Are you familiar with the concept of evergreen content? If not, then you are missing out on a substantial chunk of organic traffic from Google.
There’s no getting around it, content is an essential component of any SEO strategy. Furthermore, content is one of Google’s top three ranking factors along with backlinks and RankBrain.
When it comes to fueling organic search growth, not all content impacts your overall success to the same degree.
However, evergreen content typically forms the backbone of a successful strategy. In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look into this critical type of content and take a close look at:
- What evergreen posts are
- What evergreen posts aren’t
- Popular formats of evergreen content
- The importance of evergreen posts for SEO
- A scalable gameplan for generating evergreen posts
- Why it is necessary to review and update your evergreen content regularly
- Why evergreen content isn’t enough on its own
What is Evergreen Content?
The hallmark of evergreen content is a constant level of sustained interest. This type of content doesn’t go through seasonable ups and downs in demand.
Whatever the news or the time of year, people will want to consume content surrounding these topics. The information covered in evergreen posts is always fresh for readers who seek to answer a question or learn more.
Here are a few examples of evergreen topics that will most likely never go out of style:
- How to Start a Blog
- Best Savings Accounts
Yes, there are minor increases and decreases in interest in the long-term with evergreen content, but there is no clear evidence that seasonality plays a factor.
On the other hand, here are a few topics that are anything but evergreen:
- Christmas Cake Recipes
- Super Bowl Results
When a topic has an “always-on” interest level, it is most certainly evergreen.
Utilizing evergreen content as part of your overall SEO strategy can become a powerhouse that contributes to your ongoing growth with every piece of content you publish.
What Type of Content is NOT Evergreen?
There is often some confusion regarding what is and what isn’t evergreen content. When planning a content strategy, it is critical to effectively determine the content you need to produce to drive success.
So, let’s hammer this out now so that we don’t get tangled up later on…
Evergreen content is NOT:
- News posts
- Product announcements
- Statistics and trends that go out of date
- Seasonal content (Christmas, Easter, specific events, etc.)
- Content about current trends
If you expect to see a decrease in interest over time for a piece of content, then it is not evergreen.
Think of evergreen content as covering topics that do not expire…where you don’t expect the interest to bottom out any time soon.
Naturally, this does not mean that seasonal content does not deserve a place in your strategy, because it does. However, it serves a different purpose and requires different amplification tactics than an evergreen piece.
Popular Formats
So far, we’ve defined what evergreen content is and what it isn’t, but we haven’t touched on any real examples.
A few of the more common content formats that fall into this sector include:
- How-To Guides
- Tools & Calculators
- LIsticles
- Testimonials
- Top Tips
- Checklists
- Product Reviews
- Research Studies
- Informational Long-Form Guides
- Case Studies
- Pillar Pages
- FAQs
- Videos
- Glossaries
- Interviews
- Buying Guides
It is vital to remember that evergreen content can cover any number of different formats, each of which can serve a specific purpose as part of a more intricate and complex strategy.
You also need to remember that the above list is nothing more than formats. You also need to identify relevant evergreen topics in your industry or niche and determine the most effective format to employ.
Lastly, you always need to ask yourself, “do we expect the interest in this topic to drop off anytime soon?” If the answer is no, then there is a good chance you’re dealing with an evergreen topic that will drive consistent results over the course of time.
The Value of Evergreen Content for SEO
Evergreen content can help you develop a strategy that ranks for competitive keywords on the SERPs and earns you a steady traffic flow. However, it is vital that you remember that it takes time for a piece of content to rank on the SERPs. Sadly, great content on its own is rarely enough to earn a spot on the first page.
In most cases, you’ll need to actively build backlinks to your content and promote it to their audience. This means that it is common for it to take a decent chunk of time to get a piece of content to reach its full potential. Furthermore, evergreen content typically earns more links since you can continue promoting it over a longer period. If you can get your content to rank in the top spots, you will most certainly benefit from it in the long run.
Marketing Insider Group ties a bow on it by providing data on the compounding effects of evergreen content:
In a perfect world, this is how evergreen content’s growth should look and function. While different pieces typically yield different results, this should be what you’re working towards…the point where every article you publish drives traffic, which, in turn, creates leads.
A Scalable Process for Creating Evergreen Content
So far we’ve discussed what evergreen content is and isn’t. We’ve also touched on a handful of formats that work well to create content around evergreen topics. Most recently, we just reviewed its value in terms of SEO. Now it’s time to look at a scalable process that you can employ to drive steady growth.
Whether you’re finding topics and content ideas or promoting your evergreen assets, you can apply this framework to layer one successful piece on top of another to compound your site’s organic growth.
Top Tips for Producing Evergreen Content
When it comes to content writing and producing your piece, you need to understand what a user is hoping to gain from your content.
When it comes to producing evergreen content, you need to make sure you pay attention to and consider the following:
- Internal linking
- Outbound links
- On-page SEO elements (e.g. title tags, meta descriptions, etc.)
- Images and other rich media
- CTAs
You cannot overlook the basics of content creation and on-page optimization. You need to follow these best practices with evergreen content just as you would with any other piece of content.
Promoting Your Content
As we’ve already touched on, once you publish a piece of evergreen content, more work still needs to be done.
One of the primary reasons why so much content fails is because there is a missing piece to the content puzzle…promotion.
You cannot simply hit publish and expect people to find your content, share it, or link to it.
You need a rock-solid promotion strategy.
In an ideal world, your promotion strategy should include different tactics, such as:
- Link building
- Social media promotion
- Email marketing
- Paid amplification
We’re not going to go into specifics here since they are guides in themselves. However, you cannot ignore the value of a solid promotion strategy if you want to drive success from your content. It is a vital part of the digital marketing mix!
Why You Need to Review and Update Your Site’s Evergreen Content
Let’s make one thing painfully clear.
Just because your content is evergreen doesn’t mean you don’t need to update it.
You need to revisit existing pieces of evergreen content to review and update them. Why? Well, even though a topic is evergreen, the specifics of the content will naturally change over time.
Reviewing and updating content should be a task that you complete on a regular basis. This is one of those factors that separates top-performing content from that which never really gains any sort of legitimate traction.
Evergreen Articles On Its Own Isn’t Enough
Evergreen articles are awesome!
However, evergreen content on its own is rarely enough to make a blog thrive.
A successful content strategy should include a healthy balance of different types of content. Relying on a single kind of content is rarely going to deliver the same results as one that employs reactive and relevant topics. By incorporating evergreen content alongside pieces that cover recent industry news and trends, you can develop a winning content strategy that will fuel continued growth.
Closing Thoughts
Evergreen content can help you develop an SEO powerhouse when properly integrated into your overall content strategy.
However, in order for that to happen, you need to identify which content is evergreen to your industry. Next, you need a scalable and repeatable process that you can follow to drive compounding success time and time again.
Find some evergreen content in your niche or industry and get to work answering questions or searches that people are looking for in your market!
