Wordpress Plugins can be amazing tools. The Wordpress developer community is robust and helpful, and growing at a staggering rate. I’ve found 5 plugins, paid and free, that will help your blog in some very different ways. Have a look and see if these are right for you.

1. Wordpress Review Site

WP Review Site is a paid plugin ($97) that turns your Wordpress-powered site into a full review destination.

Included in WP Review Site is:

• JavaScript star rating system added to comment forms
• Posts sorted by weighted average
• Works for posts or pages
• Powers an entire website, or just selected parts of it
• Horizontal/List or Vertical/Table displays
• WordPress Affiliate Link Management
• Complete Premium WordPress Theme
• Admin panel integration (Ratings show up in comment moderation screens, and only approved comments influence the average ratings displayed on any post or page.)
• Free Upgrades for Life

This is great if you want a review site for a niche, or just add a section for them to your current site.

2. Google Sitemap Generator

Just as the title says, this plugin will generate XML sitemaps for your site that you can submit to search engines. The sitemaps make it easier for you site to be fully indexed. The format used is supported by Ask.com, Google, YAHOO and MSN Search.

Features:

Features:

• Available for all WordPress versions since 1.5
• No PHP skills or file changes needed
• User interface to customize all parameters like priorities etc.
• Available in many languages
• Generates automatically a sitemap for all types of WordPress pages
• Calculates a priority for each post, based on the number of comments
• Notifies Ask.com, Google, Bing and YAHOO about changes via ping
• Includes a WordPress filter for other plugins which can add their pages to the sitemap
• Generates a static XML file as well as a zipped version

3. Auction Thumbs

This plugin is great if you want to increase your blog’s earnings. Using the eBay affiliate program, Auction Thumbs will find targeted auctions based on your site’s content and display related auctions.

Features:

• Earn revenue through the Ebay Partner Network or other popular programs like PepperJam, Mediaplex, TradeDoubler or Affilinet!
• Add keyword rich Ebay items to your php based web site that encourage impulsive buys!
• Easily Integrate into any New or Existing WordPress Blog!
• Thousands of free Wordpress templates available across the web to create virtually any type of site!
• Not Javascript based! Auction listings are 100% pure html based creating additional targeted content for your site!
• List auction items regionally from 17 different countries!
• List items by postal code (zip code) for localized results.
• List items from specific Ebay categories.
• Listings displayed in language and currency of selected country.
• Listings displayed in rows or specified number of columns for a Web 2.0 look and feel!
• Use on as many sites as you own! phpBay Pro is not limited to one domain. It can be used on one, or hundreds of sites with one license!
• Comprehensive user manual with illustrations, in PDF format, for both the WordPress version and the API version, that will walk you through, step-by-step, to install and get working quickly with phpBay Pro!

4. OIO Publisher

OIOpublisher is an ad manager that focuses on maximising your revenue, saving you time, and keeping you in complete control of your ad space. It is a paid plugin ($37), and while other free plugins accomplish the same thing, I have found OIO just does it better.

Benefits:

• Complete control over your advertising, with fully automated sales
• Make money from your websites whilst saving valuable time
• Keep 100% of your revenue, forget middleman commission
• Sell all forms of ads, and even your own digital products
• Run 3rd party ad networks alongside your own ads

5. CubePoints

This is an interesting plugin I just recently discovered. It is a point management system. Users can earn points by posting comments or creating posts on your site. This is great to encourage your users to interact more often. You can use the points to offer premium content, allow readers to purchase merchandise or advertise on your blog with a certain amount of points.