When planning your content, the key is to create content that brings visitors to your website and social media, over and over again. You want content that provides a consistent return on your investment (your time, money and resources). Otherwise, what’s the point?
Content that focuses on popular trends, news or events can grab people’s attention. But it won’t last and you’ll end up in a cycle of forever writing for short term benefits. It’s unsustainable and inefficient.
This is why you need to include evergreen content in your strategy. When you do, you’ll reap the rewards.
- Build your brands reputation and authority in your industry
- Create blogs that are relevant and interesting long after they’re published
- Increase your organic website traffic
- Efficient blogs that can be updated over time to continue seeing results.
Want to know how to incorporate evergreen content in your strategy?
Keep on reading to find out how.
What is Evergreen Content?
No doubt you’ve heard the term evergreen before. You may have heard of it in a marketing context. Or you may only know it from the botany world.
Evergreen content applies the same logic as evergreen trees. Evergreen trees are those that have foliage and remain functional throughout the seasons.
Evergreen topics and content stay relevant and fresh, are forever topical and have no expiry date.
Levels of interest in these topics are consistent amongst readers over time. There will always be people searching for and consuming information on the topic.
The easiest way to understand what evergreen content is to remember:
- Content is not time-sensitive
- Content is original and unique
- Content is relevant and useful
- How to hard boil an egg
- 10 ways to build your retirement savings
- Tips to increase your organic website traffic
Topics that are relevant to specific points in time are non-evergreen. These could relate to seasonal periods or current affairs, announcements, and events.
If the interest in the topic is likely to decline over time or go through peaks, then they are not evergreen topics.
Examples of non-evergreen topics/content:
- News and articles
- Announcements
- Current trend topics
- Seasonal content such as Easter, Christmas, public holidays etc.
Popular Evergreen Content Formats
There are many different blog formats to choose from. But there are some that work better than others for evergreen content.
Research completed by various marketing experts has determined that format really does matter.
They found that the most popular formats for evergreen content are How To Guides and Lists.
So, after deciding the topic and purpose, make sure you take the time to pick a format that best fits.
How to guides
These layouts are popular and are an easy way to educate your audience.
They provide step-by-step instructions on how to do or achieve something.
So many people are searching the internet for tutorial type content so this format can help to increase your organic traffic.
Basic & Detailed Lists
These are often referred to as ‘Listicles’. And, when used in the right context, are a great way to share a lot of tips or ideas on a certain topic.
For basic lists, you list each point or tip as a subheading, with a brief paragraph about each underneath.
Detailed lists are similar to basic lists, but are better suited for more complex topics.
Each point or tip has more detail underneath than in a basic list. You can split the retails and information up using subheadings and formatting.
Case studies and testimonials
Case studies and testimonials tick many boxes. They offer social proof, highlight your products or services and show your expertise.
Use this format to look in-depth at a topic and show how you helped a client or customer to achieve results and success.
Definition
With definition blog formats you explain a concept, in a basic way. They are often introducing a concept or idea, explaining what it is in detail.
When writing blogs in this format, try to write as if talking to someone who knows nothing about the topic. You can provide links to blogs with more specific, detailed content.
FAQs
These blogs are a great way to address common, recurring questions you may get asked. You’re able to answer any questions or alleviate concerns your reader may have.
If you already have an FAQ page on your website, you can get a lot of the information from here.
If you don’t, think about questions potential clients often ask you before purchasing. Or, think about their fears and frustrations and try to address these with Q&A’s.
Comparison
Comparison blogs are, as you’ve probably guessed, where you compare two ‘things’. What you are comparing could be your products or services.
Your reader will be trying to make a choice between the two and your job is to help them.
Explain the similarities and differences between the two options, giving them insight and detail.
Your aim is to help the reader make their decision, giving them enough information and making them feel confident.
Why is Evergreen Content Important?
Writing blogs can be a time-consuming process, albeit a beneficial one. So ensuring your content provides value for your business is important.
