Plan content strategy, decide what to create, figure out what topics to cover for SaaS and software products.
Inventory existing content:
Flag: thin content (<500 words), outdated (>12 months), cannibalized (multiple pages targeting same keyword).
For each competitor:
site:competitor.com to estimate indexed page countScore each topic idea (1-5 on each, total out of 25):
| Factor | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Search Volume | 5 | Monthly search demand |
| Business Relevance | 5 | How close to your product/sale |
| Competition | 5 | Inverse of keyword difficulty |
| Expertise Match | 5 | Your team's ability to write authoritatively |
| Content Gap | 5 | Lack of good existing content online |
Prioritize topics scoring 18+ first.
Build pillar-cluster model:
Pillar Page: "Complete Guide to {Topic}" (3000+ words)
├── Cluster: "How to {subtopic 1}" (1500+ words)
├── Cluster: "{Topic} vs {Alternative}" (1500+ words)
├── Cluster: "Best {Topic} tools" (2000+ words)
├── Cluster: "{Topic} for {audience}" (1500+ words)
└── Cluster: "{Topic} examples" (1500+ words)
Rules:
Build a 90-day calendar:
Cadence: 2-4 pieces/week for growing sites, 1-2/week for maintenance.
Template in references/content-frameworks.md.
Track per piece: