Evergreen content, in particular, is a long-term asset that attracts visitors to your website and improves a website’s overall search rankings.
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But how do you create this kind of useful and valuable information for your audience?
In this post, we’ll explore what evergreen content is, why it matters for search engine optimization (SEO), and some tips for creating useful content.
What is evergreen content?
Evergreen content is any content that remains relevant and useful for a long time. It’s a piece of content that can be updated periodically, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be.
Evergreen content usually takes the form of an article or blog post, though it can also be a video or infographic. The name “evergreen” comes from the analogy that evergreen trees stay green all year round, unlike deciduous trees whose leaves fall off in the autumn. Like evergreen trees that don’t lose their leaves every year, this type of content won’t lose its value over time.
Evergreen content is published once and then updated as needed over time. This saves time so you can create other types of web content like product pages or case studies. Also, the content doesn’t require any maintenance to hold its value.
Why is evergreen content important?
Evergreen content is a type of content that’s useful for a long time, both to search engines and users. It’s easy to find and easy to read. In fact, it continues to be useful even if the content is five years old or was updated a week ago when you add new information about your product or service.
Evergreen content outshines the rest because it can grow and adapt over time, adding incredible value for your readers.
Creating evergreen content is helpful even if you’re focused on affiliate marketing. Quality content, such as ultimate guides, product reviews, and tutorials, is a foundational element of an affiliate marketing strategy. Creating evergreen content in these areas is a great strategy to guarantee long-term customer acquisition.
How evergreen content boosts SEO
Regarding SEO, there’s a lot of conjecture about what kind of content will rank high in organic search. When you look at SEO experts and the myriad advice they give, it can be hard to decipher what works and what doesn’t.
The truth is that there isn’t one perfect type of content for all websites; however, certain types of content are superior when it comes to ranking well in search engines. Evergreen content is suitable for most sites and is also extremely beneficial for SEO.
Evergreen content is more than just a collection of timeless topics. It’s a way to create content that’ll appeal to your audience, whether they’re new readers or long-time fans. When you publish evergreen content, you’re doing more than just creating something that people can read — you’re adding value and helping them solve problems.
Content that requires regular updates to maintain relevance isn’t considered evergreen.
Most of the other types of content we read daily are considered “time-sensitive.” They’re only useful for a few months or years and then become irrelevant.
For example, a blog post about moving expenses isn’t considered evergreen because it includes price estimates for the cost of shipping one bedroom cross-country based on current market rates, which can fluctuate based on various economic factors.
On the other hand, evergreen content will always have value — and it can stay on your site forever.
Keyword-rich FAQ pages, for instance, like this one on CMDB, are a prime example of evergreen content that can boost SEO efforts and stay as a permanently indexed page on your website. Also, much of what appears on an FAQ page is highly searchable. Like in the case of the CMDB page, customers interested in that product may search in Google “What can I do with a CMDB tool?” and the search results lead to this very FAQ page.
- Here are three ways that evergreen content can boost your SEO efforts:
- Build trust with visitors who return to your site over time.
- Provide more opportunities for keyword optimization (aka keywords that people search for) by allowing you to update old posts with new information.
- Increases the number of pages on your website (which means more opportunities for both backlinks and social media shares).
5 tips for creating evergreen content
Evergreen content is a great way to boost your SEO.
It’s like a tree that keeps growing and growing, year after year. Because it’s evergreen, it’ll always be relevant, and you can continue to add new information and resources to it over time. But it doesn’t necessarily need constant attention.
So, when creating evergreen content, keep these five pointers in mind:
- Make it easy to read.
- Give people what they’re looking for by performing appropriate keyword research.
- Keep it simple and avoid using jargon.
- Write high-quality, long-form articles.
- Make sure your content is accurate and update it as needed.
How-tos and tutorials are excellent forms of evergreen content. However, be careful with tutorials if they detail something specific that could change regularly or become obsolete (like software).
For example, five years ago, this graphic design company posted a blog with a video tutorial about editing vector images on Adobe Illustrator. Adobe is constantly updating its software, and, likely, this video is now outdated.
Evergreen content should always be relevant and up to date. Avoiding specific step-by-step guides about software will help shy away from creating “time-sensitive” content. Instead, focus on the importance of software and how it can improve processes and efficiencies in operational workflows.
Wrapping up
Evergreen content is more than just a collection of timeless topics. It’s a way to create content that’ll appeal to your audience, whether they’re new readers or long-time readers.
When you publish evergreen content, you’re doing more than just creating something that people can read — you’re adding value and helping them solve problems.
Creating evergreen articles is the way to go if you want to gain long-term organic search, traffic, and conversions with your content marketing strategy.