Editorial plan: what it is and how to build it, with examples and tips
It represents the backbone of the site, a kind of detailed roadmap that defines what, when, how and where to publish, with the goal of achieving specific communication and marketing goals. An editorial plan is an essential element in trying to succeed online, and learning how to make an effective PED is a key preventive activity for any kind of online project. Planning is everything in the digital sphere, because without a well-defined strategy even the best content risks getting lost and remaining hidden. So let’s explore in depth what an editorial plan is, what it is for, and how to implement it using tools, templates, and templates: not only to improve SEO, but also to optimize your presence on social media and other digital platforms.
What is an editorial plan
An editorial plan is an organizational strategy that defines what, when and how to publish content on different media platforms. It helps, on the one hand, to maintain consistency and quality in the content produced by planning the publication of articles, social media posts, newsletters, and other informational materials, and on the other hand, it allows the production of such content to be aligned with business goals and the needs of the target audience.
It is much more than just a publication calendar: it is the resource that builds and formalizes on a time basis the content and economic planning of a publisher of any kind, from Web to social to print, thus establishing the articles to be written and published (what is more specifically the editorial calendar), with a forecast on the traffic they can generate.
It is therefore a strategic document that guides the entire content creation process, from the ideation phase through to distribution and measurement of results. Even more specifically, then, the editorial plan of a website (but also of a blog, a newspaper or a social profile) contains the strategy we intend to follow in planning content for any activity that involves, precisely, the production of texts and articles to reach a certain target and objective, which are quantitatively and qualitatively measurable, turning the online presence into a marketing tool.
A good editorial plan includes a detailed overview of the topics to be covered, publication timelines and distribution channels. Its structure may vary depending on specific needs, but in general it should include elements such as marketing goals, audience analysis, keyword research, editorial calendar, target audience and performance metrics.
The use of digital tools and project management software can greatly facilitate the creation and management of an editorial plan, making the process more efficient and less prone to errors.
What an editorial plan is for
The editorial plan is therefore a crucial tool for strategic content management in any communication context, whether corporate, journalistic or digital marketing. For this reason, too, it serves multiple purposes, all of which are critical to the success of a content marketing strategy.
First, it helps to plan and organize content production strategically. This means that each piece of content produced is part of a larger vision and helps achieve specific goals, such as increasing website traffic, improving search engine rankings, or increasing engagement on social media.
In addition, an editorial plan facilitates consistency and quality of content. When working without a plan, it is easy to lose track of the editorial line and end up publishing disorganized and inconsistent content. A well-structured editorial plan helps maintain a uniform voice and tone, which are crucial to building and maintaining audience trust.
Another significant benefit is resource management. With an editorial plan, you can allocate time, budget, and staff more efficiently. This is especially important for small and medium-sized businesses, which often have limited resources. Finally, an editorial plan allows you to measure results and adjust your strategy based on the data collected. This continuous feedback loop is essential to constantly improve the quality and effectiveness of the content produced.
What is an editorial line and why it is needed
In this context, it is also appropriate to devote a brief aside to the editorial line, which underlies any effective publishing plan. While the editorial line defines what to say and how to say it, in fact, the editorial plan determines when and where to say it, integrating seamlessly.
We can define the editorial line as the set of guidelines, principles and directives that define the tone, style, themes and values of an editorial project. In other words, the editorial line establishes the identity and voice of a brand or publication, determining how content should be presented and what messages it should convey. This concept is key to maintaining consistency and uniformity in the content produced, ensuring that it always reflects the brand’s image and values.
In an environment where information is overabundant, the editorial line becomes not only a distinctive element, but a real strategic tool that determines the success or failure of a publication.
First, as mentioned, it serves to define brand identity: if we set a clear and consistent editorial line, we effectively establish and communicate the company’s values, mission, and vision. This not only helps create an authentic connection with the audience, but also facilitates recognition and loyalty from readers. Without a clear direction, the risk is to waste energy on inconsistent content that confuses rather than informs.
Second, a solid editorial line guides the production of content: by establishing precise themes, tone, and styles we avoid creative dissipation and ensure that each piece produced is in line with business objectives. This is especially crucial in competitive environments, where every minute counts and where efficiency in content creation can make the difference between leading the market or remaining in the shadows.
But it doesn’t end there. The editorial line also plays a key role in maintaining consistency over time, supporting the need to respond appropriately to the constant evolutions and transformations of information and trends through stable guidance that keeps the main goals in mind. This creates a common thread that runs through all publications, making each article part of a larger, more meaningful picture.
