Beginner's Guide to Evergreen Content: Evergreen content ideas that will increase your traffic [The WOW List]

What is evergreen content and how can you leverage it for your content marketing strategy? In short, the content retains relevance, is not time sensitive and continues to generate traffic long after its first publication. Below, we list the formats that best complement this content generation approach and how you can make it work for your business.

What is Evergreen content?

Evergreen content is search-optimized content that is relevant on an ongoing basis and stays "fresh" for readers for a long period of time, as the name implies. You may think that all online content is sustainable; After all, a blog post does not disappear after publishing it. But the always green content is different. It continues to be relevant well beyond its publication date, with search traffic growth over time.

Common evergreen formats

Below are some common evergreen formats that you may consider creating:

Listicles

Tips

Contents of how to do

Product reviews

Writing in these formats does not make your piece always green, but these types of content tend to lend themselves to evergreen writing more than to other formats. Instructional videos that provide useful information, such as changing a tire, have more longevity than a less practical video.

Now that you understand some of the key formats for creating evergreen content, here's how to put them into practice.

Ways to make an evergreen article or blog

Answer the frequently asked questions of your users/people

Provide industry advice, "how" explanations or advice

Explain common industry concepts that can be confusing to readers.

Examples of evergreen content

Here are some specific examples of what would be considered evergreens for a variety of industries:

The essential Guide for social media marketing: it can have a limited scope and be extremely valuable for someone who is new to the development and implementation of campaigns on social networks.

How to care for a new puppy: animals and the Internet are a strong combination, but pieces like this one are fun and instructive for new pet owners.

10 ways to enjoy hot chocolate: in the colder months, a blog like this can provide a boost in traffic. The twists in the old classics can be an excellent starting point for an evergreen article.

Of course, some or all of these issues will not be relevant to your business. You must create content that provides value to your particular audience. The hard part of the evergreen content is that often the most popular topics in the industry have already been covered, maybe even hundreds of times. In this case, you must add your own exclusive spin on the topic or look for long tail keywords that have a decent amount of traffic, but not so much competition. This will make your content more valuable and more likely to advance search engine results.

What is not evergreen content

To explain in more detail what evergreen content is, let's take a look at what it is not.

To better clarify what type of writing is considered "always green", we can examine what types of pieces are specifically not always green.

Remember, Evergreen content does not have a real expiration date and retains its long-term value, so an article about a presidential election or this year's marketing trends may be popular content for now, but it will not be so important as the usual content.

Tips for writing evergreen content

Now that you know what evergreen content definitely is and is not, along with the types of formats that work best, here are some specific tips for writing evergreen content:

Choose the right keywords. We already mentioned briefly that the longtail keywords can be the best. Even the most durable evergreen piece is not worth much if people are not looking for that subject, so their keyword research.

Optimize for SEO. Once you have your keywords (one per piece), do not forget to use the best SEO practices for optimization on the page. Add alternative text to the images and put the keyword in the title, the URL and the whole body of the copy, but do not fill in your keywords! You should also link the related evergreens to improve SEO rankings.

Write for beginners: you may feel the need to share your experience, but do it in a way that satisfies beginners. It is likely that the experts do not look for broad themes, and want to generate always green content for a large and recurring audience.

Avoid overly technical language: Along the same lines as the previous note, beginners often do not understand too technical language, so try to avoid using it whenever possible.

Reuse your content: when you create a large piece of content, there are many ways to spin it and reuse your great ideas in various formats. Here are some great ideas for busy content editors.

Do not bury evergreen content on your blog

Once you have created your evergreen content, do not simply bury it in your blog. If you publish your content and "configure and forget" it, you will not get the results you expect. Instead, you should make an effort to highlight your valuable, always green content so that site visitors can see and access it immediately. There are some ways to do this:

Create training guide pages on your website for beginners in the industry and help your audience quickly and easily identify their terminology content and how to do it.

Highlight your evergreen blog posts in the sidebar of your blog or in a banner on your homepage.

Re-run the top evergreen publications on your blog periodically (with updates, as applicable) to show your work to the largest audience.

Create a "start here" page on your website that will help people with the basic content and features of the tutorial content.

Create a social media campaign around your content, across all your networks.

The method (s) of call you choose does not matter as much as the fact that it highlights the content and gives you the best chance to succeed.

