What you’re about to read revolves around evergreen content and everything that comes with it.
And no, this isn’t another boring guide.
We’re taking a fresh look at what evergreen content is in a way you haven’t read before.
We’ll share with you evergreen content examples, and on top of that, let you in on how to develop an evergreen content strategy.
Sound like a deal?
Nice!
Let’s start at the top…
What Is Evergreen Content?
The name says it all, doesn’t it?
You guessed it right…
In layman’s terms, evergreen content continues to remain “fresh” long after being published.
We’re talking about content that continues to attract traffic over a long period. It is the type of content that stays relevant years after you hit the publish button.
Is that even possible?
Yes, it is. But, creating content that can withstand the test of time requires some skills and knowledge.
Still, it isn’t hard to generate content that your target audience will fall in love with time and time again – which brings us to the next question. For instance, if you would like to let your audience learn how to discover whether a Debt Settlement Company is legit, you need to have a great content strategy
.
Why Should I Create Evergreen Content?
According to the WordPress stats, a staggering 2.75 million posts go live on the platform every day. Now, that’s a lot of content. Of course, a good chunk of these posts will not make it to the first page of Google.
What does this tell you?
It implies that you must churn out high-quality content to stand a chance of ranking in SERPs. Sure, there are over two hundred ranking factors but informative, five-star, optimized content is essential.
By extension, this means that your posts have to remain relevant to withstand completion and draw in readers for more than a couple of months. But wait, people are publishing content every second, will my content qualify as “evergreen?”
Glad you asked.
Here are some examples…
Evergreen Content Ideas That Work
Posts That Answer Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – that’s what these are. People will always have questions to ask about a particular topic or subject. Customers want to know how a specific product works before they can commit their money.
By creating content that answers common questions in your industry, you’re giving your audience a reason to keep reading down the post and, most notably, come back again in case they want more insights.
A good example is this post by Instructables on How to Choose a Pressure Cooker.
The write-up continues to draw readers’ attention five years after it was published (at the time of writing this).
The best part? It ranks highly in SERPs for a competitive keyword with over 5,000 searches per month.
Statistical Long-Form Posts
Statistics are important. People want to use numbers to make an accurate and intelligent conclusion.
That’s the reason you watch the weather forecast consistently for a couple of days before heading out for a long road trip.
When you create a statistical post, you’re helping your target audience understand a subject more profoundly.
Here’s an example of a long-form statistical piece by Optinmonster with evidence-backed info and a sizable number of shares.
Case Studies
A whopping 78 percent of companies have a team of one to three content experts, according to SEMrush.
That caught your attention, right?
Indeed, case studies are an excellent way to generate evergreen content. The best idea is to write long-form reviews showcasing a product or service.
Case studies remain relevant over time because people are eager to know how a company X is doing something or what it is like to use product Y.
Here’s an example of a post based on an SEO case study by ftf.agency.
This piece keeps people talking long after it was published based on the sheer number of shares and comments. It is a long-form post, with in-depth information on what SEO tactics the writer used to increase traffic.
Infographics
Infographics are incredibly powerful and an excellent way to create evergreen content.
They allow you to arrange massive amounts of information in an attractive format, a reader can skim through quickly.
Check out this infographic by SmartInsights to have an idea of what we’re talking about.
You need to know a few things before creating an infographic that people care to look over and over again.
You have to do in-depth research
The findings have to be accurate
The examples must be accurate
The infographic has to be reasonably long – remember the idea is to allow quick skimming.
Step-By-Step Guides
These are what we call “how-to articles.” An example is “Respond to an Advanced Call Center Technologies’ debt lawsuit” article that provides a well-analyzed and system guidelines on how to respond to a debt lawsuit in the US.
As the name suggests, this is a post that takes a reader through a detailed process on how to do something. Here’s another example of a guide on how to create optimized content by Search Engine Journal.
Step by step guides are not only great for SEO but also ideal for creating evergreen content because people want to learn something new once in a while.
Here’s another guide on how to make a website.
The article has over 13K shares on Facebook alone. Now that’s quite something, no matter how you look at it. One thing you’ll notice from these two posts is that they address a specific need.
Beginners who are having a hard time trying to create optimized content for their websites will benefit from the first write-up. The second piece will come in handy for anyone who hasn’t built a website before.
The long and short of it is that for a step by step guide to remain evergreen, it must appeal to a targeted audience.
Pro Tip – How-to guides are not for beginners only. You can create guides for every level of skill and knowledge as long as you remain specific.
Other types of evergreen content include:
Books
Revealing tools to do A, B, C – for example, 20 SEO tools every marketer should know
Posts that warn readers not to make particular mistakes
Glossary readers can use continuously
Interviews with an expert
Benefits Of Creating Evergreen Content
Evergreen will work for you, your brand, and by extension, your business.
Consistently Attract New Traffic To Your Website
Evergreen content will keep working for you and your goals as long as it is accurate, well researched, and relevant to your target audience.
The thing is…
If your post stands out, it will attract loads of comments, social shares, and a host of natural inbound links. When a new visitor sees these signals, he/she will want to hang around and read…the cycle goes on, reader after reader.
The ripple effect is that your content ranks high in SERPs, a factor that helps establish authority and create awareness around your brand. While there’s no denying that evergreen content attracts traffic consistently, the number of visitors primarily depends on:
The amount and quality of links referring to your pages
Search volume for the targeted keywords
Your page’s ability to draw new traffic through social sharing.
