All bloggers want increasing visitors, good backlinks to their posts, organic traffic, social media hype, search engine rankings, and, of course, leads. Evergreen content is the solution to many (if not all) of these marketing goals. Today, we will learn what it is, why it is crucial for any website that wants to make it big in the online world, and how to create it!
What Is Evergreen Content?
As its name suggests, Evergreen content is content that stands the test of time without losing its value. According to a simple evergreen content definition, such content is everlasting and sustainable. It preserves its relevancy no matter how much time has passed since its publication. Therefore, if you publish evergreen content on your website/blog, you can be sure its traffic will increase over time.
When you build a blog, choosing its right name is just the beginning, as you have to deal with many things, from catchy blog introductions to compelling calls to action. In between the introductory paragraph and prompting the readers to comment on your article or share it with their social networks, you need to deliver an engaging, useful, thought-provoking piece of content.
To understand better the notion of evergreen content, let’s see first what it is NOT.
What Is NOT Evergreen Content?
Some pieces of content lose their relevancy after some time. Depending on the type of blog you want to put in front of your audience and your chosen topics, you can write many different articles. Not all of them are evergreen, as you can easily figure out. Let’s see what does not usually pass as evergreen content:
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News articles.
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Statistics and reports, likely to change from one period to the next.
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Posts related to seasonal matters, such as holidays or events.
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Posts related to specific trends that are likely to change, fade, or become something else.
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Technology articles are in need of constant upgrades and changes as the hardware or software you talk about become obsolete, change, or improve.
Since evergreen content does not (or should not) have an expiration date, you need to choose your topics wisely so your blog post retains its value over time.
For instance, if you have a lifestyle blog and love sharing tips on traveling in a certain country, those tips are evergreen content. It is less likely for that country to change significantly every three months. On the other hand, if you write about presidential elections, the topic will become obsolete in six months. What is worse is that the keywords you used will probably fall off the face of Google (and keyword research tools), never to be searched again.
So, let’s see what evergreen content is and how you can build a treasure trove of relevant content for years to come.
What ARE Evergreen Topics?
Evergreen content is the perfect balance between evergreen topics and evergreen article types. Together, they hold their ground in relevancy, high-volume keywords, organic traffic, social media sharing potential, etc. So, let’s see some evergreen topics!
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Weight loss.
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Cooking.
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Traveling.
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Fitness.
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Gardening.
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Interior design and remodeling.
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Literature/arts/music.
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Health and lifestyle.
The examples could go on forever, but you get the point. Evergreen topics are complex subject matters that are not likely to change over time significantly.
What ARE Evergreen Article Types?
Most evergreen articles are long-form pieces dealing with a topic in-depth. Of course, you can update and revamp such articles to keep them fresh and relevant for users and search engines. Nevertheless, these articles maintain their evergreen value, even if you add new content to them. Let’s see some examples:
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How to guides – How to cook chicken breast in 10 different ways.
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Top tips – 10 tips to care for indoor plants without making a mess.
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Lists – 50 free places to promote your website for free advertising.
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Product Reviews – Best five dishwasher machines for small apartments.
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Encyclopedia-like articles – Underfloor heating: A Brief History and Uses
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Videos – What is content marketing?
As you can see, the topics and article types keep their intrinsic sustainable value independently of world events, politics, or the randomness of life. Thus, the chicken breast will most likely remain chicken breast for a while. However, if you want your articles to rank better and better in search engines, you can optimize them. For instance, the list of free promotion websites can grow with new entries as new opportunities arise. Therefore, it is in your best interest to add new examples for your readers, refresh the information, add newer keywords, and so on.
Now you know what evergreen content is and is not. But why is it so important? We know it is crucial to have a blog for your business website, but does it mean you also have to plan some evergreen pieces for it? For example, why should you add evergreen articles to your dental practice or restaurant?
The Importance of Evergreen Content for Blogs
When you build a blog, you need to consider plenty of reasons to add evergreen content. So let’s check them out today!
It Establishes Your Expert Status
Readers appreciate well-researched, long-form articles. Although the Internet is flooded with tons of information, you must dig through dozens of pages until you can create a complete picture of a particular subject. However, suppose you can collect fragmented pieces of information in one post. Answer as many questions as you can and explain complex things in a simple manner. Do it considering your target audience. In that case, readers will reward you with their attention.
Worth mentioning, Google also loves in-depth articles, considering them as potentially beneficial for users. So, strive for at least 1000 words for better results keeping in mind that all sentences must be put there on purpose, not just to make texts longer.
You should keep in mind that writing informative content is not enough. You cannot skimp on quality even if you have data nobody else has. The most comprehensive post will look like a parody of an expert opinion if there are a lot of grammar mistakes in it.
