Content Templates

What a content template is

A content template is the shape of an article before it has any words: how long it should be, how many headings it carries, how many images it needs, and how its sections are laid out from introduction to call to action. When AI Writing proposes an outline, the template is where that structure comes from; the brief supplies the topics, the template supplies the frame.

Templates live in the Editor under Content Templates. Pick one per article, next to the persona.

Ten built-in shapes

OnPagePilot ships ten system templates, each with its own word, heading and image targets: Blog Post (around 2000 words, 5 headings, 4 images), Pillar Page (around 4050 words, 16 headings, 3 images), How-To Guide (around 2100 words, 10 headings, 6 images), Listicle (around 1750 words, 11 headings, 5 images), Landing Page (around 500 words, 4 headings, 3 images), Case Study (around 1350 words, 6 headings, 2 images), FAQ Page (around 900 words, 11 headings, 1 image, with schema markup), About Page (around 700 words, 4 headings, 4 images), Comparison Post (around 2000 words, 8 headings, 4 images) and Product Page (around 1000 words, 6 headings, 5 images).

The targets are what the outline is built to hit, not hard limits; the SEO Editor scores the draft against the brief, not against the template.

What a template contains

Open a template and you see its content type, word count, headings and images targets, a default persona that is pre-selected when you pick the template, and a usage count so you can see which shapes your team actually reaches for.

Below that is the structure: the sections in order, with the number of second-level headings and the words each should carry, from introduction through the body to conclusion and call to action. The default content is the same structure written out as bracketed section placeholders with their word targets, so a writer working without AI has the skeleton to fill in.

Make your own

You can create your own templates beside the system ones. Set the targets to what your site actually publishes, set the default persona to your brand voice, and rewrite the structure to match the sections your readers expect. A template you have used a dozen times is a house style the whole team shares, and the usage count shows which ones earned that role.

Choosing the right template

Pillar Page for the head term of a subject you want to own; it is the long one because it has to answer the whole question. Blog Post or How-To Guide for the cluster pages around it. Comparison Post and Listicle when the ranking pages for the keyword are comparisons and lists, which the Topical Authority analysis will show you. FAQ Page when the questions tab of your keyword research is full and the answers are short.

Where the template is used

The template is chosen in the SEO Editor settings before AI Writing proposes the outline. You approve or change the outline before any section is written, so the template is a starting structure you can still edit, not a cage.

Where to go next

The AI Writing feature page shows templates and personas in the writing flow with product captures. The AI Writing FAQ answers the questions we get most often about outlines and structure. The Brand Personas guide covers the other half of the setting: the voice.

If you are in the BETA and a template produces an outline that does not fit the content type, tell us on the contact page.