Content Pipeline

Content Pipeline shows where the selected project’s topics and subtopics sit across the Content Bank workflow.

Overview

Use Content Pipeline to understand how much content is still being planned, how much is progressing through production, how much is published, and how much has been hidden from the active workflow.

The chart separates:

• Topics: top-level Content Bank records; and
• Subtopics: supporting records connected to a parent topic.

Each row is divided into the following workflow statuses:

• Idea
• Approved
• Brief Ready
• Draft Ready
• Needs Review
• Published
• Unpublished
• Archived

Content Pipeline is a workflow-planning view. It does not measure rankings, traffic, conversions, content quality or whether published content is performing well.

Access and scope

Content Pipeline is workspace-, project- and cluster-aware.

• The active workspace controls which projects are available.
• The selected project controls which Content Bank records are counted.
• The cluster selector can narrow the chart to one cluster.
• Only users with access to the selected project in the active workspace can view its pipeline.

The chart deliberately ignores the Content Dashboard’s publication-status selector. A pipeline must include every workflow status; applying a Published filter would make the chart appear entirely published and hide the work still in progress.

Markets do not affect Content Pipeline. Markets describe rank-tracking configurations such as search location, device and search engine. This chart reads the selected project’s Content Bank records instead.

Before you begin

For an accurate pipeline:

1. Select the correct workspace and project.
2. Organise relevant content in Content Bank.
3. Assign the appropriate status to each topic and subtopic.
4. Connect supporting content to its parent topic where applicable.
5. Assign records to the correct cluster if you want to use the cluster filter.

A record without a status is treated as Idea.

Quick start

1. Open Content Dashboard.
2. Select the relevant workspace.
3. Select the project.
4. Leave Cluster unfiltered to review the complete project.
5. Compare the Topics and Subtopics totals.
6. Use the coloured segments to see the workflow mix in each row.
7. Hover over a segment to see its status, count and percentage.
8. Review the summary badge beneath the bars.
9. Select a cluster when you need a more focused pipeline view.

Read the chart

Topics row

The Topics row counts top-level Content Bank records. A top-level topic has no parent topic.

The total at the end of the row is the number of topics in the selected project and cluster scope across all recognised statuses.

Subtopics row

The Subtopics row counts Content Bank records connected to a parent topic.

The total at the end of the row is the number of subtopics in the current scope across all recognised statuses.

Some older subtopics may not store their own cluster. Where possible, Wheremore uses the parent topic’s cluster so the subtopic remains available when a cluster is selected.

Coloured segments

Each coloured segment represents one workflow status.

Its width shows that status as a percentage of its own row:

status count ÷ row total × 100

Topics and Subtopics therefore use separate percentage calculations.

For example:

• 8 Published topics out of 10 topics produces an 80% Published segment in the Topics row.
• 2 Published subtopics out of 5 subtopics produces a 40% Published segment in the Subtopics row.

The two percentages should not be added together.

Small segments may not have enough room to display percentage text. Hover over the segment to see its full label, count and percentage.

Understand the statuses

Idea

Content that has been recorded as an opportunity but has not yet been approved for production.

Records with no stored status are counted as Idea.

Approved

Content that has been accepted as part of the plan but has not yet reached a completed brief.

Brief Ready

Content whose brief or outline is ready for drafting.

Draft Ready

Content with a draft ready for editorial review or the next production step.

Needs Review

Content awaiting a decision, quality check, correction or approval.

Published

Content marked Published in Content Bank.

This is a Wheremore workflow status. The chart does not publish content to the connected website and does not independently prove that a URL is currently live.

Unpublished

Content that was treated as published but is no longer present in the current sitemap or has otherwise been marked Unpublished.

Review the record before assuming the page was deliberately removed. Sitemap changes, temporary retrieval issues and URL changes can also require investigation.

Archived

Content intentionally removed from the active Content Bank workflow while being retained for reference.

Read the summary badge

The summary badge combines Topics and Subtopics into three broader groups.

Published

The combined number of Topics and Subtopics with the Published status.

In progress

The combined number of records in:

• Idea;
• Approved;
• Brief Ready;
• Draft Ready; and
• Needs Review.

Hidden

The combined number of Unpublished and Archived records.

The badge colour reflects the share of all represented records that are Published:

• Low: less than 33%;
• Medium: 33% to less than 66%; and
• High: 66% or more.

This colour is a quick workflow indicator, not a performance score. A project planning a large new content programme can correctly have a low published share.

Use the filters

Workspace

Changing workspace clears the previous project and pipeline. Select a project from the new workspace to load its Content Bank workflow.

Project

Changing project reloads the chart with that project’s records and clears the previous cluster selection.

Cluster

Select a cluster to see the statuses of Topics and Subtopics assigned to that part of the content plan.

The cluster view is useful for questions such as:

• Is this cluster still mostly ideas?
• Does this cluster have briefs ready for production?
• Are supporting subtopics progressing with their parent topics?
• Has a large part of this cluster been archived or marked unpublished?

Clear the cluster selector to return to the complete project pipeline.

