If you're looking for the top rated WordPress theme that boost the benefits of SEO, then you'll find our favorite themes below.
This is all composed of our own research and experience with running several affiliate businesses over the years that rely on SEO.
Often, what happens is once we see an affiliate site in our research ranking in the top of Google, we dive into their tech setup, then test it for ourselves. Let's go ahead and dig into the list...
Our Top Rated Themes
#1
5/5
Thrive Themes (aka Thrive Suite)
Thrive Themes or now known as the Thrive Suite has done an incredible job with the update of their theme builder.
When you invest in Thrive, you get a number of other tools as well that help you with other factors that include optimization with your conversion rates, built in templates like you see here with our top rated list, ability to build email list with optin forms and popups.
The only downside we see with Thrive Themes is the number of licenses allocated with one of their yearly plans.
#2
4/5
Generatepress
Generatepress theme is a super lightweight theme that is super fast and comes with a lot of built in templates so you can customize with just about any niche you want.
We've run this theme on countless affiliate sites and lead generation sites and it just flat out works.
Easy to setup and using Generateblocks- it's easier than using the default Gutenburg editor inside WordPress.
Generatepress is exceptional and the only negative is it's not as user friendly as it's not a drag and drop page builder as you see with some of the others.
If you're experienced with WordPress though, you'll like the simplicity and the speed of the builder.
#3
3.5/5
Kadence Theme
Kadence WP is a popular theme that we've just plugged into some of our sites and we love it.
Beautiful looking sites that load fast and great for SEO.
Kadence is similar to Generatepress as the premium plugin has it's own page builder and is not drag and drop.
However, with the number of templates built into the cloud, it's super easy to customize and get the look you're after.
The pricing for Kadence is affordable and the functionality is similar to Generatepress with the theme builder yet there's more templates and customizations.
Don't expect to have drag-and-drop functionality like you see with Thrive. Other than that, it's a solid theme and loads fast.
What Makes a WordPress Theme SEO Friendly?
A well-optimized theme lays the groundwork for good search engine rankings, while a poorly coded one can drag you down not just for the end user but also from a performance standpoint.
What You Should Look for...
With any of the choices we mentioned here, you're good to go.
In our instance, we have a large number of sites so we mix it up and use Thrive, Generatepress, and Kadence.
Some of the themes can easily bog down your site causing it load slow which many believe can impact SEO rankings.
At the end of the day, you'll need to consider the end user and engage as time on site has been proven to be a ranking factor.
By stacking a quality WordPress theme with one of the highly rated hosting companies, you're positioning yourself in the right direction.
For Beginners
Sure the structure and load times are important.
However, if you're just starting out, then instead of tinkering with the WordPress Gutenburg editor, I'd invest in a theme that has drag and drop functionality.
Thrive Themes (suite) is the perfect solution.
It's got everything from their theme builder that's SEO friendly but also you can build landing pages, sales pages, video sales letters, optin forms for emails and a whole slew of other tools.
As a matter of fact, Thrive Themes is the theme we're using here at ThinkTankLab.com.
Integrations
The theme is only going to get you so far.
You'll also need to have an SEO plugin in order to fully capitalize on the SEO benefits.
For this, you'll need to integrate with either Rank Math or Yoast SEO - both of those are free and you don't need to upgrade to the premium versions of either plugin.
Both of these plugins are excellent and we'll cover them in a future guide.
Free vs Premium
Generatepress and Kadence have a free theme you can use to test it out.
Realize, these are very limited in functionality and I'd recommend upgrading to one of these premium WordPress themes or going with Thrive.
Having a premium theme gives you the support, more functions, and opens the door to customize even more.
Often, you'll see the free themes are stripped down without having any customizations for logos or branding.
Final Wrap Up
SEO is all about 4 key elements.
On page structure, on page content, links, and engagement of the end user.
The on page structure and framework is the building blocks of your digital business which is why you're looking for the right solution for your WordPress Theme.
With any of the themes you see here will get you setup in the right direction.