What’s evergreen content, and why your blog needs some

One of my clients asked me recently, “Rhonda, if I only have a couple of hours per month to blog, what type of content should I be writing?” I suggested evergreen content. The stuff that won’t expire any time soon. 

So, what’s evergreen content?

If you wanted a garden that looks stunning year round, you’d probably opt for evergreen plants. So you could have climbers, hedges, bamboo, trees, conifers or shrubs. And even plant some herbs that you could use in your recipes.

The rich foliage would definitely help your garden to not only look stunning but also look alive and healthy throughout the year.

Now, what if you did the same with your business blog?

Your blog is a lot like a garden.

What if you filled your blog with evergreen content that won’t expire and that your readers could consume, and benefit from, year round?

This would help you to continuously drive traffic and leads to your website, and help more people discover your blog posts.

You focus these evergreen blog posts on the topics that demonstrate your expertise and help build authority in your niche.

Topics that position you as one of the best, if not the best, sources of information for your keywords.

Not “timely” topics. You want topics that can be read at any time and would still have relevance and truth to your reader.

For example, you’d keep on top of what’s happening within your sector or industry. You’d do this to show that you’re one of the first to be in the know and to report these important topics (such as when the government, the ombudsman or a court releases news that could affect your reader’s life).

Evergreen content attracts leads

In November 2015 I wrote about a new study which confirmed the reasons journalists ignore media releases. I tied this to my journalism and media releases writing experience.

Many of my followers on social media took notice. I also received emails from prospects who wanted me to write their media releases. Months later, I’m still sharing that post because the topic is still relevant.

If and when the study is ever repeated, I can either update the post with the new information or write a new post.

Another example is the post in which I share Easter blog post ideas for your business. Easter only happens once a year, but since publishing the post more than a couple of years ago, I’ve been sharing it in the lead up to every Easter!

It’s also one of the posts that attract new leads for me in February-March each year.

Because the topic is still relevant and sustainable, I don’t need to write a new post every year – unless I want to… but why would I when it’s already been done? I’ll probably update the post or write about something else to do with copywriting and Easter.

A third example is a post I wrote in 2014 about Google not being enough for organic traffic. I discuss how to get organic traffic from forums. I receive a lot of interest whenever I promote it because many people want new ways to attract more leads.

I’m now thinking of updating the post to add new information and new images. We’ll see.

 

So you see why I recommend that my crazy-busy client writes evergreen content?

Now, if you’re wondering how to write evergreen topics, keep reading. I’m about to share my top tips.

7 tips for writing evergreen content

There are a number of ways to ensure your content can be appreciated over a longer period of time.

1. Always address a need

How-to posts, resource lists, answers to FAQs, and explanatory blog posts are good blog formats to start with.

Use them to educate your readers. Then whenever you mention the topic or term in the future, link to these evergreen posts as references. This way, you won’t have to send your reader to Wikipedia or some other website to look up the definition.

2. Follow Google’s guideline

Google recommends that we write unique, relevant and useful blog posts that add value.

To ensure your evergreen content ticks all the boxes, follow Google’s own guidelines for creating valuable content. Then write long evergreen content that provide enough details to help your reader understand or do something.

3. Avoid dates

Whenever your reader discovers your blog post the information should be relevant and factual. If you can, avoid dates, otherwise the content would only be relevant that year.

See the examples below? The blog posts listed would need to be updated next year, otherwise click-through rates would drop. However, I bet these bloggers would simply write new guides for the next year. That’s OK… if you’re focusing on volume, not relevance.

4. Optimise for search engines

If you want your post to show up in search results on Google, optimise it with the keywords that would help users find it.

Even better… if you know people are searching for tips on “how to write blog content for small business”, write a blog post about this. And give it a headline that contains that keyword phrase.

Also insert the primary keywords in the first section of the post, in your meta title and in the meta description.

5. When appropriate, update the content

Return to your evergreen content to add fresh information.

You can:

• add new paragraphs with new information
• completely rewrite any of the sections that are out of date
• check for typos and outdated information
• if you need to, change the headline and publication date. When you change the date, Google will see it as an updated post. It will also appear at the top in your blog section, along with new blog posts.
• insert new relevant keywords and update your meta data (in your SEO plugin).

Warning: if you decide to change the URL, you need to redirect the old URL to the new. There are plugins you can use to do this. I use Quick Page/Post Redirect Plugin.

6. Promote, promote, promote

Keep promoting your evergreen posts:

• When you update them, promote them as though they’re new.
• Promote them again when you notice that the topics are trending on social media. Giving a short-term boost would surely boost traffic.
• To further promote your posts, email them to your subscribers. This will help new subscribers to discover your ‘old’ content, and help you give a ‘refresher’ to long-term subscribers.

7. Help readers find the best posts

The more content you write, the more your evergreen posts get buried deep within your blog.

To help new readers find the older posts, some bloggers create a “Start Here” page and pin it to the navigation bar. Then they list all the important blog posts on that page for readers to access.

If you’re worried that your posts are getting lost, this is a great idea. Or put a button in your sidebar.

Share your evergreen post below

Evergreen topics are great for organic traffic if you want to attract more leads. If you have written one, why not share it in a comment below?

++ Spammy links will be blasted! ++