If you are involved in SEO, content marketing or any type of online marketing, you may have heard the phrase “Evergreen Content” and it is recommended that your website needs it. So, what is Evergreen Content and why are evergreen articles good for SEO?
Today, we will learn the basics of evergreen articles, how to write a piece of evergreen content, and why incorporating daily posts into your content strategy is essential for marketing content.
What is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen Content is the content that keeps the green constantly lasting and remains as “new” for readers.
So why is it called “Evergreen”?
The term “evergreen” sounds familiar even as the evergreen trees (usually pine or fir) which are often used to decorate the home at Christmas. Evergreen trees are a symbol of eternal life because they keep their leaves throughout the season until the deciduous. Like trees, evergreen content is considered sustainable and lasting.
Perhaps you are thinking, “Hey, wait a minute. All online content is sustainable; articles and blog posts never disappear.” When we talk about a piece of “evergreen” content, it means that evergreen content is content that continues to be alive and valuable to the present and the future, so traffic will accumulate and increase over time as the number of evergreen posts increase steadily.
To clarify what types of documents are considered “evergreen”, how to identify which types of content are not Evergreen.
Non-Evergreen content:
- News reports
- The statistics or reporting are likely to change and become outdated
- Information about a particular holiday or season
- Articles focusing on current trends or fads
- Latest fashion trends and clothes
Evergreen content (almost) has no expiration date and will ideally retain its value in the long run. Anything written about this year’s presidential election, for example, is not evergreen content because it will become obsolete six months from now and many of the keywords associated with that topic will end in the Google graveyard. It will never be searched again.
Common Evergreen Content
Here are some common evergreen formats that you might consider in creating lasting content.
- Top tips
- Instruct “How to do” something
- Encyclopedia
- Product reviews
- Illustrative videos
Writing in these formats does not automatically make your work greener, but these structures tend to work well with evergreen writing. Videos are especially effective when you need to illustrate how to do something, such as how to make a cupcake or how to make a delicious cake. If you can’t make a video, consider using a series of images (images or illustrations, charts, etc.) to your advantage.
Evergreen article writing ideas
Some topics have never been out of fashion! Here are some old evergreen writing ideas for the earth:
- Love and Romance
- Food
- Finance or Saving money
- Raise up child
- Weight loss
- Employment and careers
- Take care of the pet
Of course, it is important that you address evergreen topics that are relevant to your business. If you sell office supplies, related evergreen topics may include “how to keep your desk tidy” or “Printer and projector usage”. If you are looking to generate leads for plants that work best in your climate, this will act as an evergreen article.
The problem with creating evergreen ideas is often to feel as if the best topics have been covered a lot, maybe even too much. In this case, the key would be to add a unique perspective to a popular topic, or go deeper and provide more details. Find long tail keywords that have high volume but do not compete. If you have a specific niche market, you may find that there is less content on the web about your topic, making your evergreens even more valuable.
Example of Evergreen content
Here are some specific examples of what will be considered evergreen posts.
- How to build a house for dogs – clear, concise instructions with attractive images make great evergreen pieces.
- 10 ways to enjoy bacon – Can you imagine a future in which people do not like bacon? I certainly cannot.
- Top advice to soothe crying babies – There is always a reborn population with new parents, and those who look after screaming babies may be desperate for advice. A quick “best advice” will hold its value for years and new parents can share their friends.
These are considered to be evergreen content because the topics will continue to be relevant in the near future.
Example of Evergreen Website
These sites are evergreen content producers:
- about.com
- wikipedia.com
- answers.com
- seothetop.com
These websites publish evergreen articles on a variety of topics. Wikipedia, for example, ranks on the first page for nearly half of all Google searches! It is great to visit these websites not only to see good examples of evergreen content, but also to investigate how some of these sites are flawed and what you can write to improve them.
Evergreen SEO: Combine sustainable content with popular keywords
Evergreen content is an important part of content marketing strategy for the web, but it becomes more powerful when combined with SEO techniques. Consider creating your evergreen content around the keywords you want your site to rank for. Even the longest lasting evergreen pieces are not worth much if people are not looking for that topic or if it is irrelevant to your business, so you need to do keyword research.
Be sure to follow basic SEO techniques like keyword optimization on the page (but do not stuff the keywords!), Use the alt text of your images, and include social sharing buttons. The more search engine-friendly evergreen posts the more you can see, share and link, drive monthly or even more years ahead traffic.
The secret to writing Evergreen content
- Do not write to the experts – Sometimes you may feel compelled to write a paragraph showing your expertise on a certain topic, but this can be a big mistake. Experts are less likely to seek help – your audience is mostly beginners and you want to create content aimed at them.
- Avoid overly technical languages- Because most of your content is for beginners, complex technical languagescan scare them, so stick with simpler words.
- Narrow your topic – If you write about a topic that is too broad, your section will be much longer and more likely to lose the interest of beginner readers. Broad topics tend to be shorter keywords or early terms, which are more competitive. Writing a wider piece is also more difficult for writers. Simple, specific topics in football such as: “How to throw in the right technique” compared to the “Guide on outside kick technique” are more attractive.
- Link posts together- If you are following a comprehensive guide on topics like “Car Care Instructions,” divide that broad topic into narrow sections, such as “When to change the oil brake ” and “ How to change a Tire ”and then link those articles together. This is great for SEO, and allows readers to address a specific need while also directing them to additional relevant articles. Learn more: Instructions on how to SEO by topic cluster
Reuse your best content – When you create great content, find ways to reuse other formats. Here are some great ideas to reuse the content.
Do not rely entirely on writing Evergreen
Evergreen content is valuable, but it is not to say that all your content needs to be green, the subject areas are also valuable.
Earlier, we discussed the 2012 presidential election that it was ineligible for evergreen writing because this information would soon be obsolete. The advantage of writing about the president in 2012, is not evergreen, but it is now being sought and discussed a lot. Writing about an event like the 2012 presidential election may drive a lot of traffic to your website over the next few months, but then it will be virtually worthless. The same applies to an article that uses recent and much researched statistics. Things like this are still valuable and important, but they will not last forever.
A value of evergreen is that it has the potential to continue bringing traffic to your website for months, or even years in the future if it is true evergreen content. The best content marketing strategy is based on a combination of both topical and permanent posts.
Explore more:
- https://www.copyblogger.com/evergreen-content/
- https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2018/06/evergreen-content-formats/
- https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/2017-10-04-the-beginners-guide-to-evergreen-content
Source: Megan Marrs / wordstream.com