If you’ve spent any amount of time hanging around in the blogging community, you’ve probably heard people talking about the importance of producing “evergreen” content.
But what is it, and how do you write it?
In this short article, we’re going to answer those questions and show you exactly how you can use this type of content to achieve better search engine rankings and increased traffic to your site – and all while providing a high amount of value to your audience.
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What Is Evergreen Content?
Essentially, we’re talking about valuable content that continues to stay fresh and relevant long after the date it has been published. The term comes from evergreen trees, which retain their leaves throughout the year and stay looking lush and green even during the winter months.
Evergreen content is timeless and will remain both relevant and interesting for many years to come. As an example, an article titled “How to Dress for Your Body Type” would be considered as evergreen, whereas an article called “The 10 Best Looks for Spring 2018” would not.
Here are some further examples of evergreen content:
- How to Find Your Perfect Dress
- A Beginner’s Guide to Street Photography
- The 10 Best Tips for Planning Your Perfect Wedding
In addition, certain topics/niches are considered to be “evergreen.” For example, anything to do with money, health or relationships will pretty much always be interesting to people, whereas something about the 2017 US Presidential Election was only really relevant at the time.
Why Is Evergreen Content Important?
The beauty of evergreen content is that you can produce it once and continue to reap the rewards for years to come! People will always need evergreen content, meaning that a blog post you write today can still be drawing in traffic and providing huge value to your audience in five years’ time.
In addition, a well-optimized, high-quality article covering a timeless subject can help you to perform better in search engine results and propel your site up the rankings. In general, search engines prefer valuable, long-lasting content to trendy, short-lived articles.
How To Write Evergreen Content
If you want to quickly come up with some ideas for long-lasting content, sit down and think about the following:
Which topics will still be interesting and relevant this time next year? What do people in my niche always want to know?
For example, people visiting a photography blog will always want to learn how to take better pictures, what to look for when buying a camera, etc.
What could I produce that people would read more than once?
It can be really powerful to write a piece of in-depth content that people can refer back to again and again.
For example: The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Blog
A long-form blog post might take you several days or even weeks to write, but it’ll be well worth it because people will be impressed by the effort you’ve put in and feel compelled to come back to your blog in the future. In addition, they’ll be highly likely to share your content on social media.
The Four Best Evergreen Content Ideas
Struggling to come up with evergreen content? Here are four great ideas to get you started:
1. Evergreen How-To Guides
How-to articles make great pieces of evergreen content and allow you to position yourself as an expert in your niche. Think carefully about what people want to know and then go show them exactly how to do it. For the most impact, make sure that your guide is as practical and straightforward as possible.
2. Evergreen Case Studies
People love finding out how to do something, but they love it even more if you can give them a real life example of what you or someone else is doing. If you’d like more information on this, check out Neil Patel’s article How to Write a Perfect Case Study That Attracts High Paying Clients.
3. Evergreen Lists
Another great strategy is to compile a list of ideas or resources for people to check out. You know the sort of thing we’re talking about… “The 10 Best Books About Blogging” or “15 Essential Items Every Woman Should Have In Their Closet.” These types of posts are easy to write, but they are also highly valuable. Simply compile together the information into a list and include a short commentary for each item.
4. Evergreen Interviews
Why not conduct an interview with a popular person in your niche? A short Q&A session or profile makes a great piece of blog content – and the even better thing is that it will remain popular for as long as people continue to search for that person (which is often for years and years to come!).
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For best results, your site should have a good mix of both evergreen and topical articles. By taking the time to produce high-quality evergreen articles that provide real value to your audience, you can continue to reap the rewards of your efforts for many years to come.
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Vanessa integrates EMDR, sandtray, and attachment-focused approaches in her work and is completing credentials toward Registered Play Therapist and EMDRIA certification. With a background as a certified birth doula and a passion for making healing accessible, she writes and teaches on the intersection of trauma, neurodevelopment, and story-based therapy.
