HeadSpace2 vs UTW – Coolest WP Meta Plugin Battle Begins
Written by Zain on August 28th, 2007{ 13 comments }
Now I know that all you WordPress SEO and Internet Marketing freaks just *love* Ultimate Tag Warrior. And the NetConcepts SEO Title Tags and All-In-One-SEO-Pack etc. As well as those other UTW related plugins, just to get your search engine optimisation just right…
Well, I’m going to have to break up the party and let you in on some big news: Ultimate Tag Warrior is about to become Ultimate Tag Worrier; SEO Title Tags is set to become SEO Title Bagged & Tagged and All-In-One-SEO-Pack will soon be known as All-In-One-SEO-Packed-Up-And-Shipped-Out!
Why? The HeadSpace 2 plugin from Urban Giraffe is about to take on Ultimate Tag Warrior in the battle for the WordPress Meta Plugin championship position (oh… and some of the other WordPress Meta plugins used for SEO too!).
My good friend John Godley’s HeadSpace2 plugin is about to get into the WordPress Meta Plugin arena as a serious heavyweight contender in the world of Search Engine Optimization for WordPress. After 3 years in training, HeadSpace 2 is finally ready to make a challenge to Ultimate Tag Warrior for it’s current title as the holder of the Meta Plugin #1 spot in the world of WordPress Internet Marketers and Search Engine specialists.
You’re about to witness the first battle between HeadSpace2 and several WordPress Meta Plugins. And personally folks, I know who my money’s on seeing as I had a hand in some of the coaching sessions… 
We’re all aware of what UTW and SEO Title Tags can do for your WordPress site so, without further ado, let’s see what the challenger brings to the ring!
Let’s get ready to RUUUUUMMMMMMBBBBBBBLLLLLLLE!
There’s no doubt that you’re all going to be impressed by HeadSpace2. And I’m not just saying that. In fact, you’re going to *love* it as it’s much more than just a meta-tag plugin. This is a serious, heavy-duty plugin – *with* bells and whistles!
Let’s have a look at some of it’s features.
Meta Data Management For SEO On WordPress
HeadSpace2 provides the ability to amend the Page Title, Meta Keywords, Meta Description, Site Title (i.e Blog Title H1), Site Description (i.e. H2), RSS name, RSS description in your WordPress Posts and Page. It also allows for pages specific Raw Data, Javascripts and Stylesheets if you need it and also provides the ability to select “Per Page Plugins” (i.e. only running the code on the pages necessary!) as well as providing themes on a per page basis.
Why would page specific plugins be useful? Well, anyone aware of how WordPress plugins render styles and scripts to WP pages will know that *every page of your site* will contain the scripts for the plugins regardless of whether or not it is needed. This is extreme code bloat. While a lot of you broadband marketers may simply fail to see the impact and (possibly) ignore the significance of extraneous scripts within pages, narrowband users (yes, there are still some!) won’t see the joke; will get frustrated and simply leave your site because they can’t get past the amount of scripts required to load the page.
It’s an aspect of WordPress plugin development that most Developers fail to recognise. But this minor detail that HeadSpace2 plugs in the market is also a sign of the quality, dedication and passion John has when building his plugins for the WordPress community (Why do you think I chose John to be the guy to build the FAQ-Tastic plugin? ).
Now that’s a couple of major body blows to UTW already but it’s still early folks and HeadSpace hasn’t even worked up a sweat just yet! Punch for punch, I think that HeadSpace might already be winning on points here.
Oh… and did I mention it also allows you to amend the More links too? At the moment, I’m in the process of migrating from Kaf Oseo’s “More Unique” plugin over to HeadSpace2. Dave Taylor was recently asked on the StomperNet forums (where he’s a “faculty member”) about how to amend the “More” link on a WordPress site – well, how the hell would Dave know? He’s on Moveable Type! But think about it – if someone as big as Big Davy T know’s to recommend that you change your More tags, then how important do you think is this to your overall site structure and internal link strategy for your WordPress site?
Now, that’s a crafy hook that HeadSpace has sneaked in there. Most other WP SEO plugins wouldn’t have seen that shot coming… Utimate Tag Warrior’s on the ropes now and HeadSpace is only just getting started pounding it like a jackhammer!