Update Evergreen content regularly

In addition to highlighting your content, you must also make sure it is up to date. While there should not be much to do to update the evergreen content, there will be new findings, new articles to which you can link and other new developments. In addition, updating the content and its publication date can help with SEO rankings. There are many case studies on how updating evergreen content can trigger SEO rankings. Once you have updated your content, promote it as if it were a new piece.

To see if your content has fallen into the search rankings over time and should definitely be updated, use the Ahrefs position tracker. With this tool, you can review your weekly email summary to see which of your pages need more effort if you want your pieces to be found. Remember, new content is being created all the time and part of it will compete for the same keywords you are selecting. You need to keep your content fresh and complete to stay on top.

When you update the content, keep in mind the following elements:

Utility (Can users take action immediately?)

Clarity (Is there any unclear terminology? Does the piece flow logically?)

Tone (Is your writing friendly, accessible and full of expert advice?)

Ability to share (can readers easily share content on social networks through sharing applications or otherwise?)

The best content ideas that will increase my traffic: the Evergreen Content beginner guide

Fluctuations in traffic happen to the best of us. However, there is no excuse for a poor content strategy on your website. There are two types of content from the point of view of relevance in time: the first category includes an article written based on a trending topic. Its advantage is that, if treated properly, the audience of your website increases overnight; Of course, the inherent drawback is that people will lose interest in that specific topic shortly. The second type of content does not do anything miraculous overnight: you may not even see anything spectacular about it in the short term.

Does Evergreen content address a topic that is not dated quickly (or not at all?) And remains relevant; In this way, it offers growth in traffic, potential customers and the ability to share social media over a long period of time, as well as associated revenues. While the news is crucial in our watches that are activated quickly, when thinking about the return on your investment, you should bear in mind that timeless content generates trust in the brand in the long term, especially when properly researched.

The Evergreen principle is a key part of all well-designed content marketing strategies. This blog post presents you with a curated list of always green content ideas that will help you increase the traffic of your website.

1. Case studies / white papers

Writing relevant perennial content in the form of a case study is not easy. However, it depends a lot on the industry in which you are active. For example, if you are doing a case study on the latest Android updates, it is hard to believe that you will have a constant flow of readers in 6 months. ' hour.

A White Hat SEO case study will maintain its relevance whenever you treat it as an evergreen practice that works as a reference. Stories about important traffic increases and other twists in the classification plot tend to be relevant and timeless because they reveal a way to handle a difficult situation. And we all know how much this weighs.

If, on the other hand, it is covering topics such as higher education, a good white paper on pedagogical practices has real possibilities of being a constant source of readers within 5 years. In my opinion, all content strategies should include case studies. They increase the confidence of your brand and provide valuable website traffic.

2. Statistics and data build large evergreens

Whenever you include the period you are talking about, they will retain relevance even after a period of time. It is entirely your decision if you adapt it to the present status quo or simply keep it that way for people who look for references in the past. However, it does not hurt to update the statistics from time to time, especially when dealing with such a dynamic and volatile domain. Exposing statistics in an appropriate context is useful in itself, as it also helps your audience understand the perspective rather than a situation of little relevance. However specific their conclusions may appear, their audience will be extrapolated to their practices, which ultimately leads to relevance and credibility as a source. The context is relevant to your niche, and you must give your readers the information they needed to know.

When it comes to statistics, you may think that your numbers and numbers are not relevant to the people around you, but you may be wrong about that. Our ability to extrapolate and extract the essentials of what is shown to us overcomes specific differences. If you think there are certain shared aspects about your situation, be willing to share them!

In such cases, it is the effort that will be rewarded over time, through the content that not only has no date but also keeps a fresh eye on things of particular interest to people in your niche. And the effort not only means professional research that can take days but also presents your information in a way that attracts your audience since the digitization of the information has made us very sensitive to graphics. Speaking of online reading behaviors, this is a great example of evergreen content, as it is based on how technology influences our brain wiring.

No matter how "boring" your niche is! The subject of "statistics and data" is one of those evergreen topics that always allow you to generate ideas of content.

3. Product reviews: long-term content that generates traffic and sales

Reviews are generally based on one of the following two ideas: either what the masses think, what makes them not always reliable, or what an expert in the field believes of certain specific characteristics.