In addition, a clear editorial line facilitates the work of heterogeneous teams: when all team members know the editorial guidelines, collaborating becomes easier and more effective because everyone knows exactly what is expected of his or her work, minimizing misunderstandings and delays. This leads to higher productivity and quality of the final content.
Last but not least, the editorial line also serves as a filter to avoid embarrassing or brand image-damaging mistakes: with clear guidelines on what is acceptable or not to publish, the risk of controversy or backlash from the audience is greatly reduced.
What are the goals of an editorial plan
It seems perhaps obvious to say that the ultimate goal of any online activity is always to increase visits and convert, and certainly this tool goes in the same direction. Whatever strategy we pursue, proper planning allows us to achieve the desired results, always remembering to identify “step by step” targets that will achieve “step by step” conversions.
Editorial and other planning begins with a classic SWOT analysis, which helps us to identify the profile of our brand, company or product, and in particular its strengths and weaknesses, exclusive features, main competitors, and then again to highlight the core business and corporate values that would be necessary to communicate. Also in the preventive stage, it is also good in the digital field to pay attention to the messages to be spread, the “basic” tone of voice, and the target audience to be reached in order to establish the topics to be covered.
At the center of the strategy of good editorial plans, then, cannot miss the analysis of the project’s target audience, which is ultimately the decisive factor of success. We also said this in the article on article ideas: writing well also and above all means tapping the interest and attention of the audience (and search engines).
And so, a well-structured editorial plan is a tool that allows us to communicate effectively and strategically with our audience. Its goals are many and varied, but they all converge toward achieving consistent, targeted and impactful communication. We can specifically identify these main purposes:
- Define a clear strategy
The first goal of an editorial plan is to establish a clear strategy. This means identifying the main themes to be covered, the key messages to be conveyed, and the specific goals you want to achieve. A well-defined strategy allows you to maintain consistency and continuity in communication, avoiding scattering and inconsistencies that could confuse your audience.
- Planning content over time
The temporal planning of content is another crucial objective. A well-delineated editorial calendar allows for a balanced distribution of topics over time, taking into account events, seasonality and specific deadlines. This ensures a consistent and relevant presence on the various communication channels.
- Engaging target audiences
Knowing and engaging your target audience is critical. The editorial plan must be designed to meet the needs, interests, and expectations of your target audience. Creating relevant and useful content increases user engagement and retention, turning them into regular readers and potential customers.
- Optimize content distribution
Another important goal is to optimize the distribution of content across the different channels available-social media, company blog, newsletter, and so on. – so as to maximize the visibility and impact of the message. Each platform has its own peculiarities and requires a specific approach to achieve maximum results.
- Monitor and analyze results
Finally, a good editorial plan also involves constant monitoring of the performance of published content. Analyzing performance metrics allows you to understand what works best and what needs improvement, thus allowing for continuous refinement of the publishing strategy.
Why it is important to create an editorial plan
From what has been written, we should begin to get a sense of what the concrete value of an editorial plan is, a necessary tool for having a clear and structured view of our editorial activities.
Without a clearly outlined plan, we risk preparing and publishing disconnected materials that do not adequately support the organization’s overall strategy.
Wanting to summarize, then, the benefits of a well-structured editorial plan are:
- Clarity. First of all, the editorial plan provides clear direction. Indeed, the typical structure of this document includes several key components: analysis of the target audience, definition of objectives (both quantitative and qualitative), selection of topics to be covered, publication schedule, and choice of distribution channels. Each detail serves to ensure that all components contribute to the overall success of the strategy.
- Consistency. A good editorial plan ensures that each piece of content is aligned with the company’s or project’s key messages and contributes to the achievement of its goals, creating a consistent and powerful narrative.. It thus ensures that communication is uniform and consistent with brand identity. An organization without a clear plan risks wasting energy and resources on disconnected content, losing consistency in message.
- Organization. The editorial plan allows effective planning for content production, which is necessary for any successful project. This makes it possible to set realistic deadlines and assign specific tasks to team members, ensuring that each step in the process is monitored and completed on time. This also means efficient management of time and resources: planning ahead makes it possible to evenly distribute the workload among team members and avoid stress spikes related to impending deadlines; in addition, having a clear view of the tasks to be performed makes it easier to identify priorities and schedule tasks optimally.
- Efficiency. Closely related to the previous point, a good plan optimizes human and time resources by devoting time to what really matters. Creating content can be expensive and time-consuming, but with a well-structured document we can maximize efficiency, avoiding waste and unnecessary duplication. It also allows us to identify opportunities to reuse or adapt existing content, further optimizing available resources. Another crucial aspect, it has the ability to adapt to changes, if designed in a way that makes it flexible enough to be updated periodically to respond to new trends or market changes.
