Summary
Content and SEO work go hand in hand—but great results don’t happen by chance. Great results don’t come from publishing random blog posts and hoping for the best. They come from having a clear strategy that connects your content to real search demand and business goals.
That’s where content planning comes in.
A solid content plan gives every piece of content a purpose. Whether it’s a blog post, landing page, or how-to guide, it should be created with a clear intent — to educate, attract traffic, convert, or build trust. When you know what each piece is meant to do, you’re not just creating content for the sake of it — you’re building a system that supports your broader digital strategy.
Not every piece of content is meant to do the same job. Some are there to answer common questions that show up in search again and again. Others might be created around a timely campaign or event.
The point is: good content planning helps you focus on the right topics, for the right audience, at the right time — not just filling your calendar with content for the sake of staying busy.
So, how do you actually plan content that delivers results? It starts with understanding who your audience is.
Understanding who you’re talking to
Before we plan any content, we need to get clear on who we’re creating it for. Content that ranks well isn’t just packed with keywords — it’s relevant, timely, and genuinely useful to the people reading it.
That’s why we always start with audience personas. These are fictional profiles that represent the different types of people we want to reach. And they go far beyond job titles — a strong persona paints a full picture of who that person is and what they care about.
Here’s what we include in each one:
- Demographics – Age, location, job role, income, and any other relevant background info
- Interests – What they value, what they’re passionate about, and what gets their attention
- Challenges and pain points – What they’re struggling with that our content (and services) can help solve
- Goals and motivations – What they’re trying to achieve, and how we can support them in getting there
When we understand these details, we can plan content that speaks directly to real problems and priorities. That means we’re not just creating content that sounds good — we’re creating content that’s actually useful, both now and over the long term.
At its core, understanding your audience is about more than keywords. It’s about stepping into their shoes, anticipating their questions, and showing up with the right answers at the right time.
Setting clear goals
Once you know who you’re talking to, the next step is to define what you want your content to achieve.
Setting clear, realistic goals keeps your content strategy focussed — and makes it easier to measure what’s working. Without a goal, it’s just content for content’s sake. With one, each piece has a purpose, whether it’s to increase organic traffic, generate leads, or support a broader campaign.
We often look at goals across two timeframes:
- Long-term SEO growth – This is where evergreen content comes in. These are articles or pages designed to stay relevant over time, consistently attracting traffic from people searching for high-interest topics. Think guides, FAQs, or how-to resources.
- Short-term or campaign-based goals – This is where topical content plays a role. These are pieces tailored to specific moments in time, such as industry trends, seasonal promotions, or events. While they may not deliver traffic forever, they’re great for tapping into short bursts of interest or boosting visibility around key dates.
For example, a blog like “How to Optimise Your Website for SEO” is evergreen — it’s something people are searching for all year round. On the other hand, a post like “SEO Trends to Watch in 2025” is more timely and geared towards a particular moment or to take advantage of a sudden increase in search volume.
By balancing both types of content — and linking them to clear goals — you build a strategy that delivers sustained results while staying responsive to what’s happening in your market right now.
Keyword research & topic selection
With a clear understanding of your audience and your goals in place, it’s time to get strategic about what you’re going to write.
Great content starts with good keyword research. This isn’t just about finding popular search terms — it’s about understanding the language your audience uses, the questions they’re asking, and how they search at different stages of their journey.
Start with the right tools
There are plenty of tools out there to help you uncover keyword opportunities. Some of our go-to options include:
- Google Keyword Planner – A solid (and free) starting point to explore search volume and competition
- Google Trends – Another free tool that helps you identify trending topics, compare keyword performance over time, and spot seasonal shifts in search behaviour
- Google Search Console – Ideal for reviewing the keywords your site is already ranking for and identifying gaps
- Ubersuggest – User-friendly and useful for quick research and topic suggestions
- AnswerThePublic – Great for finding question-based searches and long-tail keywords
- Semrush or Ahrefs – Powerful all-in-one SEO tools for deeper research and competitor insights. However, these are paid tools so make sure to check the subscription cost if you currently don’t have one.
Start by plugging in general topics that relate to your services, and let these tools guide you toward specific, high-intent search terms. Look for keywords with a healthy balance of search volume and ranking difficulty — something achievable but worth targeting.
Build around content pillars
Once you’ve got a bank of relevant keywords, the next step is to structure them into content pillars.
Content pillars are core topics that matter most to your audience — and to your business. Around each pillar, you create a group of supporting content that explores related subtopics in more detail. This structure helps both users and search engines understand how your content fits together.
For example:
- A pillar page might be “The Complete Guide to Local SEO”
- Supporting content could include blog posts on “How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile” or “Common Local SEO Mistakes to Avoid”
This approach helps you:
- Keep your content organised and easy to navigate
- Cover topics more comprehensively (which Google loves)
- Strengthen internal linking and SEO performance across related pages
Topic selection isn’t about chasing every trend — it’s about choosing the topics that make sense for your audience, match your goals, and connect to your core areas of expertise.
Building a balanced content calendar
Once you’ve chosen your topics, the next step is to plan when to publish them. A well-structured content calendar helps you stay organised, consistent, and aligned with both long-term SEO goals and timely opportunities.
Balance evergreen and seasonal content
A good calendar includes both evergreen and seasonal content.
