This guide walks you through connecting your WordPress site to Rankwise so you can publish content, update pages, and build a connected topic system.
If you follow the steps, you'll end with a successful connection and a quick verification checklist to confirm everything works.
Prerequisites
Before you start, confirm:
- You have WordPress Admin access
- You can install/activate plugins (or you have someone who can)
- Your site is reachable publicly (not blocked by IP allowlists)
- You have your Rankwise account ready
Step-by-step: connect WordPress
Step 1: Install the Rankwise plugin (or integration)
- Upload or install the Rankwise publisher plugin
- Activate it
- Locate the Rankwise connection screen inside WordPress (Settings or a Rankwise menu)
Tip: Keep WordPress and the plugin updated to avoid auth and editor edge cases.
Step 2: Generate a connection key
In Rankwise:
- Go to your integration settings
- Generate/copy your connection key (or token)
In WordPress:
- Paste the key into the Rankwise plugin settings
- Save
Step 3: Verify permissions
Rankwise needs the ability to:
- create posts (draft/publish)
- update post content and metadata
- (optional) manage categories/tags if your workflow uses them
If you have "restricted editor roles," use an admin-level token to start, then tighten permissions later.
Step 4: Test a draft publish
Run a quick "draft publish" test:
- Create a test article from Rankwise
- Ensure it appears in WordPress as a draft
- Confirm the title, slug, and content arrived correctly
Step 5: Confirm canonical + indexation basics
- Ensure your WordPress theme outputs canonical URLs correctly
- Confirm your robots settings are not blocking new content
Verification checklist (copy/paste)
After connecting:
- Rankwise shows status: "Connected"
- Draft publish works (content appears in WP)
- Published post URL resolves publicly
- Permalinks are correct (no weird
?p=123unless intended) - No caching layer is serving stale versions after publish
Troubleshooting table
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Unauthorized" / 401 | Token/key invalid or revoked | Regenerate key, re-save settings |
| "Forbidden" / 403 | WP roles/permissions too limited | Use admin token; verify capabilities |
| Draft never appears | Plugin not active or webhook blocked | Confirm plugin active; check firewall/WAF |
| Content appears but formatting is broken | Theme/editor sanitizing content | Test with classic editor; check blocks |
| Published URL returns 404 | Permalinks need flush | WP Settings → Permalinks → Save |
| Updates don't show | Caching (server/CDN) | Purge cache; bypass cache for wp-json routes |
| Slow publishing | Host or WP cron delays | Check performance, cron settings, queue depth |
Security best practices
- Treat the connection key like a password.
- Rotate keys if a contractor leaves or you suspect exposure.
- Use least privilege once the integration is stable.
Next steps
- Turn on Autopilot: /resources/learn/first-campaign
- Learn how citations work: /resources/learn/understanding-ai-citations
- Topic strategy: /resources/guides/topic-clusters-strategy