What is evergreen content? Basically, it is content that remains relevant long after being published. This is in contrast to more time-sensitive pieces, such as news articles as well as reports of facts and statistics set to soon go out of date.
Though you should create both types of content as part of your digital marketing strategy, it can be too easy to leave a lot of SEO potential unrealised when it comes to evergreen pieces. Here are some things you might not currently do with them, but really should…
Familiarise yourself with key formats for evergreen content
It is worth emphasising here that content does not automatically become ‘evergreen’ just because you choose a particular template for it — much like a food mixture is not destined to become gingerbread men just because you pour it into moulds shaped like them.
Still, you could find it easier to create evergreen pieces if you choose formats for them especially carefully — with listicles, how-to tutorials and tips articles all often appearing in evergreen form.
Primarily target beginners rather than experts
This is because evergreen content tends to be broad in scope — and experts on the subject of an evergreen piece are less likely than beginners to want to search for that content.
It naturally follows, then, that you should shy away from overloading it with obscure, industry-specific terminology. When you do use any of it, at least make sure you quickly explain in layman’s terms what the word or phrase actually means.
Include long-tail keywords
One drawback of going big on evergreen content is that subjects you choose for it could already have been covered on many other websites. Those sites could also have heavily optimised the content with the keywords that spring most quickly to your own mind.
Fortunately, you can still circumvent the latter issue by inserting long-tail keywords in reference to specifically what your own business offers. The SEO toolset provider Ahrefs has posted this useful article on what long-tail keywords are and how they can help you to increase search traffic.
Repurpose the content
You could initially have it produced just as text — especially as we have digital copywriters capable of penning that content to a high standard for you.
However, further down the line, you could arrange for the content to be refashioned through various means. Our marketing company has graphic designers who could, on your behalf, reproduce this existing material as infographics.
Also, check the content regularly and suitably modify it if you notice that any parts of it — like ‘latest’ statistics — have gone out of date.
Be patient
One reason why timely material should remain a major component of your content marketing mix is that, otherwise, you would risk missing out on the bursts of high traffic that could come from your brand commenting on topical subjects.
Conversely, with evergreen content, you will be playing the long game — as, while it might not generate too much interest to begin with, this should change as the content’s SEO profile grows.
