Unlike clickbait, which has a life expectancy similar to full-fat milk, evergreen content is the SEO equivalent of nuclear bunker tinned food – the kind of stuff that would get you through a third world war, or, say, a global pandemic. It’s content that can sit happily on the internet, being read and re-read continually over time without diminishing in relevance. You might not enjoy the dramatic spike that news articles and hot topics benefit from, but you won’t have to experience the disappointment of watching that spike flatten out, either. Evergreen content produces a steady, reliable trickle of traffic, and when it’s successful, it can be hugely successful, climbing to the top of keyword searches that never fall out of fashion. Most durable content strategies hold evergreen content at their core, as they’re built to last through the shifting weather of trends, consumer interests and news topics. Read on for information on how to generate such high-value, long-lasting content.
How to find evergreen topics
There are true evergreen topics like health and fitness, there are short-lived topics like political elections, and then there is a large in-between section that’s harder to categorise. ‘App design’, for example, is steadily falling in popularity, whereas ‘AI’ is on a consistent, healthy trajectory. Google Trends is the place to find out how topics are faring in terms of popularity – look for trends with a reasonable amount of traffic and a flat-ish graph. Any topic that’s petering out in user interest may not be worth your while – focus on areas that will generate recurring traffic over time.
Target timeless keywords
Targeting timeless keywords is indeed a crucial aspect of effective content creation and SEO. These are the keywords that maintain their relevance and search volume over an extended period. To identify these keywords, utilizing an SEO App can be immensely helpful. It provides valuable insights into the consistency of traffic for specific keywords. Look for terms that demonstrate a steady influx of traffic over time. When incorporating these evergreen keywords into your content, consider placing them prominently. This could include using them in subheadings, meta descriptions, and throughout the body of the article. This strategic placement ensures that you’re getting the most value out of these keywords. Additionally, it’s wise to avoid using time-specific language like ‘this year’, ‘last month’, or ‘in 2020’, unless it’s crucial for the context. Instead, focus on creating content that remains relevant even as time passes. If you do use time-specific language, be prepared to update or remove it once it becomes outdated. This helps to ensure the longevity and enduring value of your content.
Quality speaks
The power of evergreen content lies in its enduring quality, in contrast to fleeting trends or attention-grabbing tactics. Instead of banking on a momentary surge with average content, it’s about committing to a long-term strategy of providing sustained value to readers. In this game, you’re competing with other creators of evergreen content who are also investing time and effort into their work. This means the pieces you write, or commission from someone else, need to be well-organized, seamless, and refined. Afterward, you can further enhance the content’s performance with the assistance of a company offering services like seo for estate agents, or whichever industry you’re in. This optimization can lead to a higher number of engaged readers and increase the likelihood of generating valuable leads.
Updating old content
While the premise of evergreen content is that it’s built to last, you may find your numbers dipping over time. Often this is because some feature of the post has become outdated in the eyes of the algorithm. In this case, you’ll need for incorrect/irrelevant stats, broken links, old screenshots or old dates. While you’re doing this, don’t simply tweak a few small features and repost – try to add something substantial, like a new section based around a relevant keyword you didn’t capitalise on initially. Repackaging old content as new without making tangible changes is a good way to bring the wrath of Google down upon you, so try to freshen it up as much as possible.
In the desperate content race, many forgo continued relevance for short-term traffic spikes. Seeing instant numbers is an addictive experience, and many fear that putting time into evergreen content will turn out as wasted effort. Apart from sites like BuzzFeed, however, many of the truly successful blogs like Ahrefs employ evergreen content exclusively. Building a backlog of timeless, high-quality articles is possibly the best SEO strategy there is, as their user traffic will compound with one another, producing a sizeable network of engaging posts that won’t simply fade away next month. Ross Pike of Quadrant2Design comments, ‘SEO is already a dynamic, constantly-shifting area of online marketing. The true challenge is not achieving brief spurts of high numbers but creating a durable strategy that can maintain relevance in the chaotic world of the SERPs.’ Evergreen content is the key to building such a strategy and securing a firm, lasting position for yourself on the web.
