Evergreen content can be a crucial part of your content strategy. Evergreen takes its name from the evergreen trees, the analogy being that evergreen content retains its relevance over time (like your evergreen trees retain their needles). Content that isn’t time-sensitive can continue to drive traffic long after it is published.
What makes Content Evergreen?
Although all online content could, in theory, be sustainable, as blog posts don’t disappear after they’re published, most content quickly becomes stale. Content is often a response to something happening in real-time. As the moment or movement fades, your content begins to feel dated.
Simply put: Evergreen content refers to content topics that do not expire and will always remain relevant to readers, regardless of trending topics or news cycles.
Evergreen content continues to be relevant over a long period. To be successful, evergreen content must be search-optimized so it will continue to be found by your audience. Content that achieves evergreen status is content that is useful and valuable for your audience without being tied to a moment in time. Answering FAQs, explaining common industry phrases or concepts, and offering “how-to” info are great examples of content that retains value.
How to Create your Own Evergreen Content
First, your topics must be relevant to your business, your audience, and prospective customers. If you do some research, you will likely find that many of the primary topics have already been covered. You can still create valuable content around these topics while finding a way to put a unique spin or offer new information.
Search for long-tail keywords that will drive traffic but might have less competition than the main topics within your industry.
What isn’t Evergreen?
Understanding evergreen content means also understanding what isn’t evergreen. News articles aren’t evergreen, they are timely for now and can drive significant traffic, but soon the news cycle will have something new to focus on. Anything heavily relying on statistics will quickly be out of date. Content referencing pop culture or a current trend will rapidly feel stale. Similarly, anything that references current fashion trends will seem as dated as last season’s colours!
Don’t *Solely* Focus on Evergreen
Evergreen content can be a vital part of your marketing strategy, but don’t shy away from topical issues. Your audience wants to hear your opinion on timely topics. Topical and timely pieces are great as part of your short-term marketing strategy. They can drive significant traffic while they remain relevant.
Keep it up to date
Even though evergreen content is characterized by its staying power, it still isn’t a “write and forget” system. You need to revisit your evergreen content regularly to update information. Google has a strong preference for fresh and accurate content.
Ensure your evergreen content is continuing to climb the search engine rankings by regularly updating your posts. Don’t just create a new post! Not only will a new post compete with your existing posts, but you will also lose valuable backlinks. Instead, update and refresh your posts. Keep your content relevant by keeping it accurate.
Key Points in Developing Evergreen Content
- When you set out to create content that will be evergreen, keep a few key points in mind.
- Is the content useful? Can your audience learn something or take immediate action after they read your content?
- Is the content clear? Have you used industry terminology without an explanation? Is the piece well-written? The best content is useless if it can’t be easily read and understood.
- Is the tone appropriate? Even if you are writing as an expert, keep your tone friendly and approachable. People are more open to learning when information is presented in a conversational style.
- Can your content be easily shared? Can your readers share your content on social media? If you have created content that engages your audience, you want it to be effortless for them to share!
Ideas for Creating Evergreen Content
You understand the value and importance of evergreen content, but where do you start? Whether you are working with an agency for content creation or creating your content in-house, some tried, and true formats can provide evergreen content.
Your audience will find any research your company has done both interesting and relevant. If the research is technical, ensure that the content you create is easily accessible, even for a beginner to the topic.
Successful case studies highlighting your product can be impactful long after the study or trial is finished. Customers want to see the results of a product before they commit to trying it.
“How-to” blogs or videos, particularly when they are designed for beginners, are extremely popular. Even if it isn’t directly relevant to your product, you can still drive traffic to your site if it is relevant for the greater industry. You can produce a second series based on how-to for more advanced owners. This ensures that both the new and seasoned pet owners find value in your content.
Posts about the history of a product are always interesting and remain relevant over the long term. Similarly, pet owners are often very interested in the history of the people behind the products. Encourage the company leaders to share their stories.
Evergreen content is crucial in your marketing strategy. The team at StreetDog can help you create long-lasting, valuable, interesting, and relevant content.