There’s a lot of time, effort, and resources that goes into planning and writing blogs. You should be thinking about:
- What topics you should be writing about
- What content you should use such as text, images and videos
- How long your blogs should be
- How often you should be writing and publishing blogs
- How to ensure you’re meeting the basic SEO requirements
- Plus many more
You could answer all the above questions and think you’re succeeding. But, if you forget to plan evergreen content then your efforts are likely to go to waste.
Yes, you can publish blogs that are not evergreen (such as news, announcements, or trends). But these are all relevant to periods in time.
They will be popular in the beginning and website traffic will peak. Then, interest will fade.
Traffic to your website will dry up and you’ll be continually scratching your head for new content ideas.
There are many benefits evergreen content provides for you and your business:
Increase website traffic
It’s well known that Google’s main aim is to provide quality, relevant information in search results.
There is a mind-boggling number of blogs published every day.
That’s a lot of content for Google to trawl through, which is where Google Rankings come into play. And when you have a high Google Ranking, you’ll see more traffic to your website.
One key factor in determining your Google Ranking is high-quality content.
To produce high-quality content, it must be:
- Relevant based on keyword research.
- Unique
- Fresh
With evergreen content, you’re ticking all of these boxes, and in turn, Google will reward you.
Provides value and builds your reputation
Evergreen content is sustainable and relevant, long after the day you publish it.
When readers perceive your content as valuable to them, they will keep coming back. They’ll begin to trust you and see you as the go-to expert on the topics you’re writing about.
You’ll be able to position yourself as the leader and authoritative figure in your industry by:
- Demonstrating your knowledge and expertise
- Sharing educational content that solves a problem
- Providing long-term value for your readers
- Showing you are interested in and committed to your target audience
Generates and supports engagement
Digital content gives allows you to reach and engage with your audience in ways like never before. In fact, there are 77 million new blog comments generated by readers, every month!
Compared with traditional marketing methods, the opportunity to have real conversations is endless. And when your content is shared online, your reach goes even further, presenting more opportunities.
Where applicable, encourage readers to comment on and like/share your blogs. This will show other readers your content is valuable and worth reading.
Then there’s social media. Another (huge) opportunity to engage with your audience, in real-time.
There are currently 4.59 billion daily active social media users (with Facebook dominating). And of those 4.59 billion, on average, they’re spending 2.5 hours on social media every day.
Repurposing your content on social media means you can get double (or triple!) your exposure, reaching a much wider audience.
Further down in this article we go into detail on how you can repurpose your blogs on social media.
Build backlinks to your website
Not sure what a backlink is? A backlink is a link created when one website links to another.
Sometimes they are referred to as ‘incoming links’ or ‘inbound links.
So, why are they important? One very valuable reason is SEO.
They show Google that your website possesses valuable content.
When other websites link to yours, it acts like a ‘vote of confidence’. And the more ‘votes’ you get, the better your ranking will be!
Now, in relation to your evergreen content. Your content is going to be relevant and popular for many years.
This means they can get backlinks long after you’ve published it on your website. This provide amazing opportunity to continue seeing results, time and time again.
Tips for Writing Evergreen Content
Use our tips below to create valuable evergreen content that will achieve results.
Select a topic and purpose
The main thing we can say here is; avoid trendy content.
Don’t play into the hype of a certain event, topic or anything that is trending now.
You can blog about these things, but not for your evergreen content.
Like any content your produce, make sure the topics you write about are:
- Relevant and useful to your target audience
- Something you are knowledgeable and passionate about.
Do your research
Take the time to research keywords and phrases relevant to your industry.
You want to find topics that consistently get traffic and don’t see a decline over time. There are many keyword research tools available to help you research.
Remember, if people aren’t interested in a topic they definitely won’t be searching for it. And if they’re not searching for it, there’s no point in writing about it!
Decide on your purpose
Once you have picked your topic, decide the focus or purpose you want to take. You don’t want to be too broad with your blog and end up overwhelming the reader.
