Evergreen Content for SEO

Evergreen content is always updated and always relevant; it is content that you write once and it keeps ranking for years. Like an evergreen tree that stays that way all year round, evergreen content never becomes tired or dated.

The benefit of this type of content is that it constantly brings in traffic and compounds in value. It is relevant and interesting content that has long term value to your site. Evergreen content doesn't expire or go out of date - it is sustainable and lasting.

What Evergreen Content isn't?

Almost all types of content can be evergreen if they are kept relevant and up-to date. The opposite of evergreen content is a post that can quickly become out-of-date or irrelevant.

Because of the nature of their content, the following types of articles cannot be evergreen.

• News and current affairs (quickly out of date)
• Articles that contain data that may change
• Holiday specific content (e.g. Halloween)
• Trending or pop culture items
• Fashion and clothing trend

As you probably noticed, all of the categories above have expiration dates and will probably fail to keep their value over the long term.

Couple amazing content with timelessness, and you start to see the value of evergreen.

Evergreen topics have long lasting value, so if you're looking at a trend, it should be pretty consistent throughout the year. Take Brexit, for example: that was relevant for a while but is now yesterday's news and the interest in it is declining. The Oscars are cyclical - they're of interest for a few weeks a year and then no-one cares as much.

Formats for Evergreen Content

The following post structures work well with evergreen writing and you may want to consider them when generating lasting content:

• Lists (e.g. 10 Things To Do In Copenhagen)
• Top Tips (e.g. Top Tips for Winnning at Bridge)
• Instructional “How To” Tutorials (e.g. How to Replace the Glass in your Shower Cubicle)
• Encyclopedia-esque Entries (e.g Rewriting a Wikipedia article)
• Product Reviews (e.g. Iphone 15)
• Videos (remember that it needs to be timeless)

Sustained Growth rather than Short Bursts

With evergreen content, you produce a piece of content once that provides use for years to come. And, unlike a timely blog post that has a traffic spike that occurs right after publishing, evergreen traffic grows and continues to increase over time.

Evergreen Content Benefits SEO

As any good Freelance SEO will tell you, evergreen content creation starts with keyword research. When you use keyword research and optimize evergreen content pages for SEO, you can improve your website’s search rankings. This boosts your online authority and drives more and more traffic to your website.

As you come up with evergreen content ideas, consider your topic, industry, and business. Brainstorm the type of content that will build a foundation of information your target audience will seek. Make a list of evergreen topics, and then do research to pick the best ideas.

When your research is complete, start writing. Focus on the keywords that you've selected and choose examples and references that will not date.

As you're building up lots of relevant and timeless content, the SEO value of your pages increases.

Also, remember that links (both external and internal links) within long-form, evergreen content are also more valuable than links in short, news-based posts so this also provides SEO benefits.

Evergreen Content Boosts Social Media Traffic

While publishing evergreen web content is a great way to boost search engine traffic, it’s also a powerful tool for increasing traffic from social media referrals.

When you create an epic, evergreen piece of content, other bloggers and websites will be more likely to link to it or share it. Reach out to other websites and let them know about your post, and use the post as a resource in your guest posts.

Final Words

The crux of evergreen content is that it’s timeless: useful and interesting for months and years to come. It’s the difference between an article about how to wallpaper a room and an article about the top 10 wallpaper trends this winter.

So if you make one change to your content strategy over the next few months, make sure you add evergreen content into the marketing mix. When your website has evergreen content that’s well-optimized for search engines, it ranks higher in search results. What’s more, because evergreen content stays relevant, it keeps bringing in traffic well into the future, creating a continuous visitor stream that benefits your brand.