Easy WP SEO vs WP SEO Beast

WP SEO Beast is another SEO plugin similar to Easy WP SEO. Both were first introduced as WSOs on the Warrior Forum in early April.

Features

The table below shows a side-by-side features comparison of the two plugins.

	Easy WP SEO	SEO Beast
On-page factors analyzed	23	18
Keyword density
Keyword in title tag
Keyword in heading tags
Keyword in URL
Keyword in meta tags*
Keyword decoration
Keyword in image ALT tags
Keyword near beginning of post*
Keyword near end of post*
Adequate content length
Visual SEO Checklist
Automatic keyword decoration
Decoration method (admin or client side)	user selectable	client
Automatic image ALT tag keyword insertion
Automatic “nofollow” of external links
Keyword density adjusted for word length of key phrases
Analysis of entire HTML document
Analysis of multiple keywords
LSI keywords function
LSI languages supported	25	English only
Drag and drop LSI keywords into content
Readability analysis
Drag and drop internal links into post content
Drag and drop images from media library
Video tutorials and help
User-selectable SEO factors
Copyscape integration
Analyzes content other than posts/pages
Membership plugin support
Import/export plugin settings
Detailed SEO reports
Meta description and keywords
Page title rewriting
Mobile theme
Licensing	Unlimited domains	Restricted to 1 IP address
Price	$37	$37

 

As when compared to any other on-page SEO plugin, Easy WP SEO comes out on top in terms of the number of features offered.

What WP SEO Beast Has That Easy WP SEO Doesn’t

Meta Description and Keywords

WP SEO Beast provides a way to enter the meta description and keywords tags (as well as the <title> tag) for posts, pages and the blog home page.

 

While that can be convenient if you’re not using a theme or another SEO plugin (like Yoast WordPress SEO, Platinum SEO, etc.) that allows for entering these tags, it’s a problem if you are. WP SEO Beast only recognizes it’s own meta tags, and isn’t aware of them if you enter the description and keywords through your theme or another plugin. If you don’t enter them through WP SEO Beast, the SEO score of your post or page will be reduced.

In essence, you are forced to use its meta tags. So if you’re already using these tags and are considering this plugin, you’re going to have to move the meta description and keywords from your theme or other plugin and enter them into WP SEO Beast’s interface. And if you ever decide to stop using it, you’ll have to migrate the description and keywords to your theme or another SEO plugin.

Page Title Rewriting

WP SEO Beast can also rewrite page and post titles using template tags, as shown at left.  (Click the image to enlarge.)

At least it’s supposed to.

In my testing, I just couldn’t get this feature to work at all. I usually use the Thesis theme, which is known to sometimes conflict with certain plugins.

Thinking maybe that was the issue, I tried the Twenty-Eleven theme that comes with WordPress 3.2.  That didn’t work either.

I don’t want to say this feature of WP SEO Beast just plain doesn’t work, I personally just couldn’t get it to function. It could be the title rewriting might work with other themes, but I didn’t feel like testing until I found one.

There could also be something about the way my host’s LAMP stack is configured that’s breaking the rewriting.

Mobile Device Detection and Theme

WP SEO Beast does have one feature, a built-in mobile theme, that no other similar plugin has. Using a mobile device simulator I found online, I took screenshots of how a post on my test site displays on an iPhone. The standard theme on the left is Thesis, on the right is WP SEO Beast’s mobile theme. (Click the image to enlarge.)

It’s a nice touch, but since it has nothing to do with on-page SEO, this shouldn’t be a reason for anyone to buy WP SEO Beast over any other plugin. There are free plugins that do mobile device detection and enable mobile themes for them already, like WP Mobile Detector.

Easy WP SEO vs WP SEO Beast: Key Differences

Easy WP SEO Analyzes The Entire HTML Document

This, in my view, is the biggest advantage Easy WP SEO has over all similar plugins, including SEO Beast. It “sees” and factors into the SEO score ALL of the elements of the HTML page that’s displayed to your site’s visitors (not to mention Google and the other search engines). That includes whatever content appears in the header, footer, sidebars and any widgets you might be using. Easy WP SEO’s analysis is thus more complete and accurate than any other plugin.

Remember earlier I said WP SEO Beast is only aware of it’s own meta description and keyword tags? This is exactly the reason why it can’t see these tags when they’re entered through your theme or another SEO plugin. Aside from it’s own data, it only knows about the content of your post or page, what you enter in the WordPress edit box.

Like ClickBump SEO! and SEOPressor, WP SEO Beast can’t tell on its own if your theme encloses post or page titles in <H1> tags. But it does have a checkbox in the settings you can use to tell it if, like most themes, yours does. (See the “SEO Beast Settings” image above under Meta Description and Keywords.) With that you can avoid having it deduct from your SEO scores for not having your keywords in <H1> tags.

Key Phrase Length and Keyword Density

Like every other plugin except Easy WP SEO and BloggerHigh, WP SEO Beast does not take into account the number of words in key phrases. It assumes your keyword is just a single word, which makes it underestimate the density when you’re using key phrases consisting of multiple words.

Blindly assuming keywords consist of only one word is a serious shortcoming. I explained why, and how I was burned with this by SEOPressor, on the Easy WP SEO Plugin home page.

WP SEO Beast and Site Performance

Everything WP SEO Beast does to enhance on-page SEO is done on-the-fly, as your posts and pages are served to your visitors. Keyword decorations, meta descriptions and keywords, and title rewriting are all added each and every time your site is hit with a page request. That clearly adds to the load on your web server, and can only slow your site down.

Google officially announced site speed is a factor in its ranking algorithms last year. Using an SEO plugin that could have a negative impact on your page rankings is not ideal.

Another consequence of on-the-fly enhancements is that if you ever decide to uninstall WP SEO Beast, you’ll lose all the keyword decorations and other tweaks it does to boost on-page SEO.

With Easy WP SEO, you can configure it so that all its automatic SEO enhancements are done as you edit and save your content. The modifications it makes are stored with your posts and pages in the database, and add no additional load on your web server. If you stop using it and remove it from your site, you’ll still have the benefit of the SEO tweaks it made while it was installed.

Keyword Decoration

Besides performing this on-the-fly, WP SEO Beast only recognizes its own automatic keyword decoration. If you highlight your keyword in bold text manually, for example, the plugin will still tell you that you don’t have a bold keyword in your content.

Easy WP SEO credits your SEO score for any manual enhancements you make, including keyword decorations, adding your keyword to image “alt” tags and making external links “nofollow.”

Keyword Placement

For both plugins, having your keyword appear near the beginning and end of your content is factored into your SEO score. Like SEOPressor, WP SEO Beast looks for your keyword in the first and last sentences, while Easy WP SEO checks to see if they’re in the first and last 50 to 100 words. Again, I honestly don’t know which is better, but I have a hard time believing having your keyword in the first and last sentences provides some SEO advantage over having it close to the beginning and end of your content.

License Terms and Price

Easy WP SEO is currently $37 for personal use on an unlimited number of sites. The developer license, for use on client sites and sites you sell is an additional $37 upgrade, for a total of $74.

WP SEO Beast also sells for $37 for personal use, but there’s a big difference in the license terms. The plugin’s use is restricted to one IP address. That’s not an issue if all your sites are hosted on a single IP, but if you have sites on different hosting providers, or if your sites have unique IP addresses, you’re going to have to buy a copy for every unique IP you’re using.

Suddenly the $37 price doesn’t sound like such a great deal.

You can skirt this issue somewhat by purchasing a developer’s license for $97. But even then, you’ll be restricted to 5 unique IP addresses.

What I found most disappointing about WP SEO Beast’s IP restrictions is that nowhere on the plugin’s official site is this mentioned. I only found out about it because I couldn’t activate the plugin on a second site, so I emailed support to figure out why. I wasn’t aware of any IP limitations until I received their response.

Easy WP SEO is The Clear Winner

If you’ve read this entire post, do I really need to even spell it out any further?

Easy WP SEO has far more features than WP SEO Beast.

Its analysis is more accurate and complete, by virtue of its ability to analyze the whole HTML document and superior keyword density calculation.

It won’t slow your site down.

With it’s unlimited domain licensing for the same price as using WP SEO Beast on a single IP address, Easy WP SEO is a far better value. And the developer’s license is $23 less.

Buy Easy WP SEO Before The Price Increases!

As of now, Easy WP SEO is being sold as a Warrior Special Offer (WSO) on the Warrior Forum. But that will soon end, and it will be selling for a higher price as a Clickbank product. How much higher? I don’t know, but I know for sure it’s going cost more than it does now.

So don’t wait and end up paying more than you have to! Buy Easy WP SEO now (and get my exclusive bonuses) before the coming price increase. It’s FAR more powerful and effective than WP SEO Beast!