How To Write Evergreen Content: Your Guide To Keeping Content Relevant
Relevant, engaging content.
You strive for it on your blog or website, but trending posts get old eventually.
How do you keep content from becoming stale like the piece of bread you forgot in the toaster this morning?
Don’t worry. There’s a solution.
This guide will share all you need to know about evergreen content and how to implement it so your content always stays fresh and rank-worthy.
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Contents
What Is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen content follows good SEO practices and stays relevant to readers.
But what does evergreen mean?
An evergreen tree (such as a pine or fir tree) keeps its leaves all year round, even in winter when other trees are shedding their leaves.
Like the evergreen tree, evergreen content always keeps its appeal.
Evergreen vs. Non-Evergreen Content
Now you know that evergreen content stays “fresh.”
What about non-evergreen content?
A non-evergreen article might be popular for a short time. But the appeal eventually fades, and that piece of content can end up irrelevant and even forgotten about.
Who wants to spend a lot of time and effort creating content that no one will want to read and won’t help your business?
Let’s dive a bit deeper into the difference between the two types of content.
Examples of Evergreen Post Topics
There are some different formats in which you can write evergreen content.
Some options are:
- How-to / tutorials. Say you created content on how to rewire an outlet…the process for that isn’t going to change in a year. That tutorial will always be relevant to the correct audience.
- Top tips. Maybe you have 5 tips to organize the trunk of a car, for example. Car models change, but chances are those 5 organizational tips will still work with newer models.
- Product reviews. Imagine you write reviews for kitchen appliances. Kitchen items get used regularly year in and year out.
- Videos or a series of photos. These are great additions to content if you need to show how to do something, such as throwing a football in a spiral motion.
Does writing content in one of these formats automatically make your content evergreen?
No.
But these structures work well with evergreen topics.
Examples of Non-Evergreen Post Topics
There is a variety of non-evergreen content, including:
- News articles. These are current events that will eventually be replaced with more current news. Many times within 24 hours.
- Statistics and other numerical reports. Stats tend to go out of date eventually. As things change, the numbers change with it.
- Content surrounding a holiday or specific season. An article about Christmas decorations, for example, would not be relevant year-round.
Current trends. Talking about this year’s winners of the Oscars probably won’t stay fresh very long.
Why Is Evergreen Content Important to SEO?
Evergreen content is essential for multiple reasons. Here are a few:
Ranking on Google
If you combine evergreen content with good SEO practices, your content could rank on Google indefinitely.
But keep in mind…
Evergreen content does require keyword research beforehand to ensure the topics you write about are even being searched for.
Ongoing Site Traffic
If your website is rich with evergreen content, you have a better chance of getting consistent traffic to your site.
For example:
Jill’s website is mainly about baking.
She creates content around the keyword “green desserts” and gives a list of ideas with pictures and links to her recipes for each dessert.
Why is this content evergreen?
Someone might search for “green desserts”:
- In March for St. Patrick’s Day
- In December for Christmas
- Any other time of the year for a green-themed party or event
By making the content relevant to all the above categories, Jill can get traffic to her site on a regular basis.
Getting Backlinks To Your Site
If other sites see your content as authoritative and evergreen, they can refer to your domain in their content using a backlink.
The more backlinks you have (from reputable sites), the higher your rank potential on search engines.
How To Write Evergreen Content
There are several factors to consider when writing content that will stay fresh and continue to rank.
Here are 6 things you can do to write killer evergreen content:
1: Aim For Beginners
If there is a skill or concept you don’t know anything about, you’re a beginner.
It’s natural for a piece of content to become evergreen if you fill it with tips and valuable information catered to a novice.
Think about it…
There will always be someone who needs to know how to:
- Organize their closet
- Sleep-train their baby
- Stick to a budget
- Etc.
2: Keyword Research
Keyword research is going to give you the foundation of topics you should write about. When deciding if a keyword is worth it, look at:
- High keyword volume. How often are people searching for it in a month
- Medium to low difficulty. If a keyword is at 85% for difficulty, for example, it might not be worth it to try to rank for it.
Does keyword research sound daunting?
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3: Be Specific With Your Topics
You don’t have to write about general things in hopes of reaching a larger audience.
In fact, that’s the opposite of what you should do for evergreen content.
Consider this:
You search for “how to have energy.” You probably won’t be satisfied with a general article literally titled “How To Have Energy.”
Instead, you can find more value in articles like “7 Ways To Have Energy After A Workout” or “5 Ways To Have Energy After A Night Of Insomnia.”
