Evergreen content is the holy grail of content.
- Key to getting more backlinks (through its value)
- Key to higher rankings (by better fulfilling user intent)
- And key to high organic traffic (over time).
All reasons why evergreen content should be the ‘backbone’ of every content marketers strategy.
This blog post will discuss:
1. What evergreen content is and why it is important?
2. How to identify evergreen content?
3. How to create evergreen content?
1. What is Evergreen Content and Why it is Important?
‘Timeless’ is the best word to describe evergreen content.
It’s content that revolves around a topic and stays:
- Fresh
- Relevant
- On-Topic
Day after day. Week after week. Year after year. And even decade after decade.
It’s constantly ‘on-trend’ and never goes out of style, regardless of the ‘date’ or ‘season.’
But before diving into some examples of evergreen content, let’s firstly go to the highest level and discuss:
Evergreen Content for Topics (with Examples)
- How to build muscle – Train. Eat. Sleep. Recover. The ‘fundamentals’ of building muscle fast don’t change much, regardless of whether it’s 2021 or 3021. People will always want to gain muscle.
- How to cook rice – Rice is a popular dish in most households and it’s unlikely that in the next 100 years (or our lifetimes) that people will stop eating it and learning how to cook it.
- How to cut your golf handicap – A highly popular sport around the world and will continue to be for many years to come. Enthusiastic golfers will always be looking for tips to improve their handicap.
Takeaway: Evergreen topics are your ‘staple’ content areas that have consistent interest (proven by search volume over time).
Non-Evergreen Content for Topics (with Examples)
Evergreen Content (with Examples)
- 9 scientifically proven ways to grow muscle fast–First published in 2019 and no doubt will still be relevant in 3019. Science is science and these proven ‘muscle building’ methods won’t expire anytime soon.
- How to cook rice on the stove – First published in 2018 and likely to be relevant for decades to come. Stoves are a kitchen staple and families will continue to cook rice on them for years to come.
- 9 ways to lower your golf handicap this year– First published in 2014 but still relevant today and for years to come. Provides quick, simple and effective tips that are ‘timeless.’
Takeaway: Evergreen content does not have a date expiry. It’s relevant today and most likely over the span of our lifetimes.
The Importance of Evergreen Content
Evergreen content stops you from ‘sweating the small stuff’ for content creation.
Like picking a keyword. Another keyword. And then another keyword.
Sound familiar?
Yes, that’s the old-school SEO way of crafting content for users and search engines (as discussed in this blog post).
But evergreen content flips this scenario on its head, because instead you focus on big-picture topics that matter in your market.
And these are not trends (that you can easily identify with Google Trends).
These are not controversial issues (that are in the news today but gone tomorrow).
And they are not one-hit wonders (see a top list here!).
Because evergreen content (and why it’s the holy grail of content) is about a one-time effort that results in:
- Simplification – And when you simplify the ‘content creation’ process you’re likely to achieve better results (through clarity and focus).
- Less overall work – As the content does not need to be updated or changed often in the future (saving serious time).
- Regular organic traffic – Because you’re satisfying user intent now and for many years to come (as your content stays relevant).
And if those reasons are not enough for you to realise the importance of evergreen content, remember Google is constantly changing its algorithm to favour topic-based content.
In fact ‘topics’ are the next evolution of SEO, as reported here by Mimi An.
So if that isn’t big enough reason to switch your content marketing strategy to ‘evergreen’, then nothing will be!
2. How to Identify Evergreen Content
Before we get to the ‘evidence’ behind creating evergreen content, let’s discuss the ‘formulating’ of ideas for evergreen content.
We will use ‘weight loss’ as the example.
Put Your Root Topic into Google (Idea Formulation 1)
Type ‘weight loss’ into Google Search and you’re presented with popular auto-suggestions for the term.
Any of the auto-suggestions may or may not be a great idea for evergreen content.
At this stage just make a note of each topic.
Check Related Searches to Root Topic (Idea Formulation 2)
Again type ‘weight loss’ into Google Search and hit ‘enter.’
Scroll right to the bottom of Google Search results and you will find:
Any of the searches may or may not be a great idea for evergreen content.
At this stage just make a note of each topic.
Write 3 Topics from Your Own Expertise (Idea Formulation 3)
If you have expertise in the market, then why not use it?
Because the topics engrained within your brain right now might prove to be killer evergreen content ideas!
Just list:
1.
2.
3.
On your nearest notepad and write down what you believe are ‘3 big content topics’ that should be addressed in your content marketing strategy.
