Content Writer
You must’ve heard the word evergreen at least once. But when you’re involved in the marketing world and work a lot with SEO, there’s a change in place. The word “evergreen” is quickly adapted to “evergreen content”.
You’ve heard it, you’ve seen it, you’ve been encouraged to use it. But you were never sure what it was all about and why it’s become such an important part of the marketing world.
Being on top of the search rankings is a dream of all marketers, and all for good reason. But this is also where the drawn line can become a bit blurry. Do you stick to the latest trends and create content that has a short-term impact?
Or do you create evergreen content that has a long-term impact and sticks to a feeling of legacy? And there’s never one side one can take in regards to this. Shortly, you need both to ensure your spotlight in the marketing world.
You might still be asking yourself, “So, what’s the deal with this”? Not to worry, as we’ll get to the bottom of that in this article. We’ll also take a look at how to create evergreen content, and why it’s so important in the marketing world.
You can use these tips for the future, to get better Google rankings. You can also use them to optimize current content.
Let’s go evergreen!
What Is Evergreen Content?
What would be the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word “evergreen”? Is it always green, no matter what happens? Do you associate it with a beautiful and green garden that stays the same even as the years have passed?
Well, you’re not that far from the truth, if you want to sit through a comparison. That is because evergreen content is similar to a beautiful and green garden. One that stays the same throughout the seasons, or in our case, throughout the trends.
Shortly, evergreen content is content that will always be relevant to the audience. The best part of it is that the year won’t even matter. The more optimized content is the more chances to have traffic driven to your website.
It’s vital to highlight the fact that news is not evergreen content. Content-based on trending topics cannot be considered evergreen either.
How do you even recognize it then? We’ll mention the most basic example and it all comes down to a number. Yes, a number.
Think about anything related to social media and add a year to it. We’ve picked Instagram trends 2023 as our winner. It’s true, this keyword will be searched for in that specific year. It will probably also be searched for in the years to follow, but not as much.
Trends come and go, and what works in a certain year might not work in the years to follow. And searching for a specific keyword that includes a year can only be used for research purposes after the year’s passed. Or, for pure curiosity.
Now, think about another subject. Something you’d ask and would always be of importance. Say, “nature importance”. This subject will always be relevant to humans and will not be based on a specific trend.
Why Is Evergreen Content Important?
Now that we know what evergreen content is all about, let’s see how you can use it for better Google rankings. There is one thing that needs to be mentioned before that, though.
Evergreen content cannot exist without evergreen subjects.
This relation works from the perspective that there are topics people will always be interested in, no matter what year we’re facing. For example, think about one subject you’ve always seen around you ever since you were a kid. Say, staying healthy.
This specific topic can now be translated into content – “Staying healthy without the hassle”. You’ll probably find the concepts today as you would’ve found a few years back.
However, having evergreen content on your website isn’t the only golden ticket on your table. Evergreen content is just as important as trending content. But there are a few reasons why evergreen content is important for your business:
1. SEO Results
Google rankings can make or break your business. There’s also a general idea that if people don’t find the information they need on the first page of Google, they won’t start digging. Evergreen content is great for SEO, though – not having a timeline attached can help any article get a good ranking.
Of course, there are a few more elements that contribute to this, such as keywords. But we’ll cover them in another category.
2. Gaining Trust
Valuable content is great. When it’s also evergreen, you might’ve found something that helps the audience trust you more. And it also helps you stay on top of the game in your industry. That’s because good and timeless content can help your readers relate more to what you have to say. And one read article can lead to more read articles.
3. Driving Traffic
There are many ways through which you can drive traffic, but there’s one specific kind of traffic that evergreen content can bring you. And that is organic traffic. Including evergreen content on your website can help people find your website more easily. SEO and driving traffic seem to go hand in hand at this point.
How to Write Evergreen Content
1. Use the Right Format
There are a few structures and formats that need to be respected to make your content evergreen. Of course, it’s important to mention that a certain format is not the perfect recipe that screams evergreen for Google rankings. But it does bring your content closer to something that could be categorized as evergreen content.
You can choose the following when putting together your evergreen content:
- Listicles
- How-Tos
- Step-by-step
- Case Studies
- Mistakes
- Videos
The list doesn’t stop here, though. There are many other ways to put together your evergreen content, depending on your preferences. And not only.
