Best WordPress Plugin for Related Posts?
On my “Matt Cutts” twitter account a few days ago I asked other folks which WordPress “Related Posts” plug-in they would recommend. It seems like “Related Posts” extensions go in and out of vogue every few years, so I wanted to hear what smart folks were using lately. The plugins that got recommended the most to me were:
- Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP), by mitcho (Michael 芳貴 Erlewine).
- Similar Posts, by Rob Marsh.
- Aizattos Related Posts, by, um, Aizatto, I guess. This plugin no longer seems to be maintained officially, so that link is to an unofficial mirror.
- WordPress Related Posts, by Denis (Hua?).
- Wasabi Related entries plug-in.
I did a little digging on each of these. My criteria (in order) was: the easiest plugin to install, that appeared to be actively maintained, and ideally would give me lots of options. The first one I ended up trying was Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP), and mitcho has really done a fantastic job on it:
- It’s trivial to install.
- You don’t have to edit your WordPress template.
- The relevance is good: the suggested posts are related, and you can tweak thresholds and how things are computed if you want.
So I think I’m happy. Even the things that I might want down the road (show the date of posts, RSS feed support, and sentence-aware excerpts) are on the to-do list. But the plug-in is very usable even without any tweaking. I’ll include a screenshot of the options page in case you want to see what sort of flexibility you have:
Well done, mitcho! If you feel strongly that another Related Posts plugin is better, feel free to say so in the comments.
Related Posts:- New WordPress version 2.5.1 includes security fix
Read about WordPress 2.5.1 and download the new version here. It includes a security fix, so you're going to want to upgrade. It's well-known that... - Upgrading my WordPress
Earlier this week I was writing a post and lost it. Losing data, even a couple paragraphs, is the most annoying thing I can think... - Upgrading WordPress
I upgraded my WordPress installation from 2.0.x to 2.1.x tonight, and I'm a little grumpy. Autosave is great and all, but does upgrading WordPress have... - Captcha
I wanted to see how hard it would be to install a captcha with WordPress. Turns out it wasn't too bad. I may leave it...
panzermike Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 3:48 pm
This may be a little off topic, but I really enjoy Moveable Type Plug Ins and Moveable Type. But you have to be a rocket scientist to use it. It seems like Google likes it better as well.
Tanguillo Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
I think “Similar Post” is the best related post plugin, no doubt. It has more options and is incredibly accurate.
It can exclude common words like “the” “for” etc, of the matches even in other languages.
A big plus is that his autor Rob Marsh, answer almost in no time any question or suggestion you post in his blog.
Harith Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
Matt,
I see the followings ONLY when I click on comments:
Related Posts:
* New WordPress version 2.5.1 includes security fix
Read about WordPress 2.5.1 and download the new version here. It includes a security fix, so you’re going to want to upgrade. It’s well-known that...
* Upgrading my WordPress
Earlier this week I was writing a post and lost it. Losing data, even a couple paragraphs, is the most annoying thing I can think...
* Upgrading WordPress
I upgraded my WordPress installation from 2.0.x to 2.1.x tonight, and I’m a little grumpy. Autosave is great and all, but does upgrading WordPress have...
* Captcha
I wanted to see how hard it would be to install a captcha with WordPress. Turns out it wasn’t too bad. I may leave it...
DraxOfAvalon Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
I like simple things, that why I use “Simple Tags” plugin that is great for tags and also haves a “related post” function that works great... doesnt have LOTS of options but it does a great job.
CG Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
FYI: I believe Sphere’s Related Content Widget achieves this as well (via a link at the bottom of posts):
http://www.sphere.com/#wpwidget
However, it shows content from other blogs as well and I doubt it offers any flexibility.
Chris K. Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 4:27 pm
Another vote for Simple Tags. Does the job just fine (based on tags) -- and makes it easy to add Related Posts to feed as well.
Philipp Lenssen Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
On a related note it would also be nice if Google Blog Search’s link operator RSS feed would work steadily, as it theoretically makes for a nice related posts/ sort of trackback feature. But last time I tried it, it found way too little backlinks for permalinks, even from popular backlinking blogs...
Matt Cutts Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 4:59 pm
Harith, yup, that’s the “RSS feed” option that I referred to at the end of my post. YARPP doesn’t support RSS feeds in the current version, but I’m not that worried about that, personally. Related posts are more handy for someone who is browsing, I think.
Sankeerth Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 5:26 pm
Yeah, you’re right Matt. Micho’s YARPP is the best so plugin for related posts. I tried almost all the plugins and finally ended with this one. Very easy to install, the Match Threshold option is very good for new web sities, where there are few posts.
Oscar R Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 6:23 pm
You had no bigger image to post right?
Dave (original) Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 6:54 pm
Matt, vBullentin have a very similar feature, called “Similar Threads”. I have tweaked mine extensively and I feel sure that it reduces the same old questions being asked that most forums suffer from.
