What is evergreen content, what is it used for, and should I be doing it?
Lisa Bourke from Brisbane based content marketing agency, Content Hive dives in.
The simple answer is YES, but let us articulate as to why.
The evergreen tree is a symbol of perpetual life. They retain their leaves throughout all the seasons, as opposed to shedding. Evergreen content, much like the tree, is considered to be sustainable, long lasting and eternal.
This form of content ranks long after it’s original publication date, and continues to drive traffic for your brand or business.
Evergreen Content Explained
For those not as familiar with digital content marketing, it is perhaps easier to explain what is not considered to be evergreen content.
Evergreen content is not considered to be:
- Paid advertising via Google or Facebook
- News articles
- Statistical reports that are likely to change or become outdated
- Current trends or pop culture fads likely to be phased out
- Content surrounding a specific holiday or event
The above styles of content have their time and place, but they do inevitably become irrelevant or expire and that’s exactly what evergreen content doesn’t do.
Common evergreen content formats – or structured pieces that don’t generally age, expire or go out of fashion – generally include topics that stay relevant for years to come. Examples of this include:
- Product reviews
- Lists
- Informative “how to” guides
- Top tips
- Content entries that explain or decipher topics
While writing in a format like the above doesn’t automatically count your article as a timeless piece of evergreen content, these structures generally do work well. Another avenue to consider is filming a video – as these are particularly useful when needing to explain or illustrate a topic. How many times have you watched recipe videos on Facebook? This is a classic example of well executed evergreen content.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be writing well timed pieces to coincide with world (and even local) events – you absolutely should. However to stay in the ranking game long term, they need to be balanced out with articles and blogs that won’t ever “go out of date.”
Tips On Producing Evergreen Content
Like many marketing strategies and techniques, there’s no right or wrong way – and even if you’re producing content regularly, then that’s already a significant head start. If you are able to produce content that ranks well consistently, then ultimately you’re going to be doing less work over time while still receiving ongoing traffic.
When it comes to producing evergreen content, is there a secret recipe to success? Maybe not, but there’s a few things that you can do to get you off to the right start.
- Know your niche – the task of writing content becomes a great deal easier if you know exactly what you’re talking about, and who you’re talking to. Don’t be afraid to dig around in your analytics.
- Research keywords – now that you know who you’re talking to, what would they like to know? There’s thousands of free keyword search term tools on offer out there for you to use. Also consider things like FAQ’s that relate to your own business or brand.
- Keep it simple – you’re not writing for the experts, you’re answering every day questions or topics. While you might be a guru in your field, avoid overly technical language so you don’t scare off potential new audiences.
- Start small with topics – if you try to cover too much in one piece, it becomes an essay – and your reader will lose interest. Instead of trying to cover travelling Australia in one blog, why not start with “Top 10 Brunches In Brisbane?” From there, it’s easy to link similar topics and content and ultimately retain the reader’s engagement.
If your work is optimised and you are able to provide authority, quality and a level of uniqueness to the content you are producing, your piece will inevitably rise above to stand the test of time. Ask yourself, would I like to read this and understand the context in five years time?
Let’s not forget that an article or blog piece that performs well for you or your brand can always be repurposed. One stellar article that does well with website traffic shouldn’t be restricted to the one platform – share the message via your social media platforms, beef up your email marketing database or even use it to weaponize your LinkedIn profile. The limit does not exist.
If your brand or business lacks the time, energy or resources to produce your own content, it might be time to consider outsourcing. Luckily, digital content is our speciality here at Content Hive – so why not book in a free discovery call today to see what we can do to get your brand buzzing online?