- Measurability. Facilitates analysis of results, allowing timely adjustments. Without a clear framework, it becomes difficult to understand what is working and what is not: a good plan includes specific metrics and KPIs that allow you to monitor the results achieved in relation to the set goals. In this way, it becomes possible not only to assess the effectiveness of the strategies adopted, but also to make any corrections as they are made, allowing for continuous refinement of the strategy.
- Engagement. It helps keep your audience’s attention by building lasting relationships. Publishing regular and relevant content keeps users’ attention and reinforces their trust in the brand: knowing when and how to communicate with your audience means always being present at the right time with the right message.
How editorial plans have changed with technology
It is clear that technology has radically transformed the way editorial plans are created and managed, providing opportunities to optimize every step of the editorial process, from planning to publishing, significantly improving the results of content marketing strategies. In the past, content planning was a manual process, often handled with spreadsheets and paper documents; today, thanks to the advent of advanced digital tools, creating and managing an editorial plan has become much more efficient and precise, as well as more “collaborative” thanks, for example, to Google Docs or Microsoft Teams, which allow team members to work together on content in real time, regardless of their geographic location.
One of the most significant changes is automation. Tools such as Trello, Asana, and Google Sheets enable the creation of digital editorial calendars that can be easily updated and shared with the team. These tools offer features such as automatic notifications, task assignments and content status monitoring, making the management process much smoother.
Data analytics is another revolutionary aspect: Google Analytics, Search Console, and SEOZoom provide detailed data on content performance, allowing the effectiveness of publishing strategies to be measured in real time. This data helps make informed decisions about what content to create, when to publish it and how to optimize it to maximize its impact.
Impossible not to mention AI, because now it is also possible to create a perfect publishing plan with ChatGPT and SEOZoom: AI algorithms can analyze large amounts of data to identify trends and patterns, suggesting content topics that are more likely to succeed.
Real-time collaboration is another advantage offered by modern technology. Tools such as Google Docs and Microsoft Teams allow team members to work together on content in real time, regardless of their geographic location. This facilitates content review and approval, reducing production time and improving final quality.
Types of editorial plan
As mentioned, the editorial plan is flexible and versatile, but above all useful (and necessary) for anyone who manages content, whether online or offline. In fact, there are several types of editorial plan, each designed to meet specific needs and distinct goals, and knowing and understanding the differences between these types is critical to choosing the most appropriate approach to our content marketing strategy.
Regardless of the type, however, an editorial plan must answer specific questions that serve to determine:
- Goals. What outcomes does the company or brand want to achieve through content? These may include increasing visibility, improving engagement or generating leads.
- Target audience. Who are the people being targeted? A detailed understanding of the audience helps create more targeted and effective content.
- Themes and topics. What are the macro-themes that content will focus on? These should be aligned with the audience’s interests and business goals.
- Tone of voice. What is the communication style that will be adopted in the content?
- Distribution channels. Where will the content be published? These may include blogs, social media, newsletters, and so on.
Also in light of the answers to these questions, we can identify four of the main types of editorial plan: PED, SEO, website, and social.
- PED, the Digital Editorial Plan
A PED is a key tool for strategic content management within a company or organization: it is the strategic document that guides the creation, management, and distribution of digital content across various online channels and is a structured compass for achieving results effectively and consistently. This type of editorial plan is specifically designed for the digital context and includes elements such as SEO, social media, email marketing campaigns, and other forms of digital communication. PED is used to ensure that all digital content is aligned with the marketing goals and needs of the target audience.
This means it is not just a table with dates and headlines, but rather a well-thought-out strategy that integrates business goals, audience knowledge, detailed planning and ongoing monitoring to ensure concrete and effective results in the modern digital landscape.
It all starts with analysis and an understanding of what is to be achieved through content production: increasing brand visibility, improving search engine rankings, increasing sales or building customer loyalty. Without clear objectives, the editorial plan risks becoming a messy bunch of activities with no clear direction.
Once goals are defined, it is crucial to know your target audience. An effective PED is based on a thorough analysis of the people you are targeting: age, gender, interests, online behaviors, and content consumption preferences. This allows you to create targeted and relevant messages that resonate with your desired audience.
At the heart of PED is the editorial calendar. This tool organizes the publication of content over time, specifying precise dates for each activity: social media posts, blog articles, newsletters, videos, and any other type of planned content. A good editorial calendar takes into account seasonality, industry-relevant events and corporate promotional campaigns.
The choice of distribution channels is another crucial element of PED: each platform has its own peculiarities and requires different strategies-for example, LinkedIn requires a more professional approach than Instagram or TikTok. Diversification of channels makes it possible to reach different audience segments and maximize the impact of content.