The second technique is always more reliable, mainly because the credibility is based on competence, instead of reviewing something very far from your area of ?? experience, where you will be just another user when analyzing a product related to your work (even remote). ) you build long-term commitment. Tell a story that people will be willing to listen to, and if there are some among your audience who share your opinion, this will work as a folder. For example, First round, a technology-oriented company designed to facilitate contact between ideas and entrepreneurs recently, reviewed the popular Producthunt.

The prospect of a review helps you build credibility. It is recommended not to lose contact with the product after the article is published. Update it from time to time, depending on the important changes that have occurred since your analysis: this helps you maintain responsibility. That not only helps your readers better understand the review and classify it in their preferences, it also increases their image, which suggests that you have an eye for detail and are passionate about your niche. However, if you're posting to a popular news site for your target audience and you're a factor of influence, you've probably reached the jackpot. Here is an example of evergreen content that generated more than 170k views. This shows that this is one of those popular publications that generated a lot of traction.

4. The history of something

Contextualizing an article in such a way that makes it relevant to your objective creates exceptional content that will bring you constant traffic. Of course, instead of trying to complete this article with superlatives because it is elegant, my definition of exceptional content is based on relevant information, singularly remarkable and memorable. The writer's block is something that we have all suffered and that is why it is so easy to relate to him. It is not necessary to participate in literary contests monthly, just be an editor to know exactly what it means. But when you have an audience in mind, it's not that difficult to keep them interested in the story of something they already like.

5. How Guides + The reuse content technique

From worrying less about what people think of our daily decisions to using the Google Analytics URL creator to track campaigns, we all need guidance at some point. Human diversity makes our needs not only perpetually different but always seek new solutions. Divide the answers into simple steps more than half of our problem-solving work, thus becoming a great source of always green content, as long as the focus does not refer to something very specific about the time.

For example, if your "how to" article refers to specific configurations of an operating system version that may be outdated within a few months, your guide will hardly be relevant within a year. Instead, addressing a more timeless problem, however specific, will bring a steady flow of readers to your blog instead of an increase followed by an equally sudden fall. Starting with advanced remarketing is an imperishable idea properly formulated, pointing to a general direction instead of a recipe that can age.

6. Beginner's guides: idea of ?? simple but effective imperishable content

This is not a step-by-step tutorial on how to create the definitive guide. Its goal is to help you understand that guides are another effective tactic for creating lasting content.

It could be argued that this is approximately the same as the number 5, which I would have to disagree with. The fundamental difference between the two is that the second is a more abundant source of always green content. While very specific steps of doing something can change over time, the basics are less likely to undergo dramatic transformations.

The guides for beginners are easy to build. They will continue to be relevant in a few years, regardless of the dynamics of their domain. Yes, the web is as volatile as possible, and yet, any written content will advise you to never compromise quality with respect to any other lesson, just as you did two or three years ago. This example of Moz's evergreen content does a great job.

In addition, there is the undeniable advantage of greater interest: the more general the topic in question, the higher the reading interest rate. And while this might be perceived as sad and superficial, it actually shows that we are curious and are always eager to try new things.

Unlike a very specific topic, that appeals to a small, but a constant stream of readers, less specific topics cover a wider audience, which also comes in relatively constant streams, such as Neil Patel's beginner's guide to marketing in line.

7. Cure content without using content creation

When we try to understand a domain better, people often get lost in the fuss of information. It is not surprising that curating content is one of the most solid sources of evergreen content: it is easily accessible and is already systematized, which gives a general sense of direction to whoever comes to your page. But perhaps the most outstanding quality of this type of article is that it is easy to follow, take notes and return when the compass is lost. This aggregation of content writing secrets is an illustrative example for content marketers.

8. Lists - A classic idea of ?? evergreen content

They do not have to be incredibly long, but they must be exhaustive. Whenever you have decided to press Enter 20 times, it would be incredible to include everything your reader needs to know: the idea of ?? reading lists is to exhaust all possible questions.

If you are doing a good job, people will not only read your article once but will come back remembering the good source of information you received, as you did with this list of content creation tools. No disappointments!

9. The best tips for people to understand your industry

It is not uncommon, especially on the web, for people to want to know more about the services they are paying for. Regardless of the type of service offered, customers will always want to know more about their industry: they feel they have control, they do not stay out, they do not outsource because they are no longer up to date. This is exactly the reason why you would like them to be informed, and you also want to be the only one who gives them the information. In this way, not only can they understand and appreciate what they are doing, but they will also assign it to you, understanding the effort behind the lesson.

Giving advice, even if it looks like a professional violation, is an excellent way to get closer to your customers. Use it well and present it as part of your ROI. This blog post about how to grow your Twitter followers, for example, has 4.5k shares and has generated interaction on the page, as well as in the comments section, through effective and personal advice.

10. Best practices: a must for any content marketing strategy

I just said there are no recipes. I agree with that. However, people who have achieved success have every right to preach their way to do it correctly. If you are one of the lucky actors in your business, do not keep it. I agree that market share is not something you would like to lose to your competitors, but some guidelines never killed anyone (apart from the Pirates of the Caribbean, at least). If you have your eyes set on building credibility, a great tip for your readers is valuable advice.

Be that as it may, the idea that evergreens are not "soft" copywriting should never stop thinking; After all, you are as good as the advice you give. Companies intend to practice and value good writing, but an effective copy must be an effort of the entire company, focused on maintaining relevance. Here is an article that discourages so-called "best practices".

11. Checklists

You may want to treat these seriously and without neglecting important tips. This type of content is supposed to guide the reader through a process that he has simplified through his personal experience. So, do not be surprised if, at the end of the day, a conclusion will be drawn that will correlate the accuracy of the checklist and your performance as a professional in the niche.

12. Reference books in your market

Everyone has to start somewhere. You did it. Do not be shy, tell people what remarkable readings gave you perspective. But unlike lists, book recommendations do not have to be exhaustive. There is no universal recipe, nor sets of books that guarantee performance. Tell your readers what you have gained from the conferences you have particularly enjoyed and what helped you along the way.

Instead, concentrate on describing what great work those readings did in completing your knowledge, or founding it, setting a developmental point on which you will give details. There is no need to be dramatic. Realism about the people who influenced your knowledge and your work is what creates trustworthiness: start with little.

13. Rethink a common point of view

The world is a great confirmation bias. Whatever you are trying to say will be much better received by an audience if you confirm your previous empirical theories. And while we declare an event with which we all agree we can go unnoticed, stating otherwise will be seen as an outrageous act that is prone to creating rumors. There is nothing wrong with a more powerful approach to expressing the importance of what you are about to expose.

There is a fine line between not taking for granted any common misconceptions and doubting everything that makes sense. As much as you are a fan of new perspectives and twisted views, keep in mind that your arguments have to be significantly more powerful. After all, you are trying to change an opinion instead of confirming one and we know better how reluctant we all are to that. An approach to myths and misconceptions in your niche can be informative even for professionals, exploiting a trait that often ruins companies.

14. Update and update the old content: the antiquity remains fresh

Sometimes it's hard to let go of a great article; The more you work on it, the more you will have the feeling that it is unfair that no one opens it within 6 months. The old content can be recycled and updated, having the great advantage of creating a deeper perspective since it has already been documented once.

Every time you decide to update it, its informative value increases, as long as you do not do it without feeling it; The simplest way is to ask yourself what an article should have to keep you interested in reading it two years after it was originally written. Then document it accordingly to ensure its relevance over time.

15. Definitions, glossaries, acronyms.

Being humble bears fruit. And since business has to do with competitive advantages, I would not want to look arrogant. Working in an ever-changing niche is sometimes overwhelming in terms of maintaining vision and relevance, and it is not easier for your clients either. His perpetual effort is always knowing what to ask him and, sometimes, it is not an easy job. Give your readers a good start.

In this context, an introduction to the terminology of your niche is a wonderful idea: it is your way of letting your clients know that there is nothing wrong with the inability to master your jargon, as it will offer you constant guidance from the start. first step. While this type of content may seem redundant, it is a statement of humility well received in the eyes of your customers that you would not want to miss.

Writing articles related to news is vital, as it shows interest in the new and elegant stories of your domain. However, it becomes even more relevant if you balance it with the always relevant content that shows that you know how to strategically manage your experience in dealing with information. While there is no perfect content strategy recipe that applies universally, remember that you do not always have to choose the speed instead of the marathon.

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