I have not used his most recent version, so my input may be a little dated...
Jeff Johnson is one of my favorite IMers. I was a member of his private coaching a while back, but money got tight, and I cancelled. I started with the free version of this plugin, then I got the "pro" version when I became a member. In honesty, the plugin itself does not do that much in and of itself. It tweaks all your settings for what they consider to be optimal SEO for your site (like permalinks, title, etc). The big thing is it sets up the best SEO and Wordpress plugins (gives you pretty much 2 click install for all). It then checks to see if you have them all installed, checks your settings, and gives you an SEO "score". The pro version simply adds a few more plugins to the list of "required" plugins. Disclaimer one more time: I have not used the newest version! So things may have changed a little.....

When I first started using this, I installed it on ALL my blogs, felt I couldn't live without it, and thought it made life easier. But it did install some plugins I did not really use often, and some I preferred "other" versions. For instance the social plugin it chose, and the captcha, I like other plugins better now. As for the blog tweaks, I also found that I liked to do things slightly different as well, so in the end, I stopped using this. I may go download this, and try out the newer version to see the changes! Once I started "cloning" WP installs, I really had no need for it at all.

You should also know that installing his plugin also adds links to his site, from yours, in the blogroll, and I think on the free version, in the footer? Not positive on that part, I can't recall exactly. You also have a built in advertisement for whatever he wants to promote in your dashboard in WP while using this plugin.

I have never paid for a single plugin and I am averaging between 500-600 views/day using all my FREE plugins..

Here's my top 15 plugins!


If you have been blogging for a while, you should have realized by now, that the amount of spam you get on a daily basis is just RIDICULOUS! Akismet takes care of all those spammy comments that nobody likes!













Enabling comments is something that EVERY blogger absolutely needs on their site. This nifty comment box uses one of the most attractive comment systems I have ever seen and also allows people to leave a link to their last post. (Which encourages people to comment even more on your posts!)
Definitely something that every blogger should have to make their blog sexy!

6.
Simply stated! This plugin will redirect everyone that leaves their FIRST comment on your site to a page of your choosing! Making it nice for a thank-you page.

7.
This tool often comes in handy when you want to create pages that you don’t want the general visitors on your site to view! (Such as bootcamp video pages, trainings for people that have opted into your list, etc.)
When using this, excluded pages will only be accessible through direct URL!
Definitely sexy to have if you are looking to create your own boot-camp or trainings! (Like my Twitter Boot-camp above!)

8.
This plugin allows you to display a “share” button on every one of your posts and pages. This allows people to easily share your content or pages with all of their Facebook friends! (Helps get your stuff viral!)
I absolutely cannot do without this sexy Facebook button!

9.
If you ever want people to contact you directly with any questions, concerns, or anything of that matter, this is something you need to have. Not only does it allow them to contact you, but it gives them a sense of security to know that you have a contact page. (Don’t ask me why, people just feel more secure when they see one!)
Definitely essential to your plugins list!

10.
This SEO tool will help Google, Yahoo, Bing, Etc. index your blog even quicker. (The faster the indexing, the better!)

11.
Keeping people on your blog is a common goal of every successful blogger. This awesome tool will display other posts you have written below each article. (So below each article you will see a list of posts that are related to that article!) Therefore, keeping people surfing your site longer!

12.
When somebody leaves a comment on one of your pages or posts, there will be a little box that they can “check” to keep them notified by email for whenever their comment is replied to. This will ONLY notify them when their comment is replied to. Not everyone else that comments AFTER them! (Like most notification boxes do!)
This will contribute to your comment box’s sexy look!

13.
This lovely tool will enable a bar below all of your posts and pages for people for people to “share” on their social networking sites! (Such as Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, etc.)
Like the name says! This is a very SEXY tool to use! It makes your blog look nicer and allows you to get more viral exposure!

14.
This sends out an automated “thank you” message that you create to all the people that leave comments on your blog–ultimately bringing them back for more!

15.
This button will allow people to re-tweet your content to their Twitter account. (Creating MORE syndication! Hurray!)
This tool is absolutely something EVERY blogger should have to keep their content going viral! Sexy!

There you go!

These are 15 plugins that I use EVERY single day to drive traffic, generate leads, keep people on my site, and keep them coming back for more!

Thanks Josh,

I might have to hack that "Thank Me Later" plugin & use it on my download sites.

Great!! I've bookmarked this. I can't "Thank You Later".... Gotta Thank You Now! =)

thanks for this list...im sure the key to keep your readers on your website is the content right?

Just bringing this back-up because it took down EVERY one of my wordpress sites that had it installed. I have had to go through each site and delete the plug-in since the ioncube PHP Loader to be re-installed and wouldn't work even if I did install it again. I used to like this plug-in, but it just caused me massive HELL.