For example; instead of writing a blog titled:
‘Everything you need to know about website design’,
You could write about:
‘Design trends for website landing pages’ or ‘How to ensure your website design is mobile friendly’.
By picking one focus or purpose you provide unique, compelling and valuable content. It also means you can create many different blogs from one topic.
Pick a blog format and create your blog outline
Earlier in the article we mentioned how the format you choose is important. We also noted which formats are best for evergreen content.
Now that you have your topic and focus sorted, pick which format you will use and create a blog outline.
Using a blog outline will help you in so many ways:
- Increased efficiency
- Keeps you organised and focused
- Provides a logical format and structure
- Helps to create an engaging blog
- Makes it easier for your readers to digest
Not sure how to create a blog outline? Have a read of our article ‘How to create a blog post outline in 7 simple steps’.
Avoid time-sensitive information such as dates and events
Using time-sensitive content is a surefire way to reduce the lifespan of your content.
It could be something as small as writing ‘Earlier this year’ or ‘Last month’. Straight away, this has put a time limit on when this content will be relevant.
Another example of time-sensitive content, that is very popular, is content relevant to a year.
For example; ‘Top Website Design Trends in 2021’. or ‘Fashion mistakes of 2020’.
We’re not suggesting you never write these types of blogs, as they definitely have a place in your schedule.
But make sure you edit this once it’s irrelevant (when the new year rolls around!).
We cover how to update your blogs to ensure accuracy in step 7 below.
Promote & Repurpose your blog
Don’t go thinking all you have to do is publish a blog and your job is done.
If only it were that simple! Of course, you can take this approach. But, your results won’t be anywhere near as good as those who have taken the time to promote and repurpose theirs.
Promoting your blog
This is the fun part, as you get to watch the numbers grow. Your website traffic, your blog views, and, even better, the likes, comments, and shares.
You want to ensure the time and effort you put into writing your blog pays off.
It’s no fun if you don’t get the rewards for your hard work!
Setting a strategy, that acts as a checklist, for each blog you post, will help create success.
Some easy ways to promote your blogs include:
- Share your blog on social media
- Guest post on other relevant blogs
- Utilise the number of different networks available to share your blog
- Create internal links throughout your site to guide people to the blog
Repurposing your blog
Your blog is full of interesting and relevant content, so make the most of it!
There are many ways you can repurpose your blog, such as:
- Infographics or facts/’Did You Know’ style graphics on social media
- Email Marketing sends covering the blog topic
- Create a YouTube video
- Turn it into a podcast
- Create lead magnets such as eBooks or checklists
By repurposing your blog you’re able to reach a much wider audience.
You can get your blog in front of people that may consume content in other ways.
Some may take the time to search on search engines.
Whereas others may be more present on social media, listen to podcasts, or would prefer to access it via email.
Keep your blog relevant and fresh
You may have followed all the previous steps and created an amazing evergreen blog. But it doesn’t stop there. It’s almost certain that you’ll need to update your blogs to keep them accurate and up-to-date.
Research has shown that bloggers who update their blog posts are 2.8x more likely to report better results. If you want better results, make sure updating your blogs is part of your strategy.
A simple way to do this is to:
- Check your rankings to see if they are dropping, and if so, whether its because your content has become irrelevant
- Compare your blog with those that are ranking well in Google, as this may offer a hint as to what yours may be missing.
For example, your blog may be about ways to increase your retirement savings.
The topic itself is of course evergreen.
But the specifics may have changed as the years have gone on and your content will end up outdated.
Take the time to review and update your blogs on a regular basis.
This ensures you are always providing the most accurate information and relevant content.
This could be on a monthly or quarterly basis – whatever works for you – as long as you do it.
Your readers (and Google!) will be thankful and, the added bonus?
Updating is like repromoting it and you should see another spike in website traffic.
Final thoughts
Evergreen content can provide everlasting results when incorporated into your content strategy.
Take the time to research evergreen topics and plan content that is relevant to your industry and your target audience.
When used as part of a wider marketing strategy, you’ll be in a better position to achieve results.