Mass Page Title Editing & More
For those of you that area used to using NetConcepts SEO Title Tags, you’re going to enjoy the Mass Edit feature in the new HeadSpace2 Plugin. Having studied the moves from SEO Title Tags and realising that this technique packs a real punch, I know John’s been working hard getting this little routine down in HeadSpace2. You’re going to like it because it’s basically the same thing… But HeadSpace hits harder and with more force than the NetConcepts plugin!
Instead of just being able to mass edit the title tags, you get a dropdown to edit the Page Titles, Descriptions, Site Name (H1), Site Description (H2), More links, Keywords and even your Page Slugs!
Looks like that’s an uppercut which is going to leave the NetConcept plugin reeling. HeadSpace2 is getting right in the face of the SEO Title Tags plugin, coming in close and demonstrating some really powerful blows. It would seem that HeadSpace2 has nothing to lose and everything to gain here…
Speaking with John earlier this week about the upcoming event, I asked about if he was worried about the competition that other plugins posed on his way to the championships.
He replied: “[Censored] NO! I’m here to *WIN* goddamnit! I’m a fighter and a Winner. HeadSpace is gonna tear those other [censored] plugins apart. No [censored] plugin is gonna be able to [censored]-whip me. I’m gonna rip em apart, limb from limb! If they think they’ve got what it takes to take me down, then Bring It On Moth[censored]kers…“.
Okay… so, I’m paraphrasing. A lot. And quite dramatically here but when you work with Developers as much as I do, then you got to read *between* the lines and get to understand their silences .
Global Options For Things You’ve Missed!
On top of that, there are Global settings you can add for Page Title, Description, Tags/keywords, RSS Name, RSS Description, JavaScript, Stylesheets. Basically the plugin will add this content across the board for any pages that you’ve not specifically add your meta data to (i.e. pages you’ve missed!). Not only that but you can do the same type global additions for your Archive pages, Categories, Post & Pages, Author pages and 404 from the options screen.
You’re seeing the devastating blows that HeadSpace2 can deliver and now you can also see how flexible it can be – like easily switching to a South Paw stance, getting it’s guard up, covering and pounding the competition from a direction that was unexpected!
AJAX Module Positioning
There’s a really cool new Modules section using AJAX that allows you to drag and drop which features you consider important as the main “basic” options displayed and which items should be considered “advanced” or “disabled”. This enables you to re-order the features in a way that’s most intuitive to you. That’s right – not only is it powerful but the interface is slick and intuitive.
POW. BLAM. The tactics used here aren’t just random jabs flying blindly into the air – the techniques used by HeadSpace2 are accurate, powerful and will definitely make it go the distance with several plugins at the same time!
Here’s a killer blow in terms of the UI: Lightbox effects when editing various options in the Modules section. Now this plugin is just *SuperBad*… We’re talking about Muhammad Ali COOL… Oh yes!
Under the new Site Modules section, John’s gone ahead and added areas for adding your Google Analytics code, Crazy Egg, Mint, RPC support for Ecto, StatCounter and support for WordPress formating (i.e. auto formatting, linking in comments and fancy quotes).
And here’s a super special killer blow: a technique that John calls “Hot Tags“. What are these? Basically, using the list of keywords from the options you set up, HeadSpace2 will work out if any of these are found in your Post/Page and automatically suggest these addition words to add to your keyword list field in the post when you save!
Another knockout punch: Automatically add new tags to your HeadSpace “dictionary”. HeadSpace2 will keep building a new list in a dictionary so that you don’t have to worry about having to adding keywords if you’ve added them once to a post.
The fight’s getting messy and HeadSpace delivers yet another powerful uppercut: adding Technorati tags to Posts and Pages.
The determination of HeadSpace to win this fight is obvious. If other plugins as still left standing, then I’ll guarantee you there’s very few of them that’s up to it right now.
And just to prove that HeadSpace can fight and win in different styles, here’s the rough & raw, dirty street style John picked up from your’s truly : easy importing from other plugins. Yeah, it’s a dirty trick. Yes, it’s underhanded. But if you can get away with it while the Ref’s not looking, you’re going to do some major damage to your competition and leave them cold on the floor!
So who’s in the firing line? Well, All-in-one SEO, Head META Description, Jerome’s Keywords, lud.icro.us HeadMeta, More Unique, SEO Title Tags, Simple Tagging and, of course… Ultimate Tag Warrior.