Monitoring and analysis are indispensable steps in PED: using analytical tools such as Google Analytics or the dashboards of different social platforms, it is possible to evaluate the performance of published content, using the data to gain valuable insights into what works and what does not, so that timely adjustments can be made to the editorial strategy.
- SEO editorial plan
An SEO editorial plan is specifically designed to improve a site’s search engine ranking: it focuses on keyword research, content optimization, and publication scheduling based on Google algorithm updates. The main goal is to increase the organic visibility of the website, attracting qualified traffic and improving the ranking in SERPs.
An SEO publishing plan starts with thorough keyword research and analysis of the most relevant search queries for your industry. Once the main keywords have been identified, you can plan to create optimized content that meets the needs and questions of your target audience.
Content structure is another crucial element: each article, post or page should be optimized not only for the main keywords, but also for related keywords and synonyms. Even more, it is important to consider users’ search intent, creating content that is useful, informative and relevant.
Finally, an SEO editorial plan can include a link building strategy and a publication schedule that takes into account seasonality and Google algorithm updates, never forgetting to monitor and analyze content performance to continually adapt and improve the strategy.
- Website editorial plan
An editorial plan for a website is designed to manage and organize a site’s content in a consistent and strategic manner-it is critical to maintaining intuitive navigation, logical structure, and visual and stylistic consistency throughout the site. The goal is to improve the user experience and facilitate the enjoyment of content.
The first step in creating an editorial plan for a website is to analyze the target audience: understanding who the site visitors are, what their needs are, and how they interact with the content is critical to creating a structure that meets their expectations. This can include audience segmentation based on demographic, behavioral, and psychographic criteria.
Next, it is important to define a content map. This document outlines the structure of the site, indicating the main pages, subpages and links between them; each page should have a clear purpose and content that is relevant and useful to the target audience. The content map helps maintain smooth navigation and avoid duplication or overlap.
Another crucial element is stylistic consistency. All site content should follow uniform stylistic guidelines, including tone of voice, formatting, and use of images, to help create a consistent and professional user experience.
Finally, an editorial plan for a website should include a strategy for updating and optimizing content, which should be regularly reviewed and updated to remain relevant and accurate. This not only enhances the user experience, but also helps maintain good search engine rankings.
- Social editorial plan
A social editorial plan focuses on content management for social media. This type of plan is essential for maximizing engagement and reaching target audiences through platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and others. The key to success on social media is consistency and relevance of the content posted.
The first step in creating a social editorial plan is audience analysis. It is critical to understand who the followers are, what their interests are, and how they interact with the content. This can be done through social media analysis tools such as Meta’s Business Suite, which provide data with which to segment audiences and create content that meets their needs and preferences.
Next, it is important to define the goals of the social publishing plan, which can range from increasing the number of followers, improving engagement, generating leads or increasing sales. Each goal requires a specific and measurable content strategy. For example, if the goal is to increase engagement, content should be designed to stimulate interactions, such as comments, shares and likes.
Content planning is another crucial element and requires the creation of an editorial calendar that defines when and what to publish. The frequency of publishing may vary depending on the platform and audience, but it is important to maintain a consistent presence. The editorial calendar should include a variety of content, such as informative posts, images, videos, stories, and user-generated content.
Another important aspect is visual and stylistic consistency: all content posted on social media should follow uniform stylistic guidelines, including tone of voice, formatting, and use of images. This helps create a recognizable and professional brand identity.
Finally, a social editorial plan should include a monitoring and analysis strategy. Using analytical tools to monitor content performance is essential to understand what is working and what is not. This allows you to adjust your strategy in real time and continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of the content you publish.
What is the editorial calendar
When discussing content marketing strategies, another term inevitably emerges in conjunction with editorial plan, namely editorial calendar. At first glance they might seem synonymous, or at any rate refer to identical concepts-and indeed in most cases they are used as such-but in reality there are significant differences and specifics.
First, editorial calendar is the detailed planning that allows you to organize and schedule the publication of articles, social media posts, newsletters, and any other type of content. In a well-structured editorial plan, the editorial calendar represents the concrete declination of communication activities, going beyond a simple list of dates and titles. It is a strategic document that provides an overview of editorial activities, ensuring consistency, timeliness and relevance of the content proposed to its audience.
Its implementation requires a thorough understanding of business goals, target audience and industry trends.
What is the difference between editorial plan and editorial calendar
And so, editorial plan and editorial calendar represent two distinct tools, each with a specific and complementary role in content planning and management.Understanding the difference between these two concepts is essential for an effective communication strategy.
