The content you post on your blog, social media page, or ecommerce website will likely remain on the internet for a very long time. This can work to your advantage when you’re creating content to drive traffic to your site. For instance, a blog post you write today could turn up in someone’s search results years from now.
With this in mind, it’s wise to create content that remains relevant long past its publication date. Marketers call this evergreen content. Here’s an overview of the subject and some evergreen content ideas to incorporate into your blog entries, articles, and social media posts.
What is evergreen content?
Evergreen content is content—text, audio, images, and video—that’s relevant long after its publication date. Evergreen articles, pictures, and videos aren’t tied to a moment in time. They could appeal to a present-day reader as well as a reader years in the future. The phrase gets its name from evergreen trees, which never lose their leaves.
Think of two articles about kitchen knives. One is about a price discount on a particular model. The other is a beginner's guide to sharpening knives at home. The latter is an evergreen article, while the former is not. Months and years in the future, people will still be performing Google searches about how to sharpen kitchen knives; they won’t be searching for the price of a particular knife.
Why create evergreen content?
Evergreen topics play an important role in an overall content marketing strategy. Because they have long-lasting relevance, evergreen posts and articles can receive heavy search traffic for years. This steers internet users to the websites on which these posts appear. And because of the way many search engine algorithms work, each click on an evergreen blog post or article (and each link to it from another website) boosts its internet reach.
Due to their enduring search demand, evergreen blog posts, articles, and videos can provide a great return on your investment (ROI). By contrast, articles about ephemeral topics like breaking news start losing relevance within minutes of publication. Long after you’ve paid for evergreen content, it can continue to drive traffic to your website. For this reason, some marketers consider evergreen content creation to be the best content marketing strategy for online businesses.
Types of evergreen content
There are several common evergreen formats that generate organic traffic to websites long after their publication date. You can address an evergreen topic in an article, blog post, infographic, podcast, or video that lives on your own website or on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Here are five evergreen content examples:
1. How-to guides
How-to guides (or how-to posts on social media) teach your audience a skill. In addition to capturing user search intent, well-written how-to pieces are genuinely helpful and build goodwill with your audience by providing something useful for free. It’s wise to align your how-to guides with your brand image. For instance, if you sell cosmetics, you might offer makeup tutorials in the form of a blog post or video.
2. Listicles
Listicles are articles that center around numbered lists. Think of headlines like “The 7 Best Reasons to Move To Michigan” or “The 11 Funniest Movies of All Time.” These are listicles, and when paired with the right topic, they can be evergreen gold. Align each listicle you write with the interests of your target audience. For example, a lawn care company might benefit from listing the 12 most hardy grass species, yet it would seem off-brand for the company to list Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors.
3. Product reviews
Product reviews can be considered evergreen articles when they describe items with long lifespans like home appliances and furniture. Reviews become more ephemeral (and, consequently, less useful in an evergreen content strategy) when you’re describing items that quickly fall out of fashion, such as clothing. When they’re evergreen, reviews can beef up your online presence, boost your site’s search rankings, and provide a steady stream of blog content.
4. Tips
You can publish tips, which are a close cousin of how-to guides, as part of an evergreen marketing strategy. Tips work best when your target audience regards them as relevant content. For instance, a luggage company could post tips on how to get through airport security as smoothly as possible. A guitar company could publish tips for keeping your instrument in tune.
5. Explainers
An explainer can be an article on a historical figure, a scientific phenomenon, civics, or anything that promotes deeper understanding. When explainers appear as data-driven posts that contain detailed commentary, they might earn credibility as an authoritative source and thus receive more backlinks from outside websites.
The best explainers can serve as primary research sources for students and professionals alike. As always, your explainers should align with your brand image. For instance, a plumbing company could post an explainer comparing tankless water heaters to traditional boilers.
What is not considered evergreen content
Several types of articles, social media posts, and videos can get notable engagement but do not qualify as evergreen content.
Examples include:
Topical articles
Topical articles report on and react to the news of the day. They become less relevant as new developments occur.
Pop culture content
Pop culture shifts with trends and societal tastes. Thus, pop culture articles rarely end up as long-lasting evergreen posts.
Personal essays/opinion pieces
Some content creators publish blogs focused on their personal lives and opinions. These may draw a surge of initial traffic if the creator is famous, but they rarely remain relevant over the long haul.
How to create evergreen content
- Start with keyword research
- Optimize for search
- Write for a general audience
- Provide quality content
- Keep experimenting
The key to creating evergreen content is choosing topics that will inspire internet searches well into the future. It also helps to write genuinely useful material that feels accessible to a wide audience.
Here are some key tips for creating evergreen material for your website, blog, or social media accounts:
1. Start with keyword research
Keyword research provides hard data about internet search terms. Using a tool like Google Trends, you can find out what internet users have been searching for. Look for topics that relate both to your business and user search demand.
2. Optimize for search
Use search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to show up in users’ web search results. You can boost your overall search volume by using keywords, headings, and titles that align with user interest. Use a keyword tool like MozBar, Ahrefs, or SEMRush to identify additional terms you can use to complement your primary keyword.
3. Write for a general audience
Keep your content accessible to as many readers and viewers as possible. Avoid overly technical language that could limit your material’s appeal to a niche audience.
4. Provide quality content
A robust evergreen marketing strategy must go beyond search-optimized content and shrewd topic selection. Strive to create an excellent post or multimedia piece every single time by following Google’s E-E-A-T principles. Prioritize highlighting E-E-A-T—experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trust—in every piece of content you create.
5. Keep experimenting
You never know what might attract—and maintain—a heavy search volume over the long run, so experiment with different formats. If you typically write text posts, try producing a video. If you normally write your company’s blog yourself, try publishing a guest post written by an outside expert.
Evergreen content FAQ
Why is it called evergreen content?
The phrase “evergreen content” is a reference to evergreen trees, which never lose their leaves. Evergreen internet content similarly stays relevant for many years.
What is the difference between evergreen and timely content?
Evergreen content remains relevant for many years, even as trends change. Timely content aligns with breaking news and present-day culture. It may attract more initial traffic, but it can quickly lose relevance.
How often should evergreen content be updated or refreshed?
Update your evergreen content whenever important facts change or more current information becomes available. This is particularly important for how-to guides and explainers. If new, better information comes along, update your article to reflect such developments.
Can evergreen content help improve search engine rankings?
Yes, evergreen content can often help improve a site’s search engine rankings. This is especially true when it contains popular search keywords or has been linked to as a source by outside websites.