Let’s face it – when it comes to getting the job done, HeadSpace gets it done “By Any Means Necessary”.
Now, the question that you have to ask yourself is:
With all these features, why in the good Lord’s name would you want to use the several plugins *and* Ultimate Tag Worrier to achieve the same thing?
It’s obvious that this 1 plugin can single handedly manage it all. Looks like we solved a problem you guys didn’t even know you had (yet, until now)!
Do you get the feeling that there’s more than UTW that’s being given some body blows here? Looks like some of these guys might as well throw in the towel right now! HeadSpace2 certainly packs a punch and is going to floor quite a lot of the competition with one blow.
Now, as a promoter, I’ve tried persuading John that this plugin should be a “Pro” version as the current HeadSpace plugin is completely free. Marketing it would be *so* easy (as you can see above!). However, as much as I’ve tried getting him to monetize this (note: I won’t make a cent from it but I do want him to do well for himself!), he’s pretty adamant about giving this one away for that “special price of FREE”! No matter how hard I try to convince him, he just won’t buy it – which is what I was aiming for all of you guys to do 
.
I said to him, “Listen, Johnny… you could be a rich man. Take some advice from me – charge for HeadSpace. Make something of this. HeadSpace is the most powerful plugin out there. Let’s face it, man – most of those leeches out there won’t bother donating using PayPal even though you got those buttons everywhere. Most of them are gonna be sooooo tight, they couldn’t fit their hands in their pockets even if they wanted to. Like they’re gonna give you any pocket change for the work you’ve done. So you gotta charge, my man. Market it to the right audience – one that matters. One that’s gonna pay, Johnny.”
And John says to me, “Zain. I got my passion. I got my pride. And above all I got my integrity that I gotta hold on to. There’s people out there I’m doing this for. It’s not about the money – it’s about the love of doing this. Making a difference in the world – showing people that great things can be done if you put your mind to it. It’s about heart, man!”. That’s so beautiful, it made me want to puke…
Okay, so our conversation was nothing like that at all. But if you take out the dramatic effect, I think you get where he’s coming from. I did try and convince him but John’s a straight up guy. I admire that quality even if I don’t completely agree with it. I understand the idealism, coming from Development background myself, but I’m jaded and more of a realist now.
Seriously folks – if you can, donate something. Don’t put it off. If you’re impressed as soon as you’ve downloaded the plugin, then make the effort to contribute something – no matter how small. Most plugin Developers build these things for free and get nothing but “my plugin doesn’t work comments” in their inbox’s. Very few people bother making a donation and expect everything to be free just because Wordpress is! The truth is, John’s a freelance – every dollar helps him to keep off the breadline and continue building better stuff. For YOU! So if there’s no donations coming in, well… he might have to get a 9 to 5 and quit building things. And that would be a serious shame (on all of you leeches!) and a loss of a fantastic resource to the WordPress community.
Without your donations, it’s very likely John could end up on the water front, drunk and abusive yelling “You don’t understand! I could’ve been a contender. I could’ve had class and been somebody. Real class. Instead of a bum, let’s face it, which is what I am. It was you, Zainy”. Lord know’s how I’d hate for John to end up in Palookaville… So dig deep people. Give credit (in the financial sense) where credit is due!
Anyway, I’m pretty sure you’re all busting to get hold of this plugin.
It’s going to be a knockout!
Tags: all in one seo pack, all-in-one seo, dave taylor, donations, FAQ-Tastic, head meta description, headspace2, jerome's keywords, links, lud.icro.us headmeta, more unique, moveable type, netconcepts, optimization, plugin, plugins, search engine, SEO, seo plugin, seo title tag, seo title tags, simple tagging, StomperNet, ultimate tag warrior, urban giraffe, WordPress
August 28th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Zain you know I am one of the biggest supporters of UTW
Here is what seems to be missing
Tag pages
Related posts
Related tags
All the other fancy formatting Christine added in
WP2.3 is coming, so there will be a need to migrate to the new DB and function calls (not just deprecated)
I currently use a plugin that creates custom excerpts on the fly, will this still be usable.
The biggest pain in the ass is priorities with plugins – if everything is all in one, it becomes harder to manage them (there has been need of a priority intercept plugin for ages)
%%tag%% – for a specific keyword tag page
%%tags%% – related tags that can be used on tag pages or posts/pages
It should be noted that Wordpress are planning their own backend to work with tagging and 3rd party offline tools (plus their own)
I need to sleep on it a little more, I am sure I will find some more things
August 28th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Thanks again Andy for the tips and the heads up on the WP2.3 as well as the info that WP are working on the tagging.
