---
title: Get started with SEOPress Insights
url: "https://www.seopress.org/support/guides/get-started-with-seopress-insights/"
lang: en-US
updated: 2026-08-18
---

# Get started with SEOPress Insights

**[SEOPress Insights](https://www.seopress.org/wordpress-seo-plugins/insights/)** is required to follow this tutorial.

SEOPress Insights tracks where your pages rank in Google and who links to you, from your WordPress admin. It does not read Google Search Console: our own API queries Google every day on the location you choose, and backlinks come from Majestic.

This guide takes you from a fresh install to your first data. Count about ten minutes of setup, then 24 to 48 hours before the first rankings arrive.

## Before you start

- WordPress 6.5 or later, PHP 7.4 or later.
- An active SEOPress Insights license, one per site.
- **SEOPress Free and SEOPress PRO are not required.** Insights runs on its own. If you do have SEOPress PRO, you unlock one extra feature: importing your keywords straight from Google Search Console.

## Install and activate the plugin

Download the plugin from [your account](https://www.seopress.org/account/), then go to **Plugins**, **Add New Plugin**, **Upload Plugin** in your WordPress admin. Activate it.

A new **Insights** entry appears in the left menu.

## Activate your license

Go to **Insights**, **License**, paste your license key and activate it. Without an active license you get no data and no updates.

See [activate your SEOPress PRO / Insights license](https://www.seopress.org/support/guides/activate-seopress-pro-license/) if the activation fails, and for the `SEOPRESS_INSIGHTS_LICENSE_KEY` constant if you prefer to define your key in `wp-config.php`.

## Run the setup wizard

The wizard opens on its own after activation. You can relaunch it at any time from **Insights**, **Settings**, **Run the wizard**.

1. **Welcome to Insights**: click **Start setup**.
2. **License**: activate your key if you have not already, then **Continue**.
3. **Position tracking**: pick your **Default search engine** among the 52 Google locations available, then build your keyword list. Click **Add keyword** to type them one by one, or **Add keywords** to open the discovery hub and let Insights suggest them. You can track up to 50 keywords, and each one can target a different Google location. Click **Save and continue**.
4. **SEOPress PRO**: this step only appears if PRO is not installed. Click **Continue** to skip it.
5. **Ready!**: click **Go to dashboard**.

Not sure which keywords to pick? Read [track your keyword rankings in Google with SEOPress Insights](https://www.seopress.org/support/guides/track-keyword-rankings-google-seopress-insights/).

## Wait for your first data

Rankings are checked daily, backlinks weekly. Expect **24 to 48 hours** before your first positions appear, and the same delay every time you change your keyword list.

While you wait, make sure your site is publicly accessible, that your pages are indexed by Google, and that your sitemap has been submitted in Google Search Console. A page Google has not indexed cannot rank.

## Find your way around

The **Insights** menu holds six screens:

- **Dashboard**: your KPI summary, ranking trend, biggest gains and losses, favorite keywords, backlink summary and SEO suggestions. Start here.
- **Rankings**: the position of every tracked keyword, the health tiles, the filter bar and the comparison tools.
- **Backlinks**: who links to you, with the Majestic Trust Flow and Citation Flow scores.
- **Competitors**: who holds position #1 on the keywords you track, and where you sit against them.
- **Settings**: your keywords and default search engine under **General**, your email and Slack reports under **Alerts**.
- **License**: your key and its status.

Every screen has a guided tour and a **How to read this data** panel explaining each metric. Open the help icon in the Insights header and click **Take the tour** to replay it.

## Next steps

- [Track your keyword rankings in Google](https://www.seopress.org/support/guides/track-keyword-rankings-google-seopress-insights/)
- [Monitor and analyse your backlinks](https://www.seopress.org/support/guides/monitor-and-analyse-your-backlinks-with-seopress-insights/)
- [Receive your rankings by email](https://www.seopress.org/support/guides/receive-keyword-rankings-by-email/)
- [Set up Slack notifications](https://www.seopress.org/support/guides/how-to-setup-slack-notifications-with-seopress-insights/)
- [Give your team access to Insights](https://www.seopress.org/support/guides/seopress-user-capabilities/)