A website content plan sets out what a business should work on first. But when priorities change, the order of that work should change too. Anything from a new business goal to new search data could push another project to the top. Here’s why revising a content plan and editorial calendar is a normal part of keeping both useful. Backed by more than 15 years of digital marketing experience from our Managing Partner, Lissa Duty, at Rocks Digital Marketing we take this flexible approach with both local and national clients.
A Content Plan Reflects Current Priorities
Every content plan should be strategically created based on what the business and the agency know at the time. This can include adding important service pages, expanding existing content, and creating resources from data that turned up during research. Content is then prioritized and scheduled according to an ordered list, so a business is not creating articles or blogs at random.
However, in practice, the plan you created weeks ago will often evolve. A project classified as low priority might become urgent due to a change in the market, or a delay in a product launch might see supporting content lose its urgency. In these cases the content strategy behind the plan stays the same, but content demands shift within it.
Business and Website Needs Can Change
A content plan is there to serve the business. This means that your content plan should be flexible enough to respond quickly to new business decisions. For example, a business might start promoting a different service, open in a new location, or add a new service that needs its own presence on the website. Changes like this are large enough to shift content up or down the list of importance.
Regular website audits can also flag issues that need attention sooner than planned. This could come to light through a series of customer questions about a service page, which might suggest the page is thin or missing vital information. Before publishing new articles that support the core page, updating the problem page to correct deficits can quickly address an important gap. This relates to why content strategy should connect services and SEO, as a page cannot support the content built around it when the page itself is not ready.
Performance and Search Data Can Change Priorities
At Rocks Digital, we build SEO into web development and content planning from the start. Part of that work is reviewing data and search performance on an ongoing basis. As content goes live and SEO work increases visibility and visitors, new data will often reveal that a content plan needs to change. Reasons could be that an important pillar page is losing rankings, or a page that performs well in search is failing to generate inquiries.
Using this data keeps a content plan current and focused on the right priorities, but it’s there to guide decisions, not dictate them. In other words, making small changes is not a reason to rearrange a whole plan. Watch for consistent patterns before anything in the plan changes.
The Content Plan Should Change Before the Calendar
Once it’s clear a priority has shifted, whether that’s driven by a business decision, a website need or new data, the next thing to consider is what actually changes. At this stage it’s important to separate the work done by the content plan and the editorial calendar. The plan decides which projects matter most and in what order, while the calendar takes that approved work and adds dates and assigned team members.
Here, potential changes must be assessed against the overall content strategy. From there, the priority updates can be worked into the content plan, considering the content type, subject, search focus and other factors. And with the content plan locked in, the editorial calendar is updated, and the content writing service, graphic design team and web developers can begin work.
Work With Us on a Website Content Plan for Your Business
When your business could benefit from a content plan, give Rocks Digital a call. We help businesses create content strategies and editorial calendars, along with SEO services and web development. To learn more, call (214) 989-7549 or request a website evaluation.