To avoid mistakes that can cost you readers’ trust and respect, you can use online services that provide editor assistance and proofreading tool. Of course, you should take proper care of your evergreen content promotion. You can mention your post in other articles, share a link to it on social media, etc. However, provided you create a valuable piece, its quality will speak for itself and sooner or later will find its readers.
It Saves Your Resources
Evergreen posts usually require more time to prepare. At first glance, it may seem unreasonable to invest in them until you sum up efforts to make your time-dependent content go viral and compete with other companies that publish articles on the same topics. However, your rapid response to current trends may not bring the expected results will soon impact your success in this case, while your work on more “stable” topics will pay off in the long term.
It Can Be Repurposed
To make the most of your evergreen posts, you can use them as a source of information for other types of content such as videos, podcasts, infographics and share them on several platforms besides your company blog.
What to Consider When Crafting and Promoting Evergreen Content?
Now that you understand better what evergreen content is and what purposes it serves, let’s see some things you should have in mind when you start creating these cornerstone pieces.
Work on Your Evergreen Content SEO
To make it more possible for readers to find your content, you have to optimize it for search engines. Selecting relevant keywords is the first step to getting it done. Analyze which of them best describe what you write about, and do not forget to check what keywords your successful competitors use in their posts. Choosing necessary keywords also helps ensure that people that come to your website have a specific intent and are open to your offer. In other words, it is easy for you to generate leads and convert your readers into valuable ones.
Besides, it contributes to your backlink profile – bloggers who look for relevant materials can refer to it in their articles and conduct their search with specific keywords. So make sure you do not miss a chance to get a backlink from trusted websites.
What is also important is to refresh your content regularly! Let’s say that evergreen content is like a pine that stays green all year round. It still needs watering. It does not mean you have to rewrite posts from scratch. Keywords optimization, adding a couple of paragraphs, or changing some information with a newer one would be enough. You can do it every two months or once a year, depending on your niche.
Ensure Your Content Adds Value
To be popular among readers, your evergreen content must be useful for them. The question is: how do you determine what is useful and what is not? It is not as easy as it may seem, especially if you do not know your target audience well enough. You may write in a too complicated way or provide information that is understandable without any explanation. To get a glimpse of what is in demand, you should run A/B tests, survey your readers, or ask them to make suggestions on social media.
Next, look at what content gets the most views and shares among your competitors. Tools like Google Alerts, Mention, Brand24, Cyfe, Buzzsumo, Feedly, and others can significantly simplify this task. For example, if you cannot narrow your audience to complete beginners or professionals, the best option is to write several different posts of varying complexity depending on people’s level of expertise in your field.
In any case, before creating your evergreen content, you should ask yourself:
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What problems or challenges do your readers want to solve?
It is a universal approach to creating services and products. It lies at the core of many marketing techniques. People will be eager to read a post containing a solution to what worries them the most.
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What is your unique selling proposition you can write about in your evergreen posts?
This differentiates you from your competitors and is a source for the unique information you can provide to your readers.
Spread the Word About Your Evergreen Content on Social Media and in Newsletters
Although you do not write about recent news in posts that are supposed to be evergreen, it does not mean you cannot give them some social boost. The advantage of such content is that it can be integrated into any content strategy without ruining the schedule. Do not forget to let your readers know about your posts’ refreshment. Show them you care by keeping them up to date with the latest changes.
Make Your Evergreen Content Easy to Notice
Readers that come to your website for something else should have the possibility to notice your content easily. Consider reserving a spot on your homepage or make a separate category for your blog articles.
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You can also link to relevant evergreen posts in other articles.
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You can also test different post formats, titles, and visuals to determine what drives the most engagement. For instance, people prefer listicles and how-to articles in some businesses, while other relevant formats perform badly.
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And do not forget to change a header image when you relaunch your post on social media to give it more freshness.
Summing Things Up
As we can see, evergreen content is of great importance if you want to be seen as an industry expert. Besides, it helps to make the traffic flow to your website more predictable. Time-sensitive content generates quick wins if you are lucky enough. However, with a consistent core in your content strategy, you increase your chances to stay afloat.
Producing compelling content is not easy and requires some time to prepare: target audience and competitor analysis, selecting the right keywords, and finding reliable sources of information. However, you can be sure your efforts will pay off. If you want to achieve the best results as soon as possible, take care of your evergreen content promotion on different platforms.
In any case, the starting point for you must be creating content that meets the needs of your potential readers and helps solve different issues.
Now that you know what evergreen content is and how to approach it, it is time to build a blog or add one to your business website!