The more specific you are in the title and body content, the greener your content gets.
4: Show Your Authority
You might be an expert on certain topics, but you probably don’t know everything.
This is where good research comes in.
Study your topic. Read what others are saying about it. Gather new information.
Then, compile it all in a way that will be most valuable to your readers. If your audience expects you to know your stuff, be sure your research is thorough.
5: Use An Easy-To-Follow Format
As previously mentioned, there are certain formats that work better than others for evergreen content, such as:
- Top lists
- Tips people can use to achieve something
- How-to’s and tutorials
- Product and service reviews
6: Make It Actionable
People love to learn a new skill or new information.
When your content allows them to take action or make a change, it becomes highly valuable and engaging for them.
When writing your evergreen content, strive to ensure that your readers have some sort of take-away. Take these blog post titles, for example:
- What I Wish I Had Known Before Attending College
- 7 Mistakes You Might Be Making When Planning Your Monthly Budget
- How To Keep Your Plants’ Leaves From Turning Brown
When readers can see that your content has a solution to their problem, they are more willing to stay and read longer on your site.
Then, if your content is successful, the reader will go take action.
How To Maintain Evergreen Content: Update Regularly
Creating evergreen content is essential for good SEO —but it doesn’t stop there.
After creating an evergreen piece of content, you’ll need to update it regularly to keep it the most relevant in the eyes of Google and your readers.
Think of this way:
You type something into Google. One of the results was written in 2015 and never updated.
Another page was also originally written in 2015, but the writer has made regular yearly updates to it. The date will reflect the most recent update, making that particular article from the current year and, therefore, seem more relevant than the one from 2015.
How To Update Old Blog Posts On WordPress To Maintain Evergreen Content
WordPress powers 36.1% of all websites. If you plan to or are already using WordPress for your site, here are the steps to update a blog post:
Step 1: Choose Which Blog Post To Update
First, go to Posts on the left-hand side of your WordPress dashboard screen.
From there, click on the title of the post you want to edit.
Step 2: Edit Blog Post
In the WordPress Editor or your page-building plugin (if you are using one), make any changes you want to the text and/or images that you want.
Step 3: Update Blog Post
For a blog post that has already been published, there will be an Update button where the Publish button was previously.
Once you’ve finished making all the changes you want to the blog post, click the Update button. The post will then reflect the date it was last updated.
5 SEO Evergreen Writing Ideas
Need a few ideas to get you started on writing evergreen content?
Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.
Here are 5 topics that work well for evergreen content:
1. Organization
There are multiple ways you can narrow down the topic of “organization” to your niche and find a keyword that’s worth creating evergreen content around.
Maybe your niche is related to babies. You could create content around the keyword “how to organize baby clothes” or “toy room organization.”
2. Historical Posts
Has something in your niche changed a lot over the years? You could write an evergreen post about the evolution of those changes and how it affects your readers.
For example…
Ben reviews different tech products, especially cameras. He could do a full piece of content on what cameras were like 20 years ago compared to today’s models.
3. How To Evergreen Posts
Switch the verbiage of a topic to make it into a “How To” statement, like this:
- Perhaps your niche is gardening or agriculture. You may write something like, “How To Garden In Small Spaces.”
- Or maybe your website is about finance. Your evergreen content might be titled, “How To Maximize Your Savings Without Sacrificing Your Budget.”
4. Top Tips
A few examples of top tips in evergreen content are:
- 10 Top Tips For Pinterest-Worthy Photos
- 8 Simple Tips To Make You Stand Out on LinkedIn
- The Best Advice For Nailing Your Interview Every Time
5. Answers To Industry FAQs
Answering FAQs can show your knowledge and authority on a subject. And it also makes for solid evergreen content.
A blog post about answers to FAQs might be titled:
- Why Your Toddler Keeps Throwing Tantrums
- Understanding Your Electricity Bill: The Cost Breakdown
- The Importance of Office Layout And Design
No matter what your website is about, your readers will find evergreen content valuable and engaging.
Remember to:
- Research what others are searching for in your niche
- Use that to determine keywords
- Create lasting content that your audience can continually utilize
Content Marketing: Evergreen Pieces For SEO
Need help with your evergreen content?
Whether you need more keywords or topics for your content, or maybe you don’t have extra time to dedicate to writing evergreen content —Portland SEO Growth can help.
We service Portland-based businesses and businesses across the United States. Click here to learn more.
