A How-To Guide for Evergreen Content

For those with previous experience in the digital marketing world, or even those just getting into the SEO game, you’ve probably heard the term “evergreen content” pop up in several different instances. What is evergreen content and where does that name come from?

Well, evergreen is defined as “universally and continually relevant – not limited in applicability to a particular event or date”. Just as the leaves of an evergreen tree flourish throughout the seasons, evergreen content consistently remains relevant to readers.

Evergreen content is the type of content that never goes out of style. No matter the year or season, the topics are always relevant and of interest to readers. Topics written about events that occur once every few years, or even once a year, are not typically considered evergreen.

Examples of Evergreen Topics

Here are some examples of what evergreen topics may look like:
• How to Build a Deck
• How to Cook the Perfect Steak
• Tips on Growing a Vegetable Garden
These topics fall into the evergreen content-realm because there’s really no end in sight as to their usefulness. People are always going to be needing help with home improvement projects, wanting to improve their cooking skills, and looking for new hobbies – like growing a vegetable garden.

Articles revolving around food, relationships, parenting, money/finances, health, and careers are often reliable topics when it comes to evergreen content. As always, make sure the topic you choose correlates to the services or goods your business provides.

Try including keywords such as “why, when, how, what, where, tips, guide, and tutorial” into the title of your piece.

When possible, also incorporate pictures or videos in your article to not only gain points with the viewer, but also to help improve your page’s SEO ranking.

What Evergreen Content is Not:

• News articles
• Statistical or numerical reports
• Pieces about specific holidays, seasons, or events
• Articles on current trends or fads
These topics are all restricted to a certain date or timeframe, limiting their relevancy to readers down the road.

Top Evergreen Content Formats

The following are some top formats that work well with evergreen content:
• FAQ’s
• Lists
• Product Reviews
• Tips and Tricks
• “How To” Tutorials
Using these types of formats do not automatically make your article “evergreen”, but instead give you a starting point to jump off of.

Examples of Evergreen Sites

• about.com
• wikipedia.com
• answers.com
• imdb.com
• ehow.com

All of these sites post large quantities of articles on a wide variety of topics. Keep in mind though that not every piece they write is high-quality evergreen content. However, we do recommend combing through their sites to find good examples of long-lasting, relevant content.

Link SEO Keywords With Evergreen Content

While evergreen content in and of itself is a great asset for your marketing strategy, incorporating your SEO keywords into your evergreen articles will make it even more successful. We recommend even basing your piece around the keywords you want to increase your rankings on.

Check out our blog with tips on improving your SEO through the use of keywords here.

Evergreen Writing Tips

Write For Beginner Audiences – Audiences searching for your content probably aren’t experts, but rather beginners trying to gain knowledge in your field. With this in mind, you should write your piece with the intention of directing it towards someone with a shallow knowledge-base. It can be tempting to “show off” your expertise on a topic, but doing so will drive readers away. Make your content easy to read and understand.

Avoid Overly Technical Language – Along the same lines of writing for beginner audiences, don’t use overly technical language. Beginners most likely won’t understand the meaning of the abbreviations and technical language commonly used in your field. If there’s no way around using a technical term, make sure you define and explain the term as best you can so that you don’t lose your audience due to confusion.

Write About a Specific Topic – Make sure you don’t go off the rails when writing your piece. Readers will quickly lose interest if they feel like you’re not answering the questions they came for. Keep it concise and don’t ramble. For example, writing a piece called “How to Fish” is not specific enough. A writer could go on and on about the different types of fishing and the many different fishing tools and equipment. Instead, narrow it down to something like “How to Catch Bass Fish” or “How to Bait a Hook”.

Link Previous Articles Within Each Other – Once you’ve narrowed down your content to a specific topic, you can link other pieces of related topics into that piece. Going back to our fishing example, let’s say you decided to write the “How to Bait a Hook” piece. You could go on to write another article on “Different Types of Bait” and then place a link for each of those pieces into each article. This gives readers the answers they’re looking for, while at the same time guiding them to other relevant articles you’ve written.

Update Content Regularly – Make sure to review and update your articles with new findings, data, and developments to make sure it continues to stay accurate and relevant.

Incorporate Other Types of Content into Your Marketing Strategy

While evergreen content is undeniably successful and valuable, it should not be the only tool used in your marketing strategy.

Not every piece you write needs to be evergreen. There are going to be instances where a topic is highly relevant at a particular point in time – like an election – where viewers will want to find helpful information regarding that event. These types of articles are just as valuable as evergreen pieces; they just won’t bring continuous traffic to your site for months (or years) to come.
The best strategy is to include a healthy mix of evergreen content with topical articles that satisfy all of your reader’s needs.

If you’d like more information on how to grow your business through digital marketing,
call US Logo at (316) 264-1321 or visit our website at www.uslogo.net.
For even more helpful articles on improving your marketing strategies, check out our other blogs here!