rationalwp

Rational SEO provides 100% of the technical SEO requirements for modern sites with 0% of the database bloat, UI clutter, or performance drag.
<h4>Philosophy</h4>
Rational SEO rigorously rejects features that do not directly influence search engines or social crawlers:
<ul>
<li>No Content Scoring – No traffic lights, readability checks, or keyword density counters</li>
<li>No Dashboard – No “SEO Overview” widget or React-powered admin home</li>
<li>No Analytics – No ranking tracking or Google Search Console API integrations</li>
<li>No Frontend Assets – Zero CSS or JS files loaded on the frontend</li>
<li>No 404 Logging – Never writes 404 hits to the database</li>
</ul>
<h4>Features</h4>
Meta Tags
<ul>
<li>Custom title tags with configurable separator</li>
<li>Meta descriptions (manual or auto-generated from excerpt/content)</li>
<li>Robots meta (index/noindex control)</li>
<li>Canonical URLs</li>
<li>Google and Bing verification meta tags</li>
</ul>
Social Media
<ul>
<li>Open Graph tags (og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url, og:type, og:locale, og:site_name)</li>
<li>Twitter Cards (summary or summary_large_image)</li>
<li>Per-post social image override</li>
</ul>
Structured Data
<ul>
<li>JSON-LD schema output using @graph format</li>
<li>Organization or Person schema (configurable)</li>
<li>WebSite schema with publisher linking</li>
<li>WebPage schema</li>
<li>Article schema on posts/pages with author, dates, and images</li>
</ul>
XML Sitemaps
<ul>
<li>Sitemap index at /sitemap.xml</li>
<li>Per-post-type sitemaps with pagination</li>
<li>Transient caching with stale-while-revalidate</li>
<li>Content freshness filtering (exclude old content)</li>
<li>Post type exclusions</li>
</ul>
Editor Integration
<ul>
<li>Meta box on all public post types</li>
<li>Custom SEO title and description fields</li>
<li>Focus keyword field with real-time presence indicators (title, description, first paragraph, URL slug)</li>
<li>Noindex toggle per post</li>
<li>Canonical URL override</li>
<li>Social image override</li>
<li>Taxonomy term SEO fields (title, description, noindex, canonical)</li>
</ul>
Post Type Archives
<ul>
<li>Custom SEO title and description for each post type archive</li>
<li>Configure via Settings > Rational SEO > Archives tab</li>
</ul>
AI Assistant (optional)
<ul>
<li>AI-powered focus keyword suggestions</li>
<li>AI-generated SEO titles and meta descriptions</li>
<li>One-click “Suggest All” for keyword, title, and description together</li>
<li>Uses OpenAI GPT-4o-mini (requires your own API key)</li>
<li>Data sent only when you click — never in the background</li>
</ul>
<h3>External Services</h3>
This plugin connects to the following external services:
<h4>RationalWP Plugin Directory</h4>
This plugin fetches a list of available RationalWP plugins from <a href="https://rationalwp.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">rationalwp.com</a> to display in the WordPress admin menu. Only the menu file version number is sent as a cache-busting query parameter. No user data is transmitted. The response is cached locally for 24 hours.
<ul>
<li>Service URL: <a href="https://rationalwp.com/plugins.json" rel="nofollow ugc">https://rationalwp.com/plugins.json</a></li>
<li>Terms of Service: <a href="https://rationalwp.com/terms/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://rationalwp.com/terms/</a></li>
<li>Privacy Policy: <a href="https://rationalwp.com/privacy/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://rationalwp.com/privacy/</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>OpenAI API (optional)</h4>
This plugin provides optional AI-powered SEO suggestions using the <a href="https://openai.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">OpenAI API</a>. When a site administrator configures an OpenAI API key in Settings > Rational SEO > General, users can click “Suggest” or “Generate” buttons in the post editor to receive AI-generated focus keywords, SEO titles, and meta descriptions.
Data is only sent when a user explicitly clicks an AI suggestion button. The data sent includes the post title and up to 2000 characters of post content (stripped of HTML), along with the user’s own API key for authentication. No data is sent automatically or in the background.
<ul>
<li>Service URL: <a href="https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions" rel="nofollow ugc">https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions</a></li>
<li>Terms of Use: <a href="https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use/</a></li>
<li>Privacy Policy: <a href="https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy/</a></li>
</ul>

RationalSEO

Technical SEO essentials with zero bloat. No dashboards, analytics, content scoring, or frontend assets.