Good job by mitcho and he has made a extremely friendly GUI for settings.
graywolf Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 7:19 pm
hmm doesn’t seem to have the ability to put related posts in the RSS feed like Aizattos does.
Also this renders weird in FF3
Michael 芳貴 Erlewine
vBulletin Services Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 8:22 pm
I’d love to try this plugin as from the screenshot it looks like its what i’ve been looking for but the site appears to be down. Anyone have an alternative download link?
Thanks
dawnprofies Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 9:18 pm
We’re also looking for a related post plug-in Matt.
In your travels did you find any that allow you to select the actual posts you want to be displayed as “related” (as opposed to relying on a “relativity” calculation) ..?
Being able to simply select other posts in a check-box type manner would make related post life easier. It would eliminate any errors caused by calculations, and offer absolute control.
I hope a WordPress PlugIn Wizard reads this and makes one, quickly.
James Zolman Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 9:50 pm
graywolf, thanks for mentioning the RSS related posts function - I would consider that one of my ‘requirements’ when considering a ‘related posts’ plugin. I’m still going to check out YARPP and WASABI...just to see what will work best for my blog and our company. Timely post Matt, this has been on my ‘to do’ list for a looong time!
Matt Cutts Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 10:15 pm
graywolf, I saw that you run Aizattos, but I don’t like that the plugin isn’t maintained anymore. If someone found a security hole in the plugin, that would be bad news.
Ido Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 10:34 pm
Yes - on FF3 your post look very bad.
Mikko Saari Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 10:45 pm
I’ve only tried Similar Posts, but I’ve had no reason to try other plugins. Similar Posts was a major improvement over the purely tag-based similar posts plugin I was using in Movable Type before I migrated my blog to Wordpress.
Similar Posts has lots of options you can adjust and like Tanguillo said above, Rob Marsh’s support for his plugins is nothing short of excellent. There was a small problem with the plugin, I asked about it, Rob told me how to fix it myself for the time being and then included the fix in the next version.
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 11:43 pm
It’s the size of the screen cap that’s throwing off the image. It’s spilling over into the right-side menu, and for some reason the right-side menu is dominant.
Maybe a thumbnail’s in order?
Multi-Worded Adam Said,
July 26, 2008 @ 11:44 pm
Sorry...that should read “throwing off the post”. Also, the Chinese rendering is part of the screen cap...I’m not sure if that’s what the rendering issue is or not, though.
Angsuman Chakraborty Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 4:52 am
I use a modification of wasabi’s related posts plugin which shows related posts only within the chosen categories of the post. That gives better relevance. I would be happy to make it public if there is an interest.
Kim Andersen Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 5:38 am
Hi Matt.
I also use the ‘Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP)’ and I am fully satisfied with it. As you also said, mitcho has done a fantastic job. Thumbs up for that plugin and best regards from Denmark...
superjason Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 6:54 am
Thank you! I wanted to ask on my blog, but I don’t have enough readers to get a great response.
ajaxus Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 8:07 am
Hi Matt,
Just read your post and felt relax because I was looking for a plugin like this for a long time without much success.
Installed “Yet Another Related Posts Plugin” on several blogs but then when view in browser it gave very strange MySQL error. What it displays is actually a quite big SQL statement?
Which wordpress version is your blog? I am installing it on 2.2.2 maybe its the version which causes this?
Regards
Matt Cutts Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 10:24 am
ajaxus, I’m running a much more recent version of WordPress. You should probably upgrade your WP to the latest version or else hackers might take it over.
Michael Janik Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 12:15 pm
It is a pitty that there is not option with your recommendet similar post plugin to search for specific languages.
Pablito Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
A friend of mine (Cesar Rodas) wrote a propose for the Google Sumer of Code about this using n-grams.
Ended up writing WP-Storage and won the price... but still, i like his idea
http://www.thyphp.com/gsoc-wp-category-suggester-proposal.html
matey Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
Matt, I think it’s about time you comment about the whole Knol situation - knol articles out ranking sites that have had content for months or years. Aaron Wall and Search Engine Land have made posts which I’m sure you’ve seen.....please comment about this.
dawnprofies Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
Angsuman Chakraborty.
There’s definitely interest. do tell.
Gustavo Leig Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 6:48 pm
Similar Posts is best option. Why?
Because it doesnt hurt my MySQL database.
My host is Media Temple and they provide me a GPU tool where I can analyze the CPU performance. By far Similar Posts is the winner. It creates an index so it doenst has to full scan my posts to get similars every visit.
Medical Transcription Blog Said,
July 27, 2008 @ 9:23 pm
I was using Aizatto’s related posts until now. Since support has been withdrawn and security issue may prop up at any point in time with Aizatto’s posts, I’m switching to YARPP dismissing the disadvantage of related posts not showing up in RSS with YARPP.
Luz Feliz Said,
July 28, 2008 @ 12:49 am
This is an amazing plugin, I will translate it to spanish.
Regards
mitcho Said,
July 28, 2008 @ 5:04 am
Hi all--this is mitcho, the author of YARPP.