- Evergreen content continues to attract traffic well after they’re published — like “How to Optimise Your Website for SEO” or “What Is a Meta Description?”
- Seasonal content is more time-sensitive. It’s built around events, holidays, or trends — for example, “EOFY Marketing Tips for Small Businesses” or “Digital Trends to Watch in 2025.”
Start with a steady stream of evergreen topics to build lasting SEO value. Then add seasonal pieces around key moments in your industry calendar — public holidays, major events, or annual trends.
Plan ahead
Seasonal content needs time to rank, so don’t leave it to the last minute. Publishing a few weeks — or even months — ahead of peak interest gives it a better chance of performing when it counts.
You can also make the most of your efforts by reusing and refreshing seasonal content that worked well in the past. Update the details, tweak the messaging, and bring it back into your calendar.
With the right balance and a bit of foresight, your content calendar becomes more than just a schedule — it’s a tool for driving consistent traffic and making the most of every opportunity.
Creating SEO-friendly content
Great SEO-focussed content does more than tick boxes — it needs to be genuinely useful, engaging, and written for real people. Search engines are important, but it’s your audience you’re trying to connect with.
That’s why we always say: write for humans, optimise for search.
Publishing content purely to chase rankings usually leads to generic, forgettable writing. But when your content is helpful, clear, and relevant, it performs better in search and builds trust with your readers.
Tips for writing different types of content
As previously mentioned, evergreen content is your long-term asset. These pieces should go deep on a topic, answer common questions, and showcase your expertise. Think:
- In-depth guides
- FAQs
- How-to articles
- Resource hubs
They tend to be more detailed, more authoritative, and often include internal links to related content.
Seasonal or topical content is more immediate. These pieces are often concise, timely, and focussed on current trends or upcoming events. Think:
- Campaign announcements
- Yearly trend round-ups
- Event-based blog posts (like EOFY tips or holiday marketing ideas)
While these don’t need to be as in-depth, they still need to be high-quality and relevant. A timely blog that answers what your audience is searching for right now can bring in fast traffic and engagement — especially when planned and published early.
But don’t sacrifice substance for SEO
It’s easy to get caught up in keywords and forget the bigger picture. But great SEO copywriting and content does both — it aligns with search intent and delivers value.
So before you hit publish, ask yourself:
- Does this content answer a real question or need?
- Is it easy to read and well-structured?
- Will someone find it useful — even if they came in from search?
Search engines are getting better at understanding quality — so writing content that’s both optimised and genuinely helpful is the key to standing out. This is especially true as more and more people use AI and generative search to find information on the web.
Promoting content strategically
Publishing content is only part of the process — to get real value, you need to promote it in the right places, at the right time.
How you promote a piece of content often depends on its purpose and shelf life. Long-form guides or educational pieces — your evergreen content — should be integrated into your website in a lasting way. These are the resources you want to keep visible: featured on cornerstone pages, linked internally across your site, and included in ongoing email sequences that go out to new subscribers.
Short-term or seasonal content, on the other hand, benefits from a more immediate and energetic push. This might mean a burst of activity across social media, a quick-turnaround email campaign, or a paid promotion to capture attention around a specific event or time of year.
No matter the type of content, make the most of it by promoting it across different platforms. Repurpose blog content into bite-sized social posts, add snippets into your email campaigns (EDMs), or turn a guide into a downloadable resource.
By thinking beyond the blog and sharing your content in multiple formats and channels, you give it more chances to reach your audience — wherever they happen to be.
Measure your content’s performance and success
A strong content strategy doesn’t end when you hit publish. To keep improving and getting better results over time, you need to track what’s working — and make regular updates based on what you learn.
Start by looking at how different types of content perform. Are your evergreen guides steadily attracting traffic and ranking well? Are your seasonal pieces generating short bursts of engagement around key dates? Understanding this helps you decide where to focus your efforts moving forward.
Keeping your content fresh
- Evergreen content should be reviewed and refreshed regularly. Update stats, improve clarity, and make sure everything is still accurate and aligned with current search intent.
- Seasonal content can often be reused year after year — just update it with new insights or campaign messaging, then republish and promote it when the timing’s right.
Use data to guide your decisions
Free tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics can give you insight into how your content is performing across key areas:
- Clicks and impressions
- Keyword rankings
- Bounce rate and time on page/site
- Conversion goals (like form submissions or downloads)
- Referral sources and social shares (which you can check via your social media accounts analytics).
These insights help you spot patterns — like which blog formats keep people reading, which topics are driving leads, or which headlines perform best on social media. Match your tracking to your original goals (SMART goals, if you’ve set them), and let the data shape your next steps.
Ultimately, content planning isn’t a set-and-forget exercise. It’s a living strategy — one you tweak, test, and refine over time to get the best results from every piece you publish.
Supercharge your future content strategy
A successful content strategy isn’t about choosing between evergreen or seasonal content — it’s about using both, together, to build a content engine that’s resilient, flexible, and aligned with your business goals.
If you haven’t already, now’s the time to audit your current content mix. Look at what’s working, what’s missing, and how you can start building a calendar that includes both consistent performers and timely opportunities.
Need a hand putting it all together?
At Dux Digital, we help businesses create smart, search-ready content strategies that deliver real results. If you’re ready to get more from your content, get in touch with our team — we’d love to help.