When it comes to optimizing your WordPress site for search engines, using the right tools can make all the difference. Here are the Top 10 SEO Plugins Every WordPress Site Needs to enhance your site’s visibility and performance:

1. Yoast SEO: This comprehensive plugin helps you craft better content and optimize your on-page SEO.
2. All in One SEO Pack: A robust solution for beginners and experts alike, it offers simple settings to enhance SEO.
3. Rank Math: Known for its user-friendly interface, this plugin includes advanced features for enhancing your site's search rankings.
4. SEMrush: This powerful tool integrates with WordPress to help you track your SEO performance effectively.
5. WP Rocket: While primarily a caching plugin, it optimizes speed, which is crucial for SEO.
6. Broken Link Checker: Maintaining healthy links improves user experience and SEO, making this plugin vital.
7. Redirection: It's essential for managing 301 redirects and tracking 404 errors, enhancing your site's SEO.
8. Schema Pro: This plugin helps integrate schema markup, which can improve your snippets in search results.
9. Google XML Sitemaps: This generates sitemaps to help search engines better index your site.
10. WP Meta SEO: A great tool for bulk editing and optimizing metadata across your website.

Optimizing your WordPress site for search engines is essential for improving visibility and driving organic traffic. Start by ensuring that your WordPress settings are configured correctly. Go to your WordPress Dashboard, navigate to Settings > Reading, and make sure that the Discourage search engines from indexing this site option is unchecked. Additionally, install an SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack, which provide tools to help you optimize each page and post for specific keywords.

Next, focus on content optimization. Use relevant keywords naturally within your content, ensuring they appear in your titles, headings, and meta descriptions. Additionally, make use of internal linking to connect your content and enhance your site's structure. For best practices, consider these steps:

1. Use appropriate tags: Utilize H1 for titles and H2 or H3 for subheadings.
2. Optimize images: Compress images and use alt text for better context.
3. Improve loading speed: Use caching plugins and optimize your database.

When starting a blog on WordPress, newcomers often overlook fundamental SEO practices. One of the most common SEO mistakes is neglecting to optimize their website's title tags and meta descriptions. These elements are crucial because they provide a first impression to both users and search engines. To fix this, ensure each page and post has a unique and descriptive title tag that includes relevant keywords. Additionally, write compelling meta descriptions that clearly convey the content's value, encouraging users to click through from search results.

Another significant error is the failure to use SEO-friendly URLs. By default, WordPress may generate URLs that are long and filled with numbers and symbols, which can negatively impact rankings. To correct this, navigate to your WordPress settings and adjust the permalink structure to include the post name. This change not only improves readability for users but also enhances the chances of higher search engine visibility. Remember, consistently applying these practices can greatly boost your blog's SEO performance over time.