When you're creating a website, one of the key factors to think about is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - the process of optimizing a website for search engines. In SEO, it is important to use key phrases, also known as “focus keywords”, which help search engines understand what your website is focused on. This article focuses on how to properly use the “focus keyword” in WordPress.
Introduction to “focus keyword”
Let's start with the definition. “Focus keyword” is a phrase that best describes the content of your post or page. This is what you type into a search engine to find a specific page or post. An example would be “apple tart” if you run a baking blog.
Using the Yoast SEO plugin
Yoast SEO plugin
The most popular SEO plugin for WordPress is Yoast SEO. Here's how you can use it to optimize your focus keyword:
After installing and activating the Yoast SEO plugin, you will find the Yoast SEO panel under the post editor. Enter your keyword in the "Focus keyword" field. Yoast SEO automatically analyzes your site for keyword usage, giving you tips on how you can improve its usage.
Keyword analysis in Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO provides an “SEO analysis” feature that evaluates how well a keyword phrase is used on a website. This includes checking that your keyword phrase appears in the right places, such as the post title, meta description, first paragraph, and so on.
Using the Rank Math SEO plugin
Rank Math SEO plugin
Another popular plugin is Rank Math SEO. Like Yoast, Rank Math offers the ability to enter a “focus keyword” and perform SEO analysis. With Rank Math, you can also add multiple keyword phrases, which is especially useful for pages with a wide range of topics.
PHP Snippets
Using PHP snippets to enter “focus keyword”
If you are more technically advanced, you can use PHP to apply the “focus keyword” directly to your WordPress code. It is important to emphasize that this requires advanced knowledge of PHP and WordPress:
function set_focus_keyword() { global $post; $focus_keyword = get_post_meta($post->ID, '_yoast_wpseo_focuskw', true); echo ' '; } add_action('wp_head', 'set_focus_keyword');
This function uses 'get_post_meta' to retrieve the 'focus keyword' set by Yoast SEO and places it in the page's meta tags.
To sum up, optimal use of the “focus keyword” in WordPress is essential for effective SEO. Remember that your keyword phrase should reflect the main idea of your page or post. Always try to place it in strategic places, such as titles, headings and first paragraphs. Plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO are excellent tools for this purpose, but for more advanced users it is also possible to use PHP code. Remember that SEO optimization is a continuous process - it is always worth testing and adapting your strategy.