Grow Your Backlink Profile
Website owners want to link their sites to other websites with helpful, up to date information.
Fact is… Evergreen content is timeless. In essence, this means it as a source of regular reference, and people will keep linking to it.
And the beauty of it is that you won’t have to do much to earn the backlinks.
How is this helpful? For one, backlinks are a crucial ranking element. According to Alexa, backlinks are thought to be the second most important ranking factor after content.
Secondly, getting high-quality links isn’t the simplest of things. It takes a lot of effort and time to convince authority sites that your content is linking back to. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that evergreen posts can help you attract backlinks naturally? It sure is.
Drive Customers To Your Sales Funnel
Picture this…
You’ve landed on a post that has over 200 comments, and was published some 5 years ago. Even more exciting, the latest feedback is only a few days old. Wouldn’t that generate enough curiosity to motivate you to read the entire article to find the buzz?
Let’s say the write-up is a step by step guide on how to play the guitar with an opt-in form at the bottom. If the feedback is positive, there’s a very high chance you’re going to sign up for the offer the post is trying to sell you.
That’s the power of evergreen content! It can help drive prospects down your sales funnel with a high probability of conversion.
Propel Your Authority In The Industry
You must know something about a topic to garner lots of traffic and social shares.
Anyone who comes across your content will see you as an industry insider worth paying attention to.
That way, you can create influence within your niche and get people to follow your advice. As a thought leader, you will build trust and credibility – and that’s good for business.
The next question then becomes…
How Do You Keep Your Content Evergreen?
Generating posts is one thing. Keeping them evergreen, however, is entirely different.
Here’s how to make sure your content remains timeless over the years.
Answer Questions Your Target Audience Is Asking
Remember when we talked about FAQs?
One of the best strategies to help you stay on top of things when it comes to producing evergreen content is to answer questions your prospects ask.
The trick here is to go beyond the obvious.
Remember, questions within your niche keep changing, so you should stay current with the questions and answers. AnswerthePublic is an excellent tool to help you get started with the queries.
You can also get insights into what people are asking by typing into the Google search box.
Or take a sneak peek into forums and discussion boards. There’s a nifty tool called Question Analyzer by BuzzSumo that you can use to search multiple discussion boards at a go.
Other ways to find questions your audience wants to be answered include:
Research what people are asking one another on platforms such as Ask Me Anything.
Contacting your customers via direct messaging
Check what people are asking on social media platforms such as Twitter
Monitor questions and discussion on Quora
Keep Up With Repetitive Trends In Your Niche
Recurring events in your industry offer great inspiration for evergreen content ideas.
If there’s a conference that happens every year, you can keep your readers informed on what to expect and what it means to attend or watch the session.
Again, as a rule of thumb, make sure that you’re targeting a specific audience.
For such posts, the best way to attract traffic is to promote them through social media platforms where your readers hang out the most.
Look Around
Sometimes, the best way to come up with evergreen content ideas is to copy what others are doing. However, this is not the “why reinvent the wheel kind of thing.” The idea is to beat your competitor at their own game.
Check to see what the other brand is doing and take that to another level. You can do it by creating a longer, more in-depth post, for instance.
Make sure that whatever you’re writing about qualifies as evergreen content, as described above. Otherwise, you risk wasting your time writing posts that will not give you the results you want.
You can use BuzzSummo’s evergreen score to help you determine which subject is worth your time. Go for the content with the most engagement on platforms such as Reddit, Pinterest, or Twitter. Look at the number of links the write-up has as well. Oh, and don’t forget to check when the post was published.
Write For Beginners
People are not going to scroll down your website if the content is hard to read and understand. Sure, you may be an expert in your field. But, your readers may not understand the industry jargon, so keep it simple.
The idea is to make sure that a reader doesn’t have to have a hard time figuring out what you’re saying. Put differently, keep off overly technical verbose.
Repurpose Your Evergreen Content
Repurposing your evergreen posts is a brilliant way to make the most out of your content. So, consider re-spinning it and using it differently.
Think of it as a way to boost your post’s reach and authority on a specific subject. Besides, it takes less time to generate such content. And so you may know, about 60 percent of marketers confess to reusing their content up to 5 times according to PathFactory.
Can You Rely On Evergreen Content Alone To Rank In SERPs?
There’s no denying that you can use evergreen content to dominate SERPs for a targeted keyword. But let’s face it…
Not every post will pass as evergreen. Besides, you will have to develop a solid content marketing strategy and research to ensure that every piece of content you produce is evergreen.
Therefore, you must write short posts that focus on current information that is likely to fade away a few months down the line. Timely content works well when you want to attract quick traffic and generate leads within a short period after posting.
It is essential to mention that you have to promote your evergreen content if you’re going to achieve the results you’re hoping for. Go out there, share your posts on social media, build links, and make sure that you showcase your evergreen posts on your website.
And before we forget….
Your content isn’t going to remain evergreen if you don’t update it. Every once in a while, add relevant information to your post or rewrite parts of it. Besides, updating content tells Google that your post is fresh and deserves to continue ranking on top or as close to the top as possible.
The Bottom Line
There will always be a place for evergreen content irrespective of your niche or industry.
The trick is determining which keywords to focus on and the strategy to use to promote your posts.
Combine your efforts with a robust SEO campaign, and it’ll be only a matter of time before your brand starts to command respect, drive sales, and attract tons of traffic over for months upon months.