Evergreen content – it's got a nice ring to it, but what is it? The easiest way to describe it is by saying what it's not.
Evergreen content is not:
News or current trends
Facts and figures liable to change
Topical stories of any kind
Evergreen content is all about creating content that lasts. It sticks around because it stays relevant for its entire life-cycle, which can be anything from a few months to a few years.
Usually, evergreen content takes the form of guides, how-tos, tutorials, lists, advice, tips etc – this piece is a good example (I hope) of classic evergreen content. The explanations contained should be just relevant in 2023 as 2013.
Great evergreen content reinvents itself, however. Once you have the content there, it's possible to amend, adjust and adapt to changes without radically altering the piece or having to commission your writer to create a new one.
That's one of the best things about evergreen content – you get your money's worth. It continues to pull in visitors for months and even years.
Advantages of evergreen content
Link building: as the content sticks around, you can build up links to the page over time. Gradually the more people find it the more people will link back to it.
Shares: the more your content is picked up on, the more social media shares it will get. A topical news piece may only have a few days to attract traffic and likes, but evergreen content has much longer.
Authority: with long-lasting content attracting attention over time, you are building up your brand's authority of a certain topic. More and more people will come to your site for what they can see is trusted information.
Topical news remains vital
But don't forget that well-optimised topical stories remain vital. Regular updates with news articles that show your site is up to speed with latest developments must not be ignored. News also allows you to build up a large archive of articles that can site alongside your evergreen content.
Getting the best of both
You can take a list of the best beach destinations as an example. It's going to quite topical when you release it in summer – perfect content in the run-up to the holidays.
Next year, it's going to be just as valuable, if not more so as it will hopefully have attracted a few shares and links. You may want to remove Egypt from the list from last year and replace it with somewhere else, but the basis of your content remains the same.
Ultimately, to derive maximum SEO value from your content marketing strategy, you need to have a good mix of topical stories and evergreen content.
Evergreen content is not:
News or current trends
Facts and figures liable to change
Topical stories of any kind
Evergreen content is all about creating content that lasts. It sticks around because it stays relevant for its entire life-cycle, which can be anything from a few months to a few years.
Usually, evergreen content takes the form of guides, how-tos, tutorials, lists, advice, tips etc – this piece is a good example (I hope) of classic evergreen content. The explanations contained should be just relevant in 2023 as 2013.
Great evergreen content reinvents itself, however. Once you have the content there, it's possible to amend, adjust and adapt to changes without radically altering the piece or having to commission your writer to create a new one.
That's one of the best things about evergreen content – you get your money's worth. It continues to pull in visitors for months and even years.
Advantages of evergreen content
Link building: as the content sticks around, you can build up links to the page over time. Gradually the more people find it the more people will link back to it.
Shares: the more your content is picked up on, the more social media shares it will get. A topical news piece may only have a few days to attract traffic and likes, but evergreen content has much longer.
Authority: with long-lasting content attracting attention over time, you are building up your brand's authority of a certain topic. More and more people will come to your site for what they can see is trusted information.
Topical news remains vital
But don't forget that well-optimised topical stories remain vital. Regular updates with news articles that show your site is up to speed with latest developments must not be ignored. News also allows you to build up a large archive of articles that can site alongside your evergreen content.
Getting the best of both
You can take a list of the best beach destinations as an example. It's going to quite topical when you release it in summer – perfect content in the run-up to the holidays.
Next year, it's going to be just as valuable, if not more so as it will hopefully have attracted a few shares and links. You may want to remove Egypt from the list from last year and replace it with somewhere else, but the basis of your content remains the same.
Ultimately, to derive maximum SEO value from your content marketing strategy, you need to have a good mix of topical stories and evergreen content.
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