The editorial plan is a long-term strategic document that outlines the goals, main themes, target audience, and editorial line of a communication project: it is an overall guide that defines what you want to communicate, who you are targeting, and how you intend to do it. The editorial calendar, on the other hand, is a short- to medium-term operational tool that organizes the publication of individual content over time, specifying information and details such as publication dates, type of content, team leaders, and work status.
In summary, the editorial plan provides the overall strategic vision of corporate communication, while the editorial calendar translates this vision into concrete and organized actions over time. Both are indispensable for effective content management: the former sets the course to be followed, the latter ensures that each step is taken at the right time.
How to make an editorial plan
Let’s get down to the practicalities, then. Creating an effective editorial plan requires a number of key steps, but most importantly, careful planning and strategic management. Defining goals, analyzing your audience, doing keyword research, creating an editorial calendar, monitoring performance, and adjusting your strategy are all key steps to ensure the success of your content marketing strategy. By using digital templates and tools, you can simplify this process and create an editorial plan that not only attracts and engages your audience, but also helps to achieve your business goals.
Wanting to put the standard path in bulleted list form, we have:
- Goal setting. First of all, it is crucial to be clear about the goals of your communication: whether it is to increase brand visibility, generate leads or educate the audience on a particular topic, the goals will drive the entire strategy. Goals should be aligned with the overall marketing strategy and should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timed-that is, appropriate to the SMART principle we discussed in our analysis of content marketing KPIs.
- Audience knowledge. Knowing your target audience is essential: who your readers are, what their needs are, and how they interact with your content serves to create an editorial plan that meets their expectations. This can include audience segmentation based on demographic, behavioral, and psychographic criteria, identification of various buyer personas, and other useful strategies to make content relevant and engaging.
- Choice of channels. Each platform has its own peculiarities, and therefore you need to select the most appropriate channels to reach your audience effectively, whether it is corporate blogs, social media or newsletters.
- Identification of themes. Whether it is keyword research for site or blog or viral trend analysis for social, the process of researching the topics to be covered in content is crucial. For example, we can perform analysis of the most relevant search queries for the industry, using tools such as Google Keyword Planner or SEOZoom, and find suitable keywords to guide content creation and improve search engine rankings.
- Editorial Calendar. Once you have defined your goals and know your audience, you need to choose your topics and establish a strategic publication schedule. This calendar should include publication dates, content titles, main keywords, distribution channels and authors; digital tools such as Trello, Asana, Google Sheets or SEOZoom can make it easier to manage and update the calendar.
- Content creation and distribution. The operational phase involves text writing, image or video production, and possible collaboration with experts in the field. Then, content is distributed according to the predetermined schedule.
- Monitoring and review. It is essential to monitor the performance of published content through analytical tools to understand what works best and make any changes to the editorial plan. In support, we have analytical tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console with which to measure content performance and adjust strategy based on the data collected. This continuous feedback loop is essential to constantly improve the quality and effectiveness of the content produced.
What are the key elements of an editorial plan
While these are the basic and fundamental aspects of an effective editorial plan, there are obviously other elements that contribute to the perfect success of our strategies.
For example, it is important to be flexible and adaptable. The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving, and what works today may not work tomorrow. Constantly monitoring content performance and being ready to adapt the strategy according to market changes and new trends is essential to maintain long-term success.
Stylistic consistency is another key element: all content should follow uniform stylistic guidelines, including tone of voice, formatting, and use of images. This helps create a consistent and professional user experience, reinforcing brand identity.
Even the best content runs the risk of remaining invisible without a promotion strategy, because it is necessary to ensure that this content reaches the target audience. This can include the use of email marketing campaigns, social media promotion, collaboration with influencers, and the use of paid advertising.
In this work of creating a digital editorial plan we are supported by tools and software that facilitate content planning, management and analysis, and in particular tools such as Trello, Asana or Google Sheets prove to be extremely useful in creating and managing a digital editorial plan.
Finally, provision needs to be made for defining roles and responsibilities: each team member needs to know exactly what is expected of them and what their tasks are. This includes not only content creation, but also reviewing, optimizing, and publishing. A clear definition of roles helps to avoid confusion and ensure that each step in the process is handled efficiently.
Who is in charge of the editorial plan: a strategic role for success
Speaking of tasks and roles, who should be practically in charge of this complex and strategic activity?
The answer is actually not one-size-fits-all, as responsibility may fall on different professionals depending on the size and needs of the organization. They may, for example, be involved:
- Content manager, who is undoubtedly a central figure in managing the editorial plan. This professional is responsible for planning, coordinating and overseeing content production. A good content manager must have a 360-degree view of business strategies and be able to adapt content to different communication platforms, whether social media, blogs or newsletters. His or her expertise is not limited to writing: he or she must also possess analytical skills to measure the effectiveness of the content produced.