Content status

Changing the Content Dashboard’s publication-status selector does not alter Content Pipeline.

This is intentional. The chart always includes every recognised workflow status so its proportions remain meaningful.

Market

Changing market has no effect. Content Pipeline does not use keyword ranking or market configuration data.

Interpret common patterns

Most content is in Idea

The project contains a large planning backlog. Review which ideas support current priorities before approving more work.

Many items are Approved but few are Brief Ready

The approval process is moving faster than briefing. Consider preparing outlines or briefs for the highest-priority approved items.

Brief Ready is large

The project has content ready to enter drafting. This can be a useful production queue.

Draft Ready or Needs Review is large

Work may be accumulating near the end of production. Review editorial capacity, outstanding decisions and quality checks.

Topics are progressing but Subtopics are mostly Ideas

The project may be developing broad subject coverage before supporting depth. Review whether important published topics need stronger supporting content.

Subtopics are progressing faster than Topics

Check whether the parent topics have the correct statuses and whether supporting content is being created in the intended order.

Published dominates

Most represented content has completed the Content Bank workflow. Use Content Performance to assess whether those published pages are achieving useful results.

Hidden is unexpectedly high

Review Unpublished and Archived records in Content Bank. Confirm whether pages were deliberately removed, replaced, consolidated or merely affected by sitemap or classification changes.

A practical pipeline-review workflow

1. Start with the complete project.
2. Compare the total number of Topics and Subtopics.
3. Review the In progress and Hidden totals.
4. Identify the largest workflow segment in each row.
5. Look for work accumulating at Approved, Brief Ready, Draft Ready or Needs Review.
6. Select important clusters and repeat the review.
7. Open Content Bank to inspect and update the underlying records.
8. Use topic or subtopic ideation when an important cluster lacks planned content.
9. Use Create Outline for approved work that is ready to be structured.
10. Use Content Performance to evaluate results after content is published.

Data timing

Content Pipeline reads the current Content Bank records stored for the selected project.

Saved changes to status, parent relationship or cluster placement should appear when the chart reloads. If an older request is still running when a new workspace, project or cluster is selected, it is cancelled or ignored so it cannot replace the newer result.

The chart does not wait for ranking data, analytics processing or a market run.

What should I do next?

• Use Content Bank to inspect or change workflow statuses.
• Use Content Coverage to compare the size of clusters.
• Use the Journey × Intent × Cluster Matrix to review content purpose and journey-stage balance.
• Use Suggest topics or Suggest subtopics to develop a deliberate gap.
• Use Create Outline to move approved work towards production.
• Use Content Drafting to create and review draft sections.
• Use Content Performance to evaluate published content.

Troubleshooting

No pipeline appears

• Confirm the correct workspace is active.
• Confirm an accessible project is selected.
• Confirm the project belongs to the active workspace.
• Confirm the project contains Content Bank topics or subtopics.
• Clear the cluster filter.
• Refresh after recent Content Bank changes.

A project cannot be loaded

• Confirm the signed-in user has access to the project.
• Confirm the project belongs to the active workspace.
• Reselect the workspace and project.

A cluster shows no content

• Confirm the cluster belongs to the selected project.
• Confirm records are assigned to that cluster.
• Check whether subtopics inherit their placement from a valid parent topic.
• Clear the cluster to confirm the records appear in the project-wide chart.

The chart does not change when content status changes

This is expected. Content Pipeline always shows the complete workflow and ignores the dashboard publication-status selector.

The chart does not change when market changes

This is expected. Markets are not used by Content Pipeline.

The percentages look wrong

• Calculate each row separately.
• Divide a Topic status by the Topics total.
• Divide a Subtopic status by the Subtopics total.
• Do not divide every segment by the combined grand total.
• Hover over a small segment to read its exact count and percentage.

The summary does not match one row

The summary combines Topics and Subtopics. The row totals and percentages remain separate.

An item appears under Idea unexpectedly

The record may have no stored status. Open it in Content Bank and assign the intended workflow status.

Published content appears under Unpublished

Check the item’s Content Bank status and review the project’s current sitemap. An Unpublished status can indicate a disappeared URL, but it is not proof that the website page was deliberately deleted.

Recent changes are not visible

• Confirm the record was saved.
• Confirm it belongs to the selected project and cluster.
• Reselect the project or cluster to reload the chart.
• Refresh the page if necessary.

Frequently asked questions

Does Content Pipeline count both topics and subtopics?

Yes. They are shown in separate rows and combined in the summary badge.

Are Archived and Unpublished included?

Yes. They are required for a complete workflow view and are grouped as Hidden in the summary.

Does the dashboard content-status selector filter this chart?

No. This is intentional.

Does Published mean the URL is definitely live?

Not necessarily. Published is the record’s Content Bank status. Use the website, sitemap and relevant monitoring tools when live publication must be confirmed.

Does the chart measure performance?

No. Use Content Performance for traffic, rankings, conversions and related signals.

Are markets required?

No. Content Pipeline does not use market data.

Can I change a status from the chart?

No. Open the record in Content Bank.

Does Content Pipeline change the connected website?

No. It is a read-only workflow report.