What Is Evergreen Content? (And How to Create It)
Whether you’re new to blogging or a seasoned content writer, you may be wondering what evergreen content is and why it’s important for freelance writers. Well, it doesn’t mean writing about spindly conifers (unless your client happens to be in the tree nursery business!).
Read on to find out everything you need to know about evergreen content – what it is, what the benefits are, and how to create a long-lasting evergreen piece that can be promoted, recycled, and repurposed for many years to come.
What Is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen content is content that’s not only interesting now but stays fresh forever – just like the needle-bearing trees that remain green and vibrant all year round. Evergreen pieces stay relevant, valuable, and useful long after they’ve been published. They contribute to a long-term marketing strategy by building brand credibility and driving a consistent stream of traffic over time.
Evergreen content is different from seasonal content, which is timely and relevant at specific times of the year – think Christmas gift ideas or summer barbecue recipes. It’s also different from trending content, which revolves around a current event, fad, or fashion. Seasonal and trending content are perfect for short-term marketing campaigns when you want to drive a lot of traffic in a short space of time.
Common Types of Evergreen Content
The following formats are the most common types of evergreen content:
- How-to guides
- FAQs
- Listicles
- Case studies
- Resource lists and glossaries
- Everything you need to know about… (insert topic here)
These formats are great for tackling issues that people will always need information on. They’re also easy to update when needed, such as when there are new findings or more recent articles you can hyperlink to.
Types of Content that Aren’t Evergreen
Here are some types of content that are never evergreen:
- News articles, statistics, or reports that go out of date
- Articles about a specific holiday, festival, or season
- Posts on pop culture stories like TV shows, celebrities, or movies
- Time-bound events like sporting championships and political elections
- Fashion, beauty, and lifestyle fads that go out of style
What Are the Benefits of Evergreen Content?
Now that you know what evergreen content is and what it isn’t, let’s look at why you need it in a content marketing strategy, whether that’s for your own website or your client’s. Here are four key benefits of evergreen content.
Drives More Traffic Consistently
Well-written evergreen content will always drive a flow of organic traffic to your website, especially if you optimize it with the right keywords to make it more search-friendly. And, unlike seasonal content, you never have to worry about traffic dropping throughout the year.
Improves SEO Rankings
Evergreen topics are regularly searched for by users, meaning your evergreen content is more likely to rank quickly on Google. This is especially true if you keep updating it for relevance and add internal links to other content on your site. And because of its long lifespan, evergreen content tends to accumulate more backlinks. This signals to Google that your website has authority on a particular topic, again making it more likely to rank well. Think of a backlink as a “vote” or recommendation from another website to your own.
The downside of evergreen content is that lots of the topics will have been covered already, so it’s important to make your evergreen piece as original as possible (which is also good for SEO). Try to find a new angle, add new research, or present the content in a different way.
Can Be Promoted Over and Over Again
One of the biggest perks of evergreen content is that you can repost, repurpose, and re-promote it as often as you like with minimal changes to the original. For example, the key points from a blog post could be reworked into a selection of social media posts. The mileage you get from just one writing session saves you from having to constantly come up with new ideas for content!
Positions You as a Leader in Your Niche
When you share your expertise through relevant and interesting evergreen content, you build a reputation as a thought leader and reliable resource in your field. This can also generate new leads by encouraging visitors to your website who haven’t yet tried your product.
How to Create Evergreen Content
Creating evergreen content is not that different from creating any other piece of long-form content, but there are a few extra things you need to keep in mind.
Choose Your Evergreen Topic
Pick a topic that’s relevant to your business and your audience. You could try answering frequently asked questions or addressing a universal problem for your niche. Ask yourself if people will still be interested in the topic several years from now and remember to avoid seasonal or trending topics that will reduce the lifespan of your content.
Research Your Keywords
Making your evergreen article search-friendly leads to more views, clicks, shares, and conversions. Try building your piece around the short- and long-tail keywords you want to rank on. You could consider using a keyword tool to help you. Remember to include your main keyword in your title and throughout your article (but avoid keyword stuffing!).
Decide On Your Content Format
Picking the right format helps ensure your content resonates in the right way with your audience. If you’re curating a list of yoga poses for beginners, for example, you might want to use a listicle-style format. And if your keyword phrase is “how to make an omelet,” the ideal format would be a how-to guide.
Write Clearly and Concisely
You can keep your content timeless by using clear, concise, plain language that doesn’t go out of style or fashion. Avoid any jargon or industry terms that won’t appeal to beginners (unless your post is a glossary of those terms) and focus on sharing expertise in a way that answers their questions.
Make It Shareable
Make sure you give your users a way to interact with each piece you create. Add things like social share buttons and a comment section to your blog posts. And keep your evergreen content prominent on your website, such as in a content hub, so that it’s highly visible and always accessible to site visitors.
3 Evergreen Content Examples
Let’s take a look at three examples of what’s considered evergreen content and why.
Example 1
The first example is a post from language education company Berlitz: 9 Science-Endorsed Tips that Will Help You Learn a Language, Fast.
This evergreen article has a clear purpose of building credibility by sharing Berlitz’s expertise on learning a language fast – a timeless topic that people will always be interested in.
Following a listicle-type format that describes nine science-endorsed tips in clear and concise language, the article is optimized for SEO and shareability with the carefully placed long-tail keyword “learn a language fast,” internal links to other Berlitz content, and social media buttons.
With external links to science-backed research that can be easily updated, this is an evergreen article that can be posted and reposted for many years to come.
Example 2
The second example, How to Make a Cake from Scratch that Looks Like It’s From a Bakery, is from the home and lifestyle magazine Better Homes & Gardens.
This piece is a classic evergreen example because it follows a how-to format to explain how to make a cake from scratch one step at a time. The cake could be any cake at any time of year, so the topic passes the evergreen test in terms of timeless appeal. The article also includes a video as well as social media buttons at the top of the page. This makes it easy for readers to engage and share.
The article is packed with internal links to other content on the website. The external link to a retailer of electric mixers can easily be updated if the product changes over time. The article finishes with a call to action in the form of links to other articles and a like/dislike button. This encourages reader engagement and interactivity.
Example 3
The third example comes from our own blog: The Ultimate Glossary of Freelance Writing Terms.
Glossaries like this one make for great evergreen articles. They’re an excellent way to showcase expertise while providing a comprehensive and valuable resource for people who need to find a definition quickly.
The Knowadays glossary of writing terms for freelance writers is laid out in a clear, easy-to-scan format with internal links to other articles and external links to reputable resources. These external links may generate backlinks from other sites that reference glossaries, inviting repeat visits from a grateful audience who bookmarked the page.
Not only that, but the writing terms listed are unlikely to become obsolete. And when new terms come along, the article is easy to update and refresh for reposting, thus giving it potential for a long lifespan!
Becoming A Freelance Writer
If you’d like to learn how to write a successful evergreen blog post like the ones we’ve discussed here, our Becoming A Freelance Writer course is perfect for you. You’ll learn how to write the different blog formats covered in this article. And, there’s a whole module dedicated to SEO in content writing. Sign up for your free lessons to get started today!
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