It’s no secret that publishing content on a regular basis is the key to attracting readers to your website. However, not all pieces of content on the web are alike. Some hook your audiences while others lull them to sleep.
Because millions of blog posts are now being published every single day, it can be quite tough for newbie marketers to get ahead of the curve.
If you’ve been blogging for a while now, most likely you’ve heard the phrase “evergreen content.” This is the type of content that smart marketers create to bring successful, lasting results for their website.
This article will teach you everything you need to know about evergreen content – what it is, why it matters for your long-term marketing strategy, and some ideas to help you get started.
Contents
What is evergreen content?
Does evergreen content have anything to do with fir trees? Absolutely not! But the reason why evergreen content is called as such is that like fir trees, it stands the test of time. This means that no matter the time of the year, your readers will always find your content useful and relevant.
Now let’s get one thing clear. By saying that evergreen content remains relevant for years, this does not refer to the fact that your content has been published and left to stay that way on your blog. You may have a ton of posts you published in the past that are no longer applicable to your readers’ situation today.
Consider these two blog post topics:
- Best Tips to Hire a Roofing Contractor
- New Residential Roofing Trends in 2017
Which of these topics do you think is considered evergreen content?
The answer is blog post topic A.
Obviously, homeowners will always need a contractor all year round. So, if you’re running a website on roofing, you can be sure that a topic on the Best Tips to Hire a Roofing Contractor will never go outdated.
To help you distinguish what evergreen content is and is not, you need to know the different evergreen content types.
What evergreen content looks like
Great examples/ideas of evergreen content are the following:
- How-to guides or advice for beginners– Create a simple, step-by-step guide that teaches your audience how to accomplish something or solve a problem.
- Reader FAQ– FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions. If you sell products or services on your website, it would be good to include a FAQ page to address your customers’ common questions about your business.
- Ultimate/definitive checklist– People want to make sure that they cover everything when completing a task or meeting a goal. A checklist helps them remember all the essentials. Tracy Gold’s ultimate checklist covers all the strategies needed to create a successful content marketing plan.
- Glossary of terms or definitions– Do you tackle technical topics? Improve your readers’ experiences and let them get the knowledge they need by defining key terms.
- Case studies – Case studies are an essential ingredient for the success of B2B websites. It’s much easier to convince customers to buy from you if you can prove that you were able to help people overcome a challenge. An effective example is a weight loss story.
- List posts– List posts often go viral. They break up your content and make it digestible. Most online readers are lazy to read everything.
- Product tutorial videos or blog posts – Tutorial videos or blog posts are a great way to complement what you offer on your website. They teach customers how to use your products to maximize their benefits. PicMonkey, a photo editing tool, features a collection of tutorials for their users.
Content that’s not evergreen
Take note that evergreen content does not refer to:
- Industry trends
- Current data and statistics
- News about an event or occasion
- Opinions or speculations
Here’s one question you must always ask yourself to make sure that what you’re about to create is evergreen: Will my readers find this content relevant and useful a few months or a year from now?
Use this question as your guide.
What is the importance of evergreen content in Your marketing strategy?
Now that you know the definition of evergreen content, you might be wondering why this is so important for your success. In this section, you will find five reasons evergreen content makes a worthwhile investment.
Evergreen content saves you time and effort in writing
You know that you need to keep your blog up-to-date by publishing regular content. But wouldn’t it be great if you could write a blog post only twice or thrice a week and use that post differently each time? Evergreen content allows you to do that.
Because it has a long shelf life, you can simply re-share a piece of content with your audience or repurpose it into another format. That way, you do not have to work yourself to the bone, and you get more time to focus on other aspects of your digital business. You can take a break from your blog if you need to.
Evergreen content improves your rankings for certain keywords
Another reason why evergreen content works so well is that it helps your blog rank high in search engines. There are specific keywords in a niche that potential customers often use to seek information online. These vital keywords reveal their interests and pain points.
When you write evergreen content, make sure that you target keywords to write topics that continue to interest readers beyond their publish date. The same pieces of content will help your blog gain higher rankings over time.
Evergreen content gets you lasting engagement
A lot of evergreen blog posts that have been published a year ago are still being commented on, liked, and shared. One of Darren Rowse’s blog posts entitled How to Start a Blog is a perfect example of an evergreen topic.
This blog post that was published in 2016 continues to attract eyeballs and generate buzz because the world doesn’t run out of people looking to start a blog for whatever purpose. Looking at the screenshot below, you can see that the post has just recently garnered more comments.