Personally, I think that any competition is a great thing – it gives rise to creativity and innovation when solving problems. The end result can only be a good one as ultimately the various solutions providers give the end user more choice and more power to pick the product that’s right for them!
Keep the constructive criticisms coming – “I dare you… I double dare you…!”. I’m pretty sure that John might be able to work most of these in if he wanted to. I’ll let him know. No idea how far he wants to push this thing…
As for me, I’m of the opinion that having too many plugins isn’t for me. I have problems remembering what I’m supposed to be doing tomorrow with the kids or what I did yesterdary, let alone where I put various bits of meta-data or which plugin is supposed to do what. I like having things in one place and doing stuff in one go instead of hunting things down in several screens…
BTW, it’s great having your first comment as an opposing viewpoint – I know you’re always contrary and your readers like that as it always keeps people on their toes. Keep up the great work Andy!
PS: I’m still gonna kick your butt at pool next time!
August 29th, 2007 at 1:22 am
[...] I’ve just had Andy Beard email me about it this evening (and Jane over at Cyres Cafe mentioned it as well) to say that the HTML Purified plugin isn’t working as expected on the comments (Thanks to both of you, btw!). PHP Warnings – ouch! The plugin is pretty new and will probably need a bit more testing – this is one of John’s plugins but he’s probably battling some other WordPress plugin issues at the moment… [...]
August 29th, 2007 at 5:43 am
Thanks for the post, Zain, and the comments, Andy.
I’ve definitely tried to take UTW on, but with the impending arrival of WordPress 2.3 I decided that I’d adopt a wait-and-see approach when it comes to tags. WP 2.3 will import UTW tags anyway, and I’ll be adding an exporter so that you can migrate HeadSpace tags across. At that point displaying tags will be an open field and I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of interesting plugins developed as a result.
Having everything in one plugin should actually benefit HeadSpace as it means it can control the priority of things, rather than letting several plugins fight it out. It also results in a very consistent interface (everything is in one place)
August 29th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Could Headspace be adapted such that it works with UTW rather than importing?
August 30th, 2007 at 7:54 am
Yes, the HeadSpace tag module could be replaced with another tag module that stores the data in the same place as UTW.
Additionally, UTW can run at the same time as HeadSpace, allowing you to mix and match.
November 30th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Hi Zain&John&Andy
So what’s your final word now that WP2.31 is out?
Cheers,
Diego
http://www.secretia.com
http://www.drnegocios.com
January 4th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
i like this plugin, it fixes meta keywords and description, really fast.
http://www.thetutorial.org/wordpress/oneclickmeta/
March 1st, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Hey Zain –
Where in the heck do I VIEW the Google Analytics data after configuring? I’m bleary-eyed trying to find it. Some of the other options too, don’t seem to have a “home” for the info. I must be just missing something, since Headspace adds a few new admin areas, but I’m stumped.
This plug-n rocks for me on dozens of blogs, and had been my preferred choice ever since you first shared the beta info inside Stompernet last spring (I’m out now after 12 months)
I mentioned how much i love Headspace it to Stephen Spencer, apologizing for dumping his SEO Title Tags at Pubcon, but he didn’t offer even a glimmer of recognition… I’m sure he will soon!
Thanks,
April 25th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Hey Zain,
I am trying to get a hold of the headspace plugin but cannot access the page, and have tried to find another download link everywhere, can you tell me where I might be able to get it.
Or maybe even if you have it on your computer you could send it to me, I am just trying to set up my atomic blog, what are your thoughts on the atomic blog set up, any good? I am totally new to blogging so excuse my newbieness. my email address is blueferrari1@hotmail.com if you could send me a reply when you can that would be really great. Thanks
November 11th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
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December 27th, 2008 at 12:12 am
I know that this article is an older one, but I’d just like to say that the article is still relevent today.
Headspace2 is the bomb, especially with the latest release that addresses some of the shortcomings that were mentioned (and fixed) in the latest release.
I’ve been using Headspace2 for 18 months, and have been successful with it each and every day.
Cheers!
Matt Kettlewell
April 12th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Glad I stumbled into this article! I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.