Editorial planning
Update or new page: the rule for your editorial plan
A sub-case means updating the existing page. A parallel case means a new page. Here is the two-question test, and why the answer matters before you write.
If the new need is a sub-case of what the page already covers, update that page. If it is a parallel case, with a different intent and an answer that does not fit inside the existing page without diluting it, open a new page. That is the rule we apply in the editorial plan.
An illustrative example, not a real case: you have a page on "contact management for small businesses" and you want to cover "exporting contacts to CSV". That is a sub-case, so you update the existing page with a dedicated section. If instead you want to cover "comparing two types of contact management tools", that is a parallel case, so you open a new page.
Why the distinction matters before you write
The choice is not cosmetic. It changes what goes into the editorial plan and what draws on the publishing cap. On the technical trial the limits are 3 articles per month and 3 in total. A new page uses one line of that cap; an update does not. That is why you run the test before queuing a new piece of content, not after writing it.
The two-question test, applied to a borderline case
This is a RankAI working proposal, not a universal standard. The test has two questions, taken in order.
Question 1: is the new need contained in the existing page?
If yes, it is a sub-case: update. If no, move to question 2.
Question 2: is the intent different, and does the answer need its own structure?
If yes, it is a parallel case: new page. If no, it stays a sub-case: update.
A worked example on an ambiguous case
Illustrative scenario, not a real one. Existing page: "how to organise client contacts". New need: "what to do when a contact changes company". Question 1: the existing page is about organisation, not transitions, so the new need is not contained in it. Answer: no. Question 2: the intent is different (handling a change, not organising) and the answer needs its own steps. Answer: yes. Outcome: new page. If the new need were "how to label a contact who changes company", question 1 would answer yes: sub-case, update.
What to do with the outcome, before approval
Before you send the version for human approval, record the test outcome next to the plan entry: "update" or "new page". If it is "new page", check that there is room under the technical trial cap (3 articles per month, 3 in total). If there is not, the choice shifts to an update or to waiting. Only after this check does the version go to approval.
The point that often gets missed is that the test is not there to decide whether the content is good. It is there to decide where the content goes. An updated sub-case keeps the existing page as the single reference and avoids splitting the answer; a parallel case published as a new page avoids weighing down a page that is about something else. The typical mistake is to reverse the order: write first, then ask whether a new page was needed. By then the cost is already paid, and if the technical trial cap is used up, the new page cannot go out anyway. That is why in our flow the test outcome is a required field on the plan entry, not a side note: it makes the choice visible to whoever approves and ties the editorial decision to the publishing limit. The test remains a working proposal, not a universal rule: adapt it to the site, but run it before, not after.
Where approval fits
The default is human approval of a version. Automatic publishing is turned on per site and still goes through the checks. This holds for an update and for a new page alike: the test decides the destination, approval decides whether the version goes out.
A limit you can check
The two-question test is our working proposal, not a recognised standard. How well it works depends on how the existing page is structured, and it cannot be measured with the data available here. The limits cited (3 articles per month, 3 in total) apply to the technical trial and do not describe how the system runs in normal operation. For the full picture of the editorial plan and approval, see the in-depth page.