- Social Media Manager. Working closely with the content manager, the social media manager plays a key role in the operational part of the editorial plan. This professional is primarily responsible for distributing content across the various social platforms, optimizing the timing and mode of publication to maximize engagement. In addition to this, the Social Media Manager constantly monitors performance metrics, providing useful feedback for possible adjustments to the publishing strategy.
- Copywriter. We cannot forget the Copywriter, the one who physically creates the textual content. This figure must have a deep understanding of the company’s target audience and tone of voice in order to produce texts that are not only informative but also persuasive and exciting. The Copywriter works in synergy with the Content Manager and often actively participates in the brainstorming and ideation phase of the topics to be covered.
- SEO Specialist. Last but not least is the SEO Specialist, who ensures that content is optimized for search engines. This professional analyzes the most relevant keywords and provides precise guidance on how to integrate them into the texts. The goal is to improve the company’s online visibility by attracting quality organic traffic.
Editorial plan examples
A well-done editorial plan not only organizes content, but also aligns it with marketing goals and audience needs. To better understand how to structure an editorial plan, it may be helpful to reason about a concrete example.
First, it is good to know that there are special templates or editorial plan models, which offer a predefined structure that can be used as a basis for creating your own plan. It is easy to find various templates available online, but a good template should include at least the following sections:
- Publication date. The date on which the content will be published.
- Content title. The title or topic of the content.
- Main keyword. The keyword for which the content is optimized.
- Distribution channel. Where the content will be published (blog, social media, newsletter, etc.).
- Author. The person responsible for creating the content.
- Content status. The current status of the content (in draft, under review, published, etc.).
Using a template helps keep everything organized and easily accessible, making it easier to manage and update the editorial plan.
If, on the other hand, we want to go it alone and craft the creation of an editorial plan, we can follow these broad best practices that help us achieve satisfactory outcomes in terms of greater organization, consistency in publishing content, and measurable results over time.
- Define goals. We have said it again and again: first, it is essential to clarify what the goals are. Do we want to increase website traffic? Increase sales? Improve engagement on social media? Establishing clear and measurable goals will allow you to create targeted content and evaluate the effectiveness of your editorial plan.
- Know your audience. Understanding who the target audience is is crucial: we analyze demographic data, interests and behaviors of readers or followers; we use tools such as Google Analytics, surveys and social media interactions to gather this information. Knowing the audience will help create content that meets their needs and interests.
- Do keyword research. Keywords remain the basis of SEO; integrating them into content can improve search engine visibility, helping us identify (and meet) people’s needs.
- Make an editorial calendar. The editorial calendar is the skeleton of the plan and establishes how often we will publish content-daily, weekly, or monthly? We identify important dates such as holidays, events or product launches, including through tools such as the digital marketing calendar, and plan content around these key moments.
- Diversify content. Let’s not limit ourselves to one type of content: alternate between blog articles, videos, infographics, podcasts, and social media posts to keep audience interest high. Each type of content can be used to reach different audience segments.
- Monitor and analyze results. Analyzing results is critical to understand whether we are achieving our goals. Using analytical tools or other specific software, we can monitor content performance, evaluating metrics such as traffic, conversion rate and engagement to make any adjustments to the publishing plan.
To recap, then, here is a brief and quick example of a schematic editorial plan: we start with a presentation of the project, continue with a SWOT analysis and a study of the competition and then identify goals and Key Performance Indicators (complete with time references for implementation). No less important is the identification of the target audience, which can be done by putting together data collected from search engines, internal surveys, communities (online and offline) and reader personas, while the last step is the development of a content map and taxonomies to give the website a logical, effective and efficient structure in every aspect (including categories and tags) and the definition of the editorial calendar.
How to write a good editorial plan
Creating a strategic editorial plan for a website requires a combination of careful planning, understanding the audience, and using advanced SEO techniques. If we can put these aspects together, we have a good chance of not only publishing quality content, but also optimizing its visibility and relevance over time.
The starting point is to develop a deep awareness of our industry, users and network trends: this allows us to be “on the piece” and make the message we need to communicate effective. Continuous research and analysis of trends allow us to adapt the editorial plan in real time, ensuring that content is always relevant and up-to-date.
