plugins we 100% must have on our blog because there’s so many different opinions!
What plugins do I need?
Well, I’ve done a lot of research on this, listened to a lot of the big names out there, and I’ve done a lot of tinkering. All this time and effort has helped me to help you…awesome 
So here’s what guys like Ryan Kelly of Pear Analytics and other top SEO guys recommend…and why!
Must Have Plugin #1 – Platinum SEO Pack
Loads of people have heard of the All In One SEO Pack, which I used to use tons, but what about this bad boy. Well, it does the same job as the All In One SEO Pack, but it has some neat extra features. The point is, you need this to kick butt with WordPress SEO wise. It helps you optimise your site and posts each and every time! What does that all lead to? Google love my friends…a great big smack on the lips from Google…niiice!
Get it here
Must Have Plugin #2 – Google XML Sitemaps
Want some more Google love? Make it easy for there spiders to crawl your site using this sitemap maker. Once you install it and activate it, it’ll update with each new post to your blog which will make it easy for the bots to see what’s fresh and happening. Google have made it well known that they want this on peoples sites…so don’t be a duffus, get it installed now guys!
Get it here
Must Have Plugin #3 – Akismet
This is a time saver! It’ll help you filter out spam which will save you the hassle of sorting out all of those pointless posts that find their way onto your site.
Get it here
Must Have Plugin #4 – Backup Buddy
Not the cheapest plugin around, but without some form of backup system in place you’re asking for trouble. Why’s that? Well, I made that mistake…no backups, my site crashed and I couldn’t find the code error as I’m hardly a php king. I had all my content but the site had died…bad times. So I had to stay up for the night re-doing all of my settings and design options etc…not good! But hey, I have backups now…every day!!! Don’t be a dumb ass like me then and get a back up system in place or use Backup Buddy!
Get it here
Must Have Plugin #5 – Google Analyticator
Analytics make the rockin’ world go round…or at least the marketing world. Google Analytics is pretty much the go to platform for bloggers, at least to begin with. But you have to whack some code in your site. If you’re not used to handling code, then this plugin does the that for you…again time saved…nice hey? All you have to do is follow the instructions it gives you and you’re rockin’ and rollin’!!!
Get it here
Must Have Plugin #6 – WP Subscribers
“The money’s in the list!” Have you heard that before? I reckon so. But it’s true guys and girls, if you’re not collecting your visitors email addresses, you’re passing up major opportunity. Every email you collect offers you the chance to talk to them, to build a relationship. An email on your list represents traffic, money, fans…the lot. With a list you can repurpose your traffic at the click of the email send button…and you work so hard to get the visitors there in the first place…why not do that little bit extra and help them come back again and again?!
Enough of the rant though…WP Subscribers is a killer plugin that I love using. It allows you to create subscription forms all over your site, and track conversions! Pretty handy. You need to make your sign up forms stand out and this lets you do that!
Get it here
Must Have Plugin #7 – WP Clicks
Now this is just a cool plugin. Google Analytics is a killer analytics platform…but how about actually being able to see what you’re using are doing every time they visit your site?
Well WP Clicks creates a screen cast every time a visitor hits your site. You’re essentially looking over their shoulder and seeing what they click on, where they stop, where their mouse hovers over (and doesn’t click)…it’s the closest you’re gonna’ get to retina tracking any time soon for your site! A massively powerful, and insightful piece of kit!
Get it here
Woah! That about covers that really!
There are tons of plugins out there, and I’ll most likely add to these over time. But I wanted to give you something that can help you across the whole blog…you’ve got SEO covered there, tracking, analytics, email sign ups, spam filtering and back ups…that’s a pretty solid foundation to start from people!
Don’t let me catch you asking “what plugins do I need?” again then!
I’m always on hunt for decent plugins though. So if you’ve got any to share, or have any thoughts on the ones above, leave a comment below.
(they're free)
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Hey, I'm Jamie Lynch, the guy behind Bigaloo.com and FITblurb.com. Since I left school at 17, I've been an entrepreneur and still run the business I started back then offline. I've been online for a number of years, learning the ins and outs of marketing online and I want to share my knowledge with all you Bigaloo'ers!