Now, that we have discussed 3 ‘quick and easy’ evergreen content idea formulation methods, let’s move on to the evidence behind creating evergreen content.
Keyword Research using Google Keyword Planner (Evidence Method 1)
Go to the Google Keyword Planner and enter any of the topics you have noted in the prior steps.
Note: You can enter up to 10 keywords in the Google Keyword Planner at one time to get results.
In this example we have entered 8 keywords.
The first 3 results look like ‘winners’ for evergreen topics on weight loss. All 3 have great search volume.
And most importantly (thinking logically), they are 3 big evergreen topics in the weight loss niche.
- Tips
- Programs
- Motivation
Just make sense as people will be looking for content on this topic now and for many decades to come.
Check Trends using Google Trends (Evidence Method 2)
Now that we have identified our topics have enough search volume, we need to make sure it’s not:
- Seasonal
- On a declining trend.
Google Trends is the best tool for checking this.
With keywords like the ‘Olympics’ and ‘Christmas’ it’s obvious that they are popular during the event but have less interest outside it.
But now let’s take a look at the topic ‘weight loss motivation.’
This is the trend of the topic from 2004 to the present and you can see slight movement in the graph. But the key
is to look at the overall movement of the graph (removing the peaks / troughs) and look for consistent interest.
Weight loss motivation certainly has that.
Check Competition for Topic (Evidence Method 3)
Weight loss is incredibly competitive and we just used it as an example.
Because before proceeding to craft any evergreen content, you should check the competition for the topic. You can do this easily using the MOZ SEO Toolbar when reviewing the results in the first page of Google, or you can use Ahrefs free keyword difficulty checker.
But whatever the results, remember:
- Competition is good (gives you something to beat)
- Bad (there is no point trying to beat something that will take years).
Takeaway: Whatever choice you make based on the competition, remember that great content that fulfills user intent is hard to beat.
3. How to Create Evergreen Content
There is an:
- Art (as we discussed in this blog post that copywriting is 80% art), and
- Science to creating evergreen content.
Let’s start with the science.
Because the science is doing what all great copywriters do and that is:
Research (Comprehensively).
So you are scouring Google for the best results on the topic and all the time you are looking for weaknesses (any at all) that you can improve upon. And that must be your thought process.
Because it’s easy to say ‘wow’ what a great resource, but when you really take the time to analyse it (digging deep), flaws can be found in any resource.
And their ‘hard work’ is your gain because any great copywriter knows It’s not about reinventing the wheel.
Watch Your Language.
And no not that language!
This is the other element of the ‘science’ of creating evergreen content.
Specifically avoid using ‘language’ and ‘angles’ in your copy that will require constant revisions in the future.
For example, it might be you are using examples from the Olympics just gone.
Or maybe you are saying ‘last year.’
Or you are focusing on the latest fashion craze.
Be careful, because although no content is truly evergreen (revisions at some point in future will be required), constant content revisions defeat the purpose of evergreen content!
Now to the Art of Creating Evergreen Content.
Because the art (as we discussed in this blog post) is what gives your content the ‘wow’ factor.
And it comes down to your attitude.
Before even punching away ‘one word’ on your keyboard, you must accept that you will craft only content that is:
- Bigger (ideally long content as proven to be better)
- Better (that fulfills user intent)
- Bolder (with personality!).
Note: When you have that winning attitude (7 simple steps here) you quickly realise that crafting great evergreen content is not a race or a sprint – it’s a whole new ball game.
Because evergreen content is about crafting the highest quality content that quickly builds:
- Trust
- Expertise
- Authority
With the target audience.
And is there any more art than that? Passion helps (tremendously) but patience is key.
Takeaway: When you are patient, you focus ‘one word’ at a time, and this helps you succeed with evergreen content.
Conclusion
Work smarter not harder. Allen F Morgenstern (an industrial engineer) in 1930 first coined this phrase.
And in 2021 it’s still relevant. And in 3021 it will still be relevant.
Evergreen content = the smart way (with a less is more results approach)
Other content = the hard way (that leaves you tired, stressed and worn out).
Because if you want ‘consistent’ traffic to your blog, it’s time to stop sweating the small stuff (keyword after keyword), and think bigger picture (topics that don’t change) to embrace the future of content marketing – evergreen content: the holy grail of content.
Over to You…
Do you agree that Evergreen Content is the Holy Grail of Content? Or is there something missing, or you would like to add?? Would love to hear from you in the comments – any feedback is greatly appreciated.
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