Sitebirds

Clarity SEO is a fast, lightweight WordPress SEO plugin that delivers professional-grade optimization tools without the bloat. Everything you need to rank better — nothing you don’t.
Built for speed and simplicity, Clarity SEO adds zero JavaScript or CSS to your frontend while providing features that rival plugins ten times its size. No upsells, no unnecessary complexity, just clean SEO tools that work.
<h4>🎯 Core Features</h4>
Per-Page Meta Tags & Open Graph 
Automatically generates meta title, description, keywords, and Open Graph tags from your content. Override any field manually in the Gutenberg sidebar metabox. Full Twitter Card support included.
Schema.org JSON-LD Markup 
Rich structured data for WebPage, Article, BlogPosting, FAQPage, VideoObject, LocalBusiness, Product, and custom types. Supports multiple schema types per page. Organization schema with logo, contact, and social profiles.
Dynamic XML Sitemap 
Automatically generated <code>/sitemap.xml</code> with proper priorities, change frequencies, image tags, video support, and Google News tags for blog posts. Includes all public post types and taxonomy terms. Noindexed pages are automatically excluded.
Document Title Integration 
Clarity SEO integrates with WordPress <code>document_title_parts</code> to set your custom meta title as the actual browser tab title — no separate title tag plugin needed.
Readability Analysis 
Real-time Flesch-Kincaid readability score in the editor. Aim for 60+ for optimal readability. Get actionable tips to improve your content.
Focus Keywords & Density 
Set focus keywords per post and get real-time keyword density analysis. Optimal range indicator helps you avoid over- or under-optimization. Internal linking suggestions based on your focus keywords.
SEO Score 
Visual 0-100 SEO score per post based on meta title, description, keywords, density, and readability. See at a glance which posts need attention. Color-coded SEO score column visible directly in your Posts and Pages list.
Google SERP Preview 
See exactly how your page will appear in Google search results — right inside the editor. The preview updates live as you type your meta title and description.
<h4>🔧 Advanced Tools</h4>
301 Redirect Manager 
Create redirects with simple URL matching or regex patterns. Easily redirect old URLs to new ones. Built-in validation for regex patterns. Full management UI with add/delete in the Settings page.
404 Monitor 
Automatic logging of 404 errors with hit count, timestamps, referrer tracking, and user agent data. Uses a dedicated database table for zero performance impact on your options table. Expanded bot/scanner filtering to reduce noise. Export to CSV, paginated interface, and automatic cleanup of old logs.
Image SEO 
Auto-generate alt text and titles from filenames on upload. Bulk find-and-replace tool for existing image alt text (processes up to 500 images per batch).
Local Business SEO 
Add business address, geo coordinates, and contact information for LocalBusiness schema. Perfect for brick-and-mortar businesses.
Google Search Console Integration 
Connect via OAuth2 access token to fetch top-performing pages and URL inspection status. Cached API calls to respect quotas.
Keyword Position Tracking 
Track keyword rankings over time via GSC Search Analytics API. Weekly email reports with position, impressions, and click data. History automatically trimmed to 90 entries per keyword.
SEO Audit Checklist 
30-point automated health check covering HTTPS, permalinks, sitemap, robots.txt, meta tags, schema, alt tags, readability, content length, internal links, and more. Actionable fix links for every issue.
Breadcrumbs 
Schema-enhanced breadcrumbs via <code>[clarity_seo_breadcrumbs]</code> shortcode. Supports page hierarchy, post categories, archives, and search results.
Setup Wizard 
Quick onboarding wizard to configure your organization name, logo, social profiles, contact info, and global defaults in one step.
Noindex / Nofollow 
Per-post control to exclude specific pages from search engine indexing. Noindexed pages are automatically excluded from the XML sitemap.
Import from Yoast / Rank Math 
Import meta titles, descriptions, and focus keywords from Yoast SEO or Rank Math. Processes in batches of 100 for safe handling of large sites. Existing Clarity SEO data is never overwritten.
Bulk Meta Generation 
One-click tool on the Dashboard to auto-generate missing meta titles and descriptions for all published content. Titles use your post title + site name pattern; descriptions are extracted from excerpts or content.
Schema Toggles 
Enable or disable individual schema types (Organization, FAQ, Video, Multiple) directly from the Settings page.
<h4>🚀 Performance First</h4>
<ul>
<li>Custom database table for 404 logs — no wp_options bloat</li>
<li>Transient caching for GSC API calls</li>
<li>Keyword history auto-trimmed to prevent unbounded option growth</li>
<li>Minimal footprint: zero frontend JS/CSS, no external API calls</li>
<li>No external API calls on frontend (everything is self-contained)</li>
<li>Admin scripts only load on relevant pages</li>
</ul>
<h4>Clarity + SiteBirds</h4>
Clarity SEO is your lightweight WordPress SEO foundation. SiteBirds is the next layer for website scanning, visitor questions, lead capture, bookings, quote requests, and broader website improvements.
Inside the plugin you can open a SiteBirds scan with your current website URL already filled in, so it is easy to see how both products complement each other.
<ul>
<li>Clarity SEO keeps your WordPress SEO essentials in shape</li>
<li>SiteBirds scans your current website and shows where visitors miss answers or actions</li>
<li>Start with the scan at sitebirds.com and keep using Clarity SEO in WordPress</li>
</ul>
<h4>🤝 Compatibility</h4>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 5.8+ through 6.9</li>
<li>WooCommerce: metabox on products, schema support, sitemap inclusion</li>
<li>Gutenberg: full block editor integration with sidebar metabox</li>
<li>Classic Editor: works with the standard meta box interface</li>
<li>Extend with filters: <code>clarity_seo_metabox_post_types</code> to add custom post types</li>
</ul>

Clarity SEO

Lightweight, fast SEO plugin for WordPress — meta tags, Schema.org markup, XML sitemap, 301 redirects, 404 monitor, image SEO, breadcrumbs, and more.

RationalSEO vs Clarity SEO