You can create an editorial calendar in one hour if you collect topics rather than invent them: from customer questions, Google searches and the industry's seasonal calendar. The template needs seven columns (week, question, search term, target audience, occasion, responsibility, status). For an SME, one post a week is enough, so twelve topics per quarter. The plan works because it's updated with Search Console data after the first month.
An editorial calendar isn't a document you write, it's a table you fill in. Spend an hour with the right sources and you'll have twelve topics for a quarter, ones that customers are actually searching for. This page shows the template, how to split the hour, and a completed plan for a plumbing business.
The template: seven columns
| Column | Content | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Week | Calendar week of publication | Week 46 |
| Question | The customer question the post answers | Why isn't my heating getting warm? |
| Search term | How the question is googled | heating not getting warm |
| Target audience | Who asks the question | Detached house owner |
| Occasion | Season, promotion, law, trade fair or "evergreen topic" | Heating season |
| Responsibility | Who provides the facts and approves | Owner |
| Status | Planned, draft, approved, published | Planned |
An SME doesn't need more columns than that. If you like, add a column for the internal link the post should point to, such as the relevant service page.
The rhythm
For most SMEs, one post a week is the right pace: enough for Google to see the website as active, and little enough that approval doesn't get left hanging. If you want more, first keep up one post a week for three months. The reasoning behind this is covered under How many blog posts a month make sense? and, more briefly, under How often should you publish a blog post?. For the plan, that means twelve rows per quarter plus two backup topics.
The three topic sources for the hour
- Customer questions. What's been asked over the phone, by email or during appointments in the last four weeks? Ask the person on reception and the fitters too. Result: five to eight questions.
- Search queries. Type your services into Google and note the suggestions and the "People also ask" box. If Search Console is set up, check the search queries with impressions that don't yet have a post. Result: five to eight questions.
- Season. What's happening in your industry over the next three months? Heating season, start of the gardening season, tax deadline, start of school. Result: three to four occasions.
A detailed list with further sources can be found under Finding blog topics. For the hour, these three are enough.
The hour in four blocks
| Minutes | Task |
|---|---|
| 0 to 10 | Write down customer questions from recent weeks, ask staff |
| 10 to 30 | Go through Google suggestions and Search Console, note down questions |
| 30 to 45 | Enter seasonal occasions, assign questions to weeks |
| 45 to 60 | Remove anything the business doesn't offer; set reserve topics; enter responsibility |
The third block is the most important: seasonal topics need to appear four to six weeks before the occasion, so Google has time to index them. A post about frost protection that appears in the first week of frost comes too late.
Example plan: plumbing business, 12 weeks from the start of November
| Week | Question | Occasion |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why isn't my heating getting properly warm? | Heating season |
| 2 | Bleeding radiators: when to do it yourself, when to call a professional? | Heating season |
| 3 | What does a heat pump cost in a detached house? | Ongoing topic, funding applications in winter |
| 4 | Protecting water pipes from frost: what to do in a holiday home | Season |
| 5 | Descaling a boiler: how often and what it costs | Ongoing topic |
| 6 | Dripping tap: fix it yourself or call someone? | Ongoing topic |
| 7 | Heating breaks down over the holidays: what to do? | Christmas and New Year |
| 8 | Replacing an oil heating system: what deadlines apply in my canton? | Start of year, inspection by a professional required |
| 9 | Renovating a bathroom: how long does it take and what needs planning? | Planning season for spring |
| 10 | Water softening: is it worth it in Thurgau? | Ongoing topic, regional |
| 11 | Using rainwater: what's needed in the garden? | Start of the gardening season |
| 12 | How do I find a plumber with emergency service in my area? | Ongoing topic |
Reserve topics: "What does the water pressure in my house mean?" and "How do I spot hidden water damage?" Blog für Sanitär und Heizung lists further topics for this industry.
Note week 8: statements about cantonal deadlines should only go into the post after review by a professional. The plan flags this in the Occasion column, so it isn't forgotten during approval.
Keep the plan up to date
After four weeks, open Search Console and check which published posts are generating impressions. Posts with impressions but no clicks need a better title. Search terms that newly appear become rows in the next quarter. This way, the second plan doesn't take an hour to create, but just twenty minutes, since half the topics are already there.
What to do with this
Block out an hour, open a blank table with the seven columns and work through the four blocks. The result won't be a perfect plan, but it will be a plan that starts with the questions your customers actually ask. Whether you then write the posts yourself, have them written, or create them automatically is a separate decision. Either way, the topics stay the same.
Frequently asked questions
What tool do I need for the content calendar?
A table is enough, whether Excel, Google Sheets or Notion. More important than the tool is that the table sits in one place everyone involved can see, and that it has a status column. Blogging systems often come with their own topic plan that supplies the search terms as well.
What do I do if a planned topic suddenly no longer fits?
Swap it, don't delete it. A twelve-week plan should include two to three reserve topics with no seasonal link. If a topic falls through, a reserve topic moves up, and the rhythm is kept.
Should I plan topics for a whole year?
No, a quarter is enough. After three months, Search Console shows which posts bring impressions, and that leads to better topics than a yearly plan drawn up in January. You can still note down seasonal occasions for the whole year in a separate list.
Who in the business should manage the editorial plan?
The person who also approves posts, usually the management or a staff member with customer contact. They know the questions that come up. Writing can be handed off, but topic selection and approval can't.