I noticed a number of hits coming from this blog, so I thought I’d drop in and see what all the fuss is about. Matt, thank you for your kind words! I’m glad you have had a good experience with the plugin.
For those of you with various enhancement requests (RSS support, support for other language stopwords) or bugs (SQL requests being printed? Please give me details!): I encourage you to see if your request or bug has already been brought up on the wordpress forums and, if not, add a new topic. I check threads on the plugin daily and try to respond quickly to inquiries. I hope to continue to improve the plugin based on feedback such as what has been voiced here!
Thanks again,
mitcho
godofthunder1982 Said,
July 28, 2008 @ 11:08 am
I’m also a bit concerned about how these plugins will affect database performance. I’ve seen the vBulletin “Similar Threads” feature totally destroy MySQL, so there are certainly technical considerations here. If YARPP is doing full table scans on every pageload, blogs with any amount of history and/or readership are going to run into some problems.
Jason Frovich Said,
July 28, 2008 @ 11:41 am
HI Matt I also am looking for a good related post plug in.
thanks for the post,im going to install this when i get home from work
Lawrence Said,
July 28, 2008 @ 11:42 am
Matt What other good tools do you have besides this? I’m gonna render my lifestyle towards the way you run yours. You seem to have all the cool stuff!
lt
http://www.skool.com
Matt Cutts Said,
July 28, 2008 @ 2:43 pm
mitcho, cool! Thanks for stopping by.
Dave (original) Said,
July 28, 2008 @ 9:07 pm
Hi mitcho
Do you any plug-ins for vBullentin?
Jason Said,
July 28, 2008 @ 11:39 pm
Great rundown, I just want to add another vote for including related posts in the RSS feed. If a user happens to subscribe near the end of a series of related posts they’ll see immediately that there’s more reading available.
mitcho Said,
July 29, 2008 @ 2:11 am
Hi original Dave— No, I haven’t worked with vB before... my tools of choice are normally bbPress for bulletin boards, zenphoto for galleries, and wp for blogs... I have built a number of plugins for each of these.
mitcho
Dave (original) Said,
July 29, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
Thanks mitcho, thought I’d ask anyway. Keep up the great work.
ajaxus Said,
July 30, 2008 @ 1:13 am
Hi again, I played with it and yes it was the Wordpress version which was causing these.
I successfully installed the plugin on Wordpress 2.5
Probably mitcho should put some minimum requirements
Still, thanks for the work!
Aaron Pratt Said,
July 30, 2008 @ 7:44 pm
Google was screwing up and ranking “related posts” excerpts and not the actual page in search so I had to remove it from my blogs.
If Matt is using a plugin maybe it is safe again or maybe you just need massive Matt like pagerank for the deeper/crawl index. Could I just be imagining this bug? Google still has problems with blogs.
Em Posts Said,
August 1, 2008 @ 1:01 am
Hi Matt,
I hope you read this, cos I am a bit late. You will be the best person to answer this as you are in the Google WebSpam team. I added this plugin in my blog and the related posts that are being displayed are fine and accurate. Will search engines consider the blogs to be filled with spam as the excerpts are not full?
Thanks.
Em Posts Said,
August 1, 2008 @ 1:11 am
@godofthunder1982
Its running well on my blogs (YARPP) and the speed of loading is approx. same.
I don’t think it does a full table scan on every page load, but that is my idea. Donno how the plugin works.
mitcho Said,
August 1, 2008 @ 5:25 am
@ajaxus... Ahah, yes, I apologize, 2.0’s tag and category features make it require WP 2.5. I’ll make that clearer in the next point release.
@godofthunder1982 + @emposts, the answer: yes and no. I personally believe YARPP does a great job performance wise and, as it caches nicely, should be no problem in a high-volume production environment with WP-Cache or a derivative.
In terms of the actual queries, YARPP uses both fulltext searches for post content and tables (very very fast and uses very little memory) and multi-table comparison for tags and categories (more memory-intensive). As any plugin that gives you related posts by similar tags or categories does essentially the same thing for the more memory-intensive portion, I believe the overhead of adding the fulltext searches (very small in mysql) has a huge ROI. I am a firm believer that actually considering the content in this manner, not just tags or categories, gives you more accurate relations.
The current main query in 2.0 uses a number of subselects, and I do plan on experimenting with the query in the near future to better optimize it. I hope that answers your questions. Keep them coming! ^^
mitcho
Bruce Keener Said,
August 2, 2008 @ 6:18 am
Great discussions.
I was leaning toward Similar Posts, because of dbase concerns, but mitcho’s discussion gives me confidence that he will stay on top of dbase issues.
Thanks for experimenting and giving your views on the pick of the lot, Matt.
Fizfaz Said,
August 18, 2008 @ 2:37 am
Yes.. YARPP is a great plugin.. I’ve installed it after read this post. and that is just what I’m looking for..Matt, Thanks for sharing..