Equally important is knowing and mastering the different types of content we can publish – particularly on an editorial site – distinguishing between:
- Evergreen content
Evergreen content is articles that maintain their relevance and usefulness over time, regardless of seasons or momentary trends. This content is critical to ensuring a steady flow of organic traffic. To identify evergreen content, you need to analyze your industry and identify topics that will always be of interest to your audience. For example, on a cooking site, basic recipes such as “how to make pasta” or “homemade bread recipe” are evergreen.
There are also evergreen topics in seemingly dynamic fields, such as politics. For example, biographies of politicians, their most important statements and analyses of their policies can remain relevant for a long time. The important thing is to identify those aspects that audiences might look for in the long term and create content that meets those needs.
- Recurring or seasonal content
Seasonality should be studied: recurring-interest content is content that becomes relevant at certain times of the year, and therefore requires planning and publishing in advance to maximize its impact. For example, if we want to get traffic by talking about the Sanremo Festival, we need to start creating and optimizing content a few months before the event, which is usually held in the first week of February. This allows Google to index and position the content in time for the increase in searches.
Seasonal keywords, such as “Christmas decorations,” “Easter meal recipes,” or “Valentine’s Day phrases,” are typical examples of periodic interest content. Planning this content in advance and updating it regularly allows us to intercept peak interest and gain significant organic traffic during peak search periods.
Working on seasonal keywords allows us to have, or at least try to have, control over the minimum traffic we might get on a month-to-month basis.In an editorial strategy, seasonal keyword traffic should be managed on a daily basis by the team of copywriters dedicated to improving existing articles and creating new ones that have not already been scheduled for that periodicity.
- Articles and news with a short life cycle
Articles and news with a short life cycle are content that quickly becomes obsolete: often related to current events or news stories, they do not guarantee lasting traffic. However, in addition to being critical for a news site, they can be very effective for attracting immediate traffic through channels such as Google News, Discover, and social media.
It is important to manage this content strategically to prevent it from becoming a burden for the site. An excess of articles with a short life cycle can overwhelm and hide evergreen and seasonal content, reducing their visibility and increasing Google’s crawl budget dispersion. One solution is to move these articles to an archive once they have exhausted their lifecycle, keeping the main site clean and focused on the most relevant content.
Prioritizing and managing content
In some ways, the next step is also pertinent to defining the editorial plan-in view of optimal site management: that is, once the different types of content have been identified, it is crucial to prioritize and organize the content strategically. This includes deciding what should remain on the website, in what position, for how long, and when it should be removed or archived. For example, an evergreen article should be easily accessible and well placed, while a news article might be moved to an archive after a certain period.
A strategic editorial plan must then balance different types of content to maximize traffic and engagement. For example, an online newspaper might adopt a strategy consisting of 60 percent news and 40 percent evergreen content: this balance allows it to meet the immediate needs of its audience with fresh, relevant news, while building a solid base of content that will continue to generate traffic over the long term, ensuring Google placements that disregard peaks and seasonality. For an industry site, the proportion could be reversed, prioritizing evergreens and devoting a smaller portion to news.
A further step concerns managing the life cycle of an article, which also depends on the strategy adopted for the website content: deciding what should remain on the website, in what position, for how long, and when it is time to get rid of it, even if it represents part of our work that we would never want to get rid of.
That is, we should not let the articles simply follow the standard flow of the CMS of choice-for example, WordPress, which displays them in chronological order from most recent to oldest-but manage them strategically: for example, a valuable evergreen article written a year ago may have ended up in the meanders of the website, losing placement and relevance in the website’s cauldron. Regularly reviewing and updating evergreen and seasonal content keeps it relevant and visible. If we let the site change its structure over time without any control, we could end up in a situation whereby in the relevant positions there are only the articles that are new and that no one searches for, sending wrong signals to Google.
And so, ultimately, with the right awareness of the logics and dynamics of the web we can set up a content production plan that is much lighter, more effective and produces results that are much more lasting over time.
By setting up a strategic editorial plan we will be able to attract to the site exactly the type of people we want, and we will intercept them exactly when they have in mind what we have to offer. Many people underestimate this aspect, but in communication being able to give a user what he or she wants, at the exact moment when he or she is wanting it, means we have already won in the beginning: if we fail to do this, it only means that our article and our communication are deficient or wrong.
How to make an editorial plan with SEOZoom
Creating a strategic editorial plan for a website requires a combination of careful planning, understanding the audience, and using advanced SEO techniques: as mentioned, it is also important to organize a good editorial calendar of releases, identify and balance evergreen, seasonal, and short-lived content, and then always work using data as a guide.
