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The Rankforce WordPress plugin is the fastest way to give Rankforce’s AI agents direct access to your site’s content. Once installed and connected, agents can read your page copy, meta fields, and structured data — then write approved optimizations back without you touching a single file. Everything happens through the same WordPress admin you already use.

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Prerequisites

Before you install the plugin, confirm that your environment meets the following requirements.

WordPress 5.0 or later

Rankforce uses the WordPress Block Editor API and REST endpoints introduced in WordPress 5.0. Earlier versions are not supported.

PHP 7.4 or later

The plugin relies on PHP features available from version 7.4 onward. Check your host’s PHP version in Tools → Site Health → Info → Server.

WordPress admin access

You need an account with the Administrator role to install and activate plugins. Editor or lower roles cannot complete this setup.

Rankforce account

You need an active Rankforce account and an API key. If you don’t have one yet, sign up at rankforce.ai and follow the quick-start guide.

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Install the plugin

1

Open the plugin installer

Log in to your WordPress admin panel and navigate to Plugins → Add New Plugin in the left sidebar.
2

Search for Rankforce

Type Rankforce into the search box in the top-right corner of the page. The official Rankforce plugin will appear in the results, published by Rankforce AI.
3

Install the plugin

Click Install Now next to the Rankforce plugin. WordPress will download and unpack the plugin files automatically. Wait for the button to change to Activate.
4

Activate the plugin

Click Activate. WordPress will enable the plugin and redirect you back to the Plugins list. You’ll see Rankforce listed as active with a new Settings link beneath it.

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Configure the plugin

With the plugin active, you need to connect it to your Rankforce account using an API key.
1

Open Rankforce settings

In your WordPress admin sidebar, navigate to Settings → Rankforce. This page contains the connection configuration for your site.
2

Retrieve your API key

In a new browser tab, open your Rankforce dashboard and go to Settings → API Keys. Click Create new key, give it a descriptive name such as “My WordPress Site”, and copy the key that appears. You will not be able to see this key again after you close the dialog, so copy it now.
3

Paste the API key

Return to the WordPress tab and paste your API key into the API Key field on the Rankforce settings page.
4

Save and verify

Click Save Settings. Rankforce will immediately attempt a test connection to verify the key. A green Connected badge confirms the integration is live. If you see an error, double-check that you copied the full key with no leading or trailing spaces.
Each WordPress site needs its own API key. If you manage multiple sites, create a separate key for each one in Settings → API Keys so you can revoke access per-site without affecting the others.

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What the plugin enables

Once the plugin is connected, Rankforce agents gain the following capabilities on your site:
  • Read page content — agents crawl your posts, pages, and custom post types to analyze copy quality, keyword targeting, heading structure, and internal linking.
  • Write meta fields — agents update SEO title, meta description, focus keyword, and Open Graph fields managed by Rank Math, Yoast SEO, or AIOSEO (see SEO Plugin Integrations for details).
  • Apply content optimizations — when you approve a recommendation, the agent patches the relevant post content or meta data directly through the WordPress REST API.
  • Read your sitemap — Rankforce parses your XML sitemap to discover pages and prioritize crawling by traffic potential.
  • Inject structured data — the AEO agent can add or update Schema.org markup on individual posts and pages to improve your visibility in AI-generated answers.
Rankforce never publishes changes without your explicit approval unless you have enabled Autopilot mode in your Rankforce dashboard. In manual or review mode, every optimization is queued for your sign-off first.

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Keep the plugin up to date

Rankforce releases plugin updates regularly to add new agent capabilities and maintain compatibility with the latest WordPress versions. WordPress will surface available updates in Dashboard → Updates and in the Plugins list. To update:
  1. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins.
  2. If an update is available, you’ll see an Update now link beneath the Rankforce entry.
  3. Click Update now and wait for the process to complete.
Enabling automatic updates for the Rankforce plugin is recommended. Click Enable auto-updates next to the plugin in the Plugins list to let WordPress apply updates in the background.

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Troubleshooting

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The plugin doesn’t appear in search results

WordPress.org search can occasionally lag behind new releases. If you don’t see the Rankforce plugin in Plugins → Add New, try the following:
  • Clear your browser cache and reload the search page.
  • Search for “Rankforce AI” as an alternative term.
  • Download the .zip file directly from the Rankforce documentation and install it via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.

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API key errors on the settings page

If you see an Invalid API key or Authentication failed error after saving:
  • Confirm you copied the entire key — keys are long strings and partial copies are a common cause of failure.
  • Check that the key is still active in Rankforce Dashboard → Settings → API Keys. Keys can be revoked manually or expire if your plan lapses.
  • Ensure your server can make outbound HTTPS requests to api.rankforce.ai. Some hosts block outbound connections by default; contact your host to whitelist the domain.

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Connection test passes but agents aren’t running

  • Verify that your Rankforce plan is active and that you have at least one site added in the Rankforce dashboard under Sites.
  • Check that the domain entered in Rankforce matches the domain WordPress reports in Settings → General → WordPress Address.
  • Review the Activity Log in your Rankforce dashboard for any error messages related to your site.
If your WordPress site is behind a firewall, VPN, or password protection (e.g., a staging environment locked with HTTP auth), Rankforce agents may not be able to reach your pages. Allowlist Rankforce’s crawler IP ranges or temporarily remove the access restriction while running a crawl.