Setting focus keywords on a resource
A "focus keyword" is the single search phrase you want a page to rank for. RankEngine uses it to enable 5 of the 14 SEO checks; without one, those checks are marked N/A and the score is computed from the remaining 9.
How to set one
- Open On-Page SEO → click "Details →" on any row.
- In the Focus Keyword card (left column), type your keyword and click "Set Keyword".
- The 14-point SEO Checklist refreshes immediately. The 5 keyword checks are now scored.
What unlocks
| Check | What it tests |
|---|---|
| Focus keyword in title | Substring match in seoTitle (or title if no SEO title set). |
| Focus keyword in meta description | Substring match in seoDescription. |
| Focus keyword in URL | Slug match in handle. Not auto-fixable — URL changes need a 301. |
| Focus keyword in H1 | Substring match in the page's H1. |
| Keyword density 1-3% | Body text occurrence count vs total word count. |
Why a single keyword and not many?
Modern SEO favors topical depth on a single phrase over keyword-stuffing many. Pages that try to rank for 10 keywords usually rank for none.
If you have multiple variations (singular/plural, abbreviations), use the most-searched canonical form and let semantic matching handle the rest. RankEngine's content generator covers synonym density automatically when you generate body content via the Content Studio.
Tips
- Don't set a focus keyword on every page. Reserve it for product/collection/article pages you actively want to rank. Settings/policy pages don't need one.
- Match search intent. A focus keyword like "buy organic kids vitamins" implies transactional intent — your title and description should reflect that.
- Check density. Phase 192-style auto-checks flag <1% (too sparse) and >3% (keyword stuffing). 1-2% is the sweet spot.