Think about the last time you needed a definition. The webpage you came across while searching for the definition is an example of evergreen content. Evergreen content takes its name from plants that retain their green leaves year-round. Like the plant, evergreen content stays relevant 24/7/365. It doesn’t turn brown or wither with time. It is content your readers will find useful today, tomorrow, and five years from now.
Evergreen content is as useful for your company as it is for your readers. Since it doesn’t become dated or irrelevant, it retains its return on investment (ROI) potential for your brand. You only have to invest resources into creating it once (plus a few touch ups), yet it will continue giving you ROI for years to come. Honing your evergreen content skills can help your brand become a go-to source of information in your niche, ultimately boosting business.
What Does Evergreen Content Look Like?
Evergreen content is the cornerstone of your website. It is the webpage that describes the very basics of what you do or sell. It is the article that defines basic terms in your industry, answers frequently asked questions, or provides tips that won’t expire. It is content your readers could use years from now to answer their questions, without you having to rewrite the article. Common examples of evergreen content include:
- Original research and white papers
- Statistic collections
- FAQ pages
- “How to” articles or videos
- Advice columns
- Common concepts in your industry
- Testimonials
- Product reviews
- Resource lists
- History of a topic or product
While most concepts in the search engine optimization (SEO) world focus on what is happening now, evergreen content stays relevant no matter how much time passes. Your brand can achieve the same SEO benefits without having to constantly crank out new content or spend time on updates. Evergreen content has the power to produce lasting positive outcomes for your business, with minimal effort.
Why Is Evergreen Content Still Important?
It may sound redundant, but the very concept of evergreen content is evergreen. As long as there are businesses and buyers, the need for solid basic content will exist. Readers will always search for tips, tricks, definitions, and general information on your industry. This means you will always have the opportunity to have your evergreen content seen by your target audience…if you know how to make SEO work in your favor.
Recommended for You
Webcast, March 7th: NXT Stage Playbook: Finding the Winning Formula for Your Growing Brand
Evergreen content can work wonders for your website’s SEO and page ranking. It can provide a wealth of opportunity to achieve keyword densities, add images and infographics, and get user engagement stats to boost SEO. Making evergreen content work for your SEO strategy takes ensuring the piece you’re writing is actually evergreen and equipping it with all the right tools and features for positive page ranking.
How to Write Evergreen Content
Content is only evergreen if it withstands the test of time. If six months from now, your content will not add value to a reader because it contains dated information, the content is not evergreen. This doesn’t diminish the content’s usefulness for your company, per se; it simply means the content cannot be part of your evergreen strategy. Evergreen content must also achieve SEO results. Otherwise, it won’t be helpful for your brand. Follow these tips for crafting evergreen content that fulfills all the requirements:
- Stay away from the news. Evergreen content generally is not news-related. Instead, they are in-depth pieces that dive into your industry, providing universally enduring information that will stay relevant for months or years down the road.
- Don’t use clickbait or keyword stuffing. Evergreen content should be of the highest quality and relevance to your target audience. Do not use clickbait headlines or stuff your content with keywords. This will hurt your SEO rating, not help it.
- Make quality a priority. Evergreen content should be some of the highest quality writing on your website. It should be poignant, information-filled, factual, and have links to reputable sources. Evergreen content may take you longer to write, but it is worth the effort.
- Make it SEO friendly. Use SEO best practices for evergreen content such as adding title tags, backlinks, and image texts that include your keywords. Make your content easily readable, with plenty of white space, bullets, and subheadings.
- Check your efforts. If you aren’t sure whether your evergreen content is doing your website any favors, check your website’s SEO to see how your articles are holding up. Use the results to tweak your content or other website features for better page rank.
Evergreen content can establish you as a thought leader, get click-throughs, and encourage reader engagement long after it’s published. It can drive immediate spikes in traffic to your website, as well as bolster your long-term authority on the subject. Evergreen content can be an invaluable type of digital marketing for your brand.
Pruning Your Evergreen Content
Even evergreen content can benefit from a little maintenance now and then. Although evergreen content should never need a total overhaul or rewrite, it may better serve your purposes with a few touch ups as the weeks and months go by. One of the perks of content that’s evergreen is you can tweak it just a little, post it again months or years after the original post, and get renewed views and interactions. When the time has come, check your evergreen posts and update the following:
- Links. Check all your links to make sure they are still connected to active pages. If you get a 404 Error Not Found message, or if your link is to a post that’s more than a few years old, update the link to something newer.
- Keywords. Although your main keyword topic should be evergreen, you can sprinkle in a few new keywords to your existing piece to improve SEO ranking.
- Product specs. If your FAQ or product review pages reference an item you no longer sell, update the model to something you do sell, if possible. If you frequently change your inventory, product-related posts may not be evergreen.
- Statistics. Go back and refresh the statistics in your evergreen post, updating them to the most recent year data is available. This will keep your content fresh and relevant, without needing to rewrite the entire article.
Evergreen content is a gift that keeps on giving. Knowing what counts as evergreen content in your industry, how to write it, and how to update existing evergreen content on your site can keep your brand relevant for years to come. Even if you don’t think you have a green thumb, use the tips in this article to give evergreen content a try. The returns can be immense if you do it correctly.