How to Add Focus Keyphrase in Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is arguably one of the best tools we’ve seen to optimize your content for search engines, and one of its best features is the focus keyphrase functionality. This feature asks you to optimize your content around specific keywords or phrases you’d like to rank for in search results. Understanding how to use a focus keyphrase in Yoast SEO, and how to use it properly, will help improve the visibility of your content in search engines.

What Is a Focus Keyphrase?

Before we go into action, it’s important you first know what a focus keyphrase is.

A focus keyphrase is the primary keyword or phrase you want your content to rank for in a search engine like Google. It’s the term that best describes what your page or post is about, and what you want users to search for when looking for content similar to yours.

For instance, if you’ve written a blog post about how to make pizza at home, your focus keyphrase might be “homemade pizza recipe” or “how to make pizza at home.” You will later see why the Yoast SEO Tool uses the concept of a focus keyphrase when analyzing your content and making suggestions for optimization.

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding a Focus Keyphrase

Step 1: Install and Activate Yoast SEO

If you have not installed Yoast SEO yet, you will need to do that first. Go to the WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins, and select Add New. Search for “Yoast SEO” and install and activate the plugin. After it is activated, you will see a new item in your WordPress dashboard menu that says Yoast SEO.

Step 2: Create or Edit Your Content

Go to the post, page, or custom post type where you want to add the focus keyphrase. To create new content, click on Posts or Pages, then click Add New. To edit existing content, click on the title of the post or page you want to optimize.

Step 3: Locate the Yoast SEO Meta Box

Scroll down below your content editor, and you’ll find the Yoast SEO meta box. This box contains several tabs, including SEO, Readability, Social, and Schema. The focus keyphrase field is located in the SEO tab, which should be open by default.

Step 4: Enter Your Focus Keyphrase

In the Yoast SEO meta box you’ll locate a field titled “Focus keyphrase.” Click in that field and enter your selected keyword or word phrase. You may enter a single word, but it is usually better to use a phrase of two to five words that best describes the main topic of your content.

Once you enter your keyphrase, Yoast SEO will instantly start analyzing your content based on that phrase. The plugin is examining many elements on your page to assess how well optimized it is for your keyphrase.

Step 5: Review the SEO Analysis

After you have selected your focus keyphrase, Yoast SEO will provide you with a detailed analysis with colored-coded feedback. You’ll see a series of checks with either green, orange or red indicators. Green is good, orange means that there is some improvement possible and red means that you should fix something.

The analysis checks multiple items including, keyphrase density, keyphrase in title, keyphrase in introduction, keyphrase in subheadings, if you optimized the meta description and more. Each one has a short explanation and then suggestions for improvement.

Best Practices for Choosing a Focus Keyphrase

Research Your Keywords

Instead of taking wild guesses about what people really want to search for, you should use keyword research tools. Options include Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and the autocomplete feature in Google. Each of these tools allow you to view suggestions based on search volume, competition, etc. and select keywords that are relevant, have search volume you can depend on, and manageable competition.

Be Specific

Rather than trying to compete for broad terms like “pizza,” it is better to use longer, more specific phrases known as “long-tail keywords,” which usually have lower competition, and attract more targeted traffic. For example, you would want to optimize your content for a long-tail keyword like, “easy homemade pizza recipe for beginners,” rather than just the word “pizza.”

Match User Intent

Think about what someone looking for your keyphrase actually wants to find. When someone types “how to add focus keyphrase in yoast seo” into a search bar, are they looking for a product page or generally information related to SEO? NO. They’re looking for a tutorial!

Use Natural Language

Your focus keyphrase should sound natural and be something people would actually type into a search engine. Avoid awkward keyword stuffing or unnatural phrases.

Optimizing Your Content Around the Focus Keyphrase

It’s not enough to add a focus keyphrase; you need to use the keyphrase at strategic points in your content in a natural way. Here are the most important areas to use your keyphrase:

Title Tag: Include your focus keyphrase in your post title, ideally near the beginning. Yoast SEO will flag this if your keyphrase isn’t in the title.

Introduction: Mention your keyphrase within the first paragraph of your content. This signals to both readers and search engines what your content is about.

Headings and Subheadings: Use your keyphrase or variations of it in at least one H2 or H3 heading. This helps structure your content and emphasizes important topics.

Body Content: Sprinkle your keyphrase naturally throughout your content, but avoid overusing it. Yoast SEO measures keyphrase density and will alert you if you’re using it too much or too little.

Meta Description: Include your focus keyphrase in the meta description, which is the snippet that appears in search results below your page title.

URL Slug: Incorporate your keyphrase into your page’s URL for additional optimization.

Image Alt Text: If relevant, include your keyphrase in the alt text of at least one image on your page.

Understanding the Yoast SEO Color Indicators

Yoast SEO provides an easy traffic light system to show you how optimized your content is. A green indicator shows your content is very well optimized for your focus keyphrase. An orange indicator shows there are some things you can improve, but your content is not bad. A red indicator means there are some significant problems that need to be fixed to optimize the content better.

Do not stress over getting everything green. While the goal is good, quality content that actually fits your audience is more important than being perfect. You can take the indicator as a guideline, but do not treat it like a rule.

Conclusion

Inserting a focus keyphrase in Yoast SEO is not difficult, but it can greatly improve the optimization of your content for search engines. By following these guidelines and best practices, you will be prepared to optimize your WordPress content for your audience. Tools like Yoast SEO are extremely useful, but they work best when you start with highly informative and thoughtful content created specifically for your audience.