Evergreen content drives more social media shares
You might not realize it, but people on social media carefully consider a piece of content before sharing it. If you’re not getting any shares, this means that your content is not valuable or useful enough.
It’s important to note that content shouldn’t only be shared on social media to strengthen a customer’s trust in a brand, but also to allow people to better connect with one another.
Aside from the fact that evergreen content gets shared often, you also need to choose the appropriate content format to share on a platform. For example, visual content is for YouTube and Instagram while both written and visual content work on Facebook and Twitter.
Evergreen content continuously generates new traffic and leads for you
A useful and powerful piece of content makes your brand more authoritative. If people find that your site has the answers to their pressing problems, they will always turn to you to seek for regular advice and tips. You become the go-to resource for your industry.
Remember that the higher your website traffic, the more likely you are to get readers who will buy your products or services. Topics that are trending only last for up to a certain period.
Let’s say you run an e-commerce website. One of your blog posts on the latest fashion trends will bring a huge spike in traffic until such time that it becomes outdated. This means that you’re only able to generate customers for as long as your content stays relevant.
Best Practices to Create Evergreen Content
Are you ready to start creating evergreen content on your blog? If you are, here are 5 useful strategies to help you come up with content that appeals to your audiences.
Write for beginners
Sometimes it can be tempting to flaunt what you know about in your niche. However, if you want your content to cater to wider audiences, prioritize the basics. Aim your topic at beginner learners, not experts.
Remember that most people search the web to learn new knowledge. Experts already know much about your topic, so they are less likely to need your help. Basic topics are so compelling that their facts never change.
Research topics that interest your readers
Before creating any content, always put your audience’s best interests in mind. Don’t get too caught up in the process that you forget who you’re writing for. A remarkable piece of evergreen content is one that drives readers to act.
Start by knowing what your readers want. One straightforward way to accomplish this is to use Google Adwords Keyword Planner.
Google Keyword Planner is a tool that helps you discover timeless, evergreen content ideas.
- First, you need to create an Adwords account.
- After you sign into your account, choose “Tools” from the dropdown menu.
- Click “Search for new keywords using a phrase, website or category” under “Find new keywords and get search volume data.”
- Type in any topic that’s related to your product or service.
In the example above, imagine for a moment that you run a website that sells roofing products and services. Using the tool, you entered the keyword “roofing.” It shows you a list of relevant keywords that most people search for. You can see the average monthly searches alongside each keyword.
Look through this list to get evergreen ideas for your next blog post. If, for instance, you choose the keywords “roof shingles,” you can write a how-to post with the possible title: How to Repair Your Roof Shingles.
Add compelling visuals
Because we are visual beings and we respond faster to images than text, make sure to add at least one high-quality and relevant image to each of your blog posts. This ensures that people who land on your blog posts are more likely to stick around and read them.
Aside from your post’s featured image, get your point across by including screenshots. This is especially beneficial if you’re trying to explain a technical concept. Also, you’ll be able to increase other online searchers’ chances to discover your content by renaming your images using your targeted keywords.
Create a catchy and benefit-driven headline
Headlines are the first part of your content that gets your readers’ attention. You can write a compelling copy and optimize it for search but with a headline that’s vague; your content doesn’t get anywhere. Write your headlines in a way that readers will immediately know what they’ll be getting.
For example, a blog post entitled “15 Tools to Accelerate Your Productivity” is something that surely sparks excitement in your readers.
Incorporate numbers and power words in your headlines such as how to, essential, free, best, tips, great, accelerate, and successful. If you’re having a difficult time creating interesting titles, use CoSchedule to help you craft strong headlines that you can use for your content.
Repurpose your content
Wouldn’t it be great to breathe new life into an evergreen piece of content published months or years ago? To repurpose your evergreen content is to change its current format into another one. Why is it a good practice to do content repurposing?
Not all your target audiences prefer reading blog posts. Different formats appeal to different folks. Some people prefer listening to podcasts while some like watching video content. It would be a sad thing not to maximize the full potential of your evergreen topic. This helps you get a higher ROI while making the most out of your efforts in creating the post.
You can turn a single blog post into many other formats: A chapter of an e-book, podcast episode, email newsletter, infographic, SlideShare presentation, white paper, and guide.
Final Word
Start creating evergreen content today so you can serve your audience’s needs for years to come. It’s the kind of content that will surely pay off. It saves you time, amplifies your SEO efforts, improves your shares, and brings you traffic. However, do remember that it’s good to have a mix of evergreen and non-evergreen posts. Doing this ensures that your audiences will always stay engaged.