But let’s take a short look at how these formats work hand in hand with evergreen content:
Listicles
Listicles are easy to follow and can be used for various reasons. No matter if you’re writing about social media tools, social media platforms, or someplace found in a town, listicles will always catch people’s eyes. And the best part is that you can update them in case something changes.
How-Tos
Certain things in life won’t change in a matter of years. Of course, not everything can be considered evergreen content if we’re talking from a technological perspective. But there’s a way to address that as well: make sure your articles are always updated with the latest information.
Step-by-step
Learning something new usually requires a step-by-step guide. And just like in the case of how-to articles, some things don’t just change overnight. What you need to make sure of is how you address this kind of article. Step-by-step guides can go from specific to general in almost an instant, so make sure you target the desired audience. Or, at least that you don’t get too general.
Case Studies
Case studies are really common for companies or products. Even though they are less common on most websites, they are still a great example of evergreen content. Case studies rely on analysis and they can also help create a certain image.
That is because a case study shows the steps behind a certain process. Thus, a thought process can be uncovered. Not to mention, they are great for learning purposes.
They are also great for building trust, even if we are referring to a rather niche audience. A case study can also showcase the experiences customers have had with your product or business.
Showcasing Mistakes
Making mistakes is normal, but they can sometimes have a rather negative influence on you. And knowing what to avoid is something your audience can be interested in. Not to mention, headlines that include structures such as “What to avoid…” / “Don’t make this mistake…” are attention-grabbing.
Videos
Being visual is important, especially when we’re talking about how-to or step-by-step videos. Some people are visual learners or just don’t have the time to skim through a long text. Videos that provide your audience with the information they need are great forms of evergreen content. Not to mention, they’re also great for driving traffic!
2. Make It Accessible
You can find information about everything on the Internet. But sometimes, the information you find isn’t necessarily what you’re looking for. Overly complicated and technical content is not the most accessible one can find. And most of the time, people are searching for content that is easy to understand. Apart from that, content that presents the information in a beginner-friendly tone.
Of course, there are certain notions that require a more technical explanation, so how do you go around that? The easiest way is to give a real-life example so that your audience can relate to it. Sticking to technical explanations might cause your audience to look for information elsewhere. Besides, quality content revolves around the idea that anybody can easily understand it!
It’s also vital to create your content in an easy-to-follow way. Images, highlighted words, lists – make use of anything that can make your content easier to follow. Big chunks of text can become difficult to follow, even if the content is of amazing quality.
And these are just a few of the elements that you need to make sure that your evergreen content is friendly to the general public.
3. Use Keywords
Evergreen content goes well with keywords. And this is why keyword research is vital for evergreen content. No matter how good your content is, people won’t find it unless a topic is of interest to them or the right keywords are used. Long-tail keywords are usually preferred in this case, and it’s also recommended to not overdo it.
One important thing to keep in mind is that keywords can also become outdated. One way to keep your content optimized is to constantly check if your keywords are up to date.
Another thing to keep in mind is what volume trend keywords have. If an evergreen keyword isn’t searched for, you might want to come up with another strategy. It’s true, they can still drive traffic. It might be better to concentrate on the keywords that can drive the traffic you need, though.
4. Repurpose Your Content
Social media platforms are your best allies when it comes to content repurposing. And this applies even more when we’re talking about evergreen content. It’s true, people can reach your content through Google searches. But you can also use social media platforms to drive them towards it. This type of content can be promoted at all times on your accounts, as your number of followers also grows.
Also, make sure that you’re active on social media, while you’re at it. Once you’ve shared your content, keep an eye on comments and messages, and reply to them. This will only bring you benefits and help build trust.
If you can also transform your content into something more visual – go for it. If there is one thing people love, it’s visual content.
Final Thoughts
Evergreen content can be considered an ace up your sleeve. As the name suggests, it lasts for a longer time and it will be relevant to the audience for years in a row. We’ve covered in this article the importance of this type of content. We’ve also covered what you should take into consideration when writing your content. And not to worry, you can apply all the information even to already-existing content.
Even so, you shouldn’t rely just on this type of content to drive traffic or score better Google rankings. Balance is key in this case, and you need trending content as much as you need evergreen content. It’s true that in the long run, evergreen content is the one to drive more traffic.
What is also true is that as a business, you need to cover topics that are trending as well. Even if they bring you visitors for a limited amount of time only.
Are you ready to start writing the evergreen content you’ve kept hearing about? We’ve also got you covered.
