Keywords work in two layers: a channel-wide list of phrases you're targeting, and a focus keyword you assign to each article or page.
Channel keywords
Open your channel and go to SEO → Keywords (enable the SEO shortcut from Customize on the Quick access card if you don't see it). This is the list of phrases your channel is trying to rank for — things like headless CMS or maple syrup recipes. You can:
- Add a keyword with an optional locale (for multilingual channels).
- Bulk add a whole list at once — one phrase per line.
- Archive a keyword to hide it from pickers while keeping its ranking history, or delete it outright.
- See, per keyword, how many articles already target it — so you can spot phrases you've over-covered and ones with no article yet.
Focus keyword on an article or page
In the editor, the Focus Keywords panel lets you pick which channel keywords this piece is going after. Mark one as the primary focus keyword — that's the one the live score grades against — and add as many secondary keywords as you like. If the phrase you want isn't in the channel list yet, type it in and it's created and linked on the spot.
Pages get the same tools in a Focus Keywords card of their own, in the block editor sidebar — a separate card from the article editor's panel, but backed by the same channel keyword list, so a keyword created on one side is immediately available on the other.
MCP shortcut
If you connect an MCP client, set_focus_keyword assigns a keyword to an article conversationally, creating it on the channel if it doesn't exist yet.