Luckily, SEOZoom assists us in these steps as well, providing adequate support to those who ask how to create an editorial plan, thanks to the many tools that help with your keyword researches, keyword analysis, discovering key industry news or identifying seasonality. All this, without forgetting the Editorial Assistant and the “Editorial Plan Management” platform, designed precisely to offer publishers, teams and agencies the possibility of implementing an efficient and “SEO oriented” strategy, coordinating the work of copywriters, assigning them specific tasks and monitoring the content creation process.
SEOZoom tools for the SEO editorial plan
Content management is a crucial aspect of achieving good search engine rankings, as Google constantly reminds us: regardless of the type of website, whether it is an eCommerce or a news blog, content must meet the specific needs of users and comply with search engine guidelines.
The first step in creating an editorial plan with SEOZoom is to identify the topics to be covered in the publications. Our software provides various methods to do keyword research and “collect” keywords inherent to our industry, even in bulk, from which to gain powerful insights. In particular, the “Your Keyword Researches” section allows you to create and control lists of keywords saved during analysis, and thanks to an advanced feature it leverages the saved lists and analyzes them to the to plan a targeted content strategy.
To begin using the tool, we click on “New keyword research” and enter a name and brief description. This first step allows us to organize keywords into specific groups, identifying subsets of keywords relevant to our content strategy. We can enter new keywords into the group using the panel on the right, which is linked to Keyword Infinity, or we can add keywords from any area of the suite via insertion mode.
Once the keyword lists are created, we can deepen the analysis for each saved keyword research. By accessing the “research list” section and clicking edit, we have access to the detail of the individual research. The initial dashboard summarizes in a few boxes the most relevant information of the grouped keywords, such as the total number, monthly search volume, total CPC, and average CPC. In addition, we can check seasonality-dependent variations, which help us assess the timing of content publication.
At the bottom of the dashboard, we find two tables: on the left is the list of relevant terms with an indication of relevant keywords and potential search volumes of the group, while on the right is the detail of specific keywords. Here we can see the search volume and average CPC of each individual keyword and launch Keyword Actions to study the term more analytically. This allows us to identify the most strategic keywords and plan articles that include them.
Once the strategic keywords have been analyzed and selected, we can plan articles that include them by simply clicking on the “Suggest Editorial Plan” button, which launches an analysis based on the keyword grouping under consideration. This tool suggests how many and which articles are needed to be in line with Google’s award-winning focus and user intent, grouping main intent and related secondary keywords and reporting potential traffic and affinity values for each article.
SEOZoom’s suggested editorial plan is designed to avoid the creation of superfluous articles focused on keywords that do not represent main keywords: this approach allows us to create more in-depth content that can intercept more keywords. For each suggested article, there is a link that leads to the Suggest Keyword for Article tool, to deepen the analysis of the search intent and further refine the search; in addition, we can also directly start the creation of the article in Editorial Assistant, where we also find AI writer to write the text with Artificial Intelligence.
In short: from keyword research to article planning, from performance analysis to optimized writing, SEOZoom helps us to create an effective SEO editorial plan and to optimize every step of the content creation process, offering all the necessary tools to ensure that the content is of high quality, relevant and useful for users and, no less important, for search engines.
The platform to unite publishers and copy
As we were saying, then, SEOZoom has also developed a “parallel” platform designed to refine and make the work of content creation and management more effective, because it enables the creation of effective and strategic editorial plans and a complete picture of the work situation, solving the gap that often exists between publishers and copywriters.
In the version dedicated to editors, in particular, you can totally control the content of the site, and in particular:
- Set the editorial calendar effectively.
- Write new SEO-oriented articles.
- Enhance all editorial content on the site.
- Discover the performance of articles.
- Commission articles to be written by internal or external copywriters, either by selecting a professional from the “Available Copywriters” list on SEOZoom or by inviting a contributor via email.
- Monitor the results of copywriters connected to the project.
With the calendar, for example, we can plan content publication strategically, defining what to publish, when and how. The platform allows us to see at a glance key information about the site’s editorial plan, such as the number of total articles, those assigned and made, those accepted, those due, and so on, so as to give total control over content and make sure all deadlines are met.
And while, of course, data and insights from content analysis tools are crucial to writing search engine-optimized articles-such as real-time SEO analysis based on the main keyword, which informs of the level of optimization of the content and title and meta description snippets, as well as the intent recognized by Google-even more important is the ability to quickly check the performance of the articles made, monitoring the Google performance of the keywords and traffic of the various articles and individual copywriters.
In practice, SEOZoom’s Editorial Plan automates the whole part of analysis and control at the planning and writing stage: this means that we can always work on articles that are perfectly focused on the topic, exactly as Google and search engine users like it. The platform guides us step by step, providing tools and suggestions for optimizing every aspect of the content, from choosing keywords to text structure to optimizing titles and meta descriptions.
