An editorial calendar is a plan that determines what content will be created, when, and who is responsible for it. It solves a typical problem in companies where content is produced sporadically, depending on who happens to have an idea, so it ends up covering topics without demand while commercially important pages remain empty. A usable calendar includes, for each item, the topic and target query from the keyword map, the format, the author, the submission and publication deadlines, the approver, and the goal the content is meant to fulfil. Plan with seasonality in mind, since content for a topic that peaks in December must be published and indexed weeks in advance. Likewise, set aside capacity for updating existing content, not only for creating new content – after a year, it is often the update that proves more profitable.
See also: Keyword mapping to pages, Updating Existing Content, Seasonality of demand.
