This is the first in a series of articles covering the essential plugins for the WordPress platform. There are several WordPress plugins that I ALWAYS install on every interactive website I create no matter what the topic of interest, and this is one of them.

I’m starting with this one because it’s a no-brainer for anyone serious about creating popular content for their blog. If you use WordPress and want perfectly targeted content for your visitors (and, if you don’t, leave and never come back), then this plugin is a must.

It’s called, Search Meter.

Here’s why it’s so powerful: It TELLS YOU what your visitors want to see on your website!

If you’ve ever sat in front of your computer wondering what to write about then this will be the answer to your prayers. All it does is keep track of the  keywords your visitors type into your search bar.

Now, you DO have a search feature on your website, don’t you? If not, you’d better get one if for no other reason than to use this plugin.

Knowing what your visitors want to see is a major advantage. As the legendary poker player Amarillo Slim used to say, “Guessers are losers, neighbor!”

If you’re trying to guess what people want to see on your website you are gong to lose. Search Meter gives you the answer.

Here’s a screenshot of the search results for this website (Note: this website is brand-new and hasn’t had a single visitor yet, so I just stuck in some keywords off the top of my head):

As you can see, it puts them in the order of most-frequently searched, or, in other words, the order of popularity.

Can you see how this would help you decide on your next blog topic?

But, it goes even further; just below that it reveals the most searched keywords that didn’t turn up any matches. In other words, the stuff people want to see that hasn’t been posted yet!:

These are the searches from visitors that didn’t find what they were looking for. So, maybe you should give it to them!

This is a really simple plugin that I always install because it’s just stupid not to. Go get it now!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SEARCH METER

Oh, and did I mention, it’s FREE!

The plugin survives on donations only, so if you use it, it might be cool to drop them a few bucks to keep it going.