Everything you need to know about Evergreen Content Strategy

Ever since Bill Gates opined that “Content is the king,” the statement has been doing the rounds for years. These days, when we talk about content, we often hear the term evergreen content. To be honest, the term is quite a vague one, and many individuals working in the field of marketing aren’t sure of what it means. So, let us break it down, shall we? Take an evergreen tree as an example. An evergreen tree is one that doesn't shed its leaves throughout the year.

Quite like evergreen trees, evergreen content is all about information that does not lose its purpose even after years. To quote Ava Mendez, the content strategist of GoDissertationHelp, “Evergreen content remains relevant and serves as information that can be used even after years.”

For example, a topic like “Marketing Trends for 2018” is designed to help a marketer get an insight into the marketing to-do list for the year 2018 only. As the year passes, the content isn’t likely to hold much value for the readers. Evergreen content is designed to last for a more extended period through which it remains relatable and helpful. And when we talk about content, it does not necessarily have to be written content. Even videos and podcasts, blog posts and infographics can be crafted to stand the test of time. 

6 REASONS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE AN EVERGREEN CONTENT STRATEGY

Having passed the long click test, evergreen content can help to increase the ranking of a website on the search engine by sending a positive signal to a search engine. Apart from generating leads and driving traffic to your website or landing page, here is why it is essential to include evergreen content in your content marketing mix.

If you haven’t yet understood the miraculous touch of evergreen content, let me elucidate the biggest six Easter eggs that await you when you implement evergreen content on your site.

It boosts the rankings of your keywords

If you build your evergreen content around the most relevant keywords for your website, the chances are that the rankings of these high-profile keywords will go up. When you base the topics of evergreen contents around these keywords, the search engines start putting the keywords to a higher position, as a result of which the SERP of your web page increases.

Takes the workload off you

In the case of generic content, it becomes stressful to go back to the articles and blogs that you have published and make changes so that they stay relevant to the current times. You may also have to continuously search for topics to replace your generic and time-bound articles with current and trending issues. But, with evergreen content, you won’t have to type all day long on your keyboard.

Drives traffic to your site

Not being bound by timeframe, evergreen content will help you drive traffic to your website by steadily increasing numbers of visitors on your site as compared to generic content. While trending topics can bring in the seasonal rush, it is an evergreen content strategy that will help you to enjoy the flow year round and beyond.

It Is SEO Friendly

Since most search engines like Google uses an algorithm to rate sites loaded with fresh content higher on the chart, evergreen content can serve as an SEO optimization tool. The search engine scan differentiate between high-quality writing and trending topics and boost your site’s SEO rankings considerably.

Better visibility through fresher backlinks

We all know the ways in which fresher back links help — the more robust and recent the backlinks, the better the ranking of that particular article or blog post. When you create evergreen content for your site, you can stay assured that your posts can get backlinks due to the quality of the material even after a year or two. And when Google realizes that your site gets new backlinks, it boosts the overall ranking of your website, leading to better visibility on Google.

The Social Shares keep coming

It is not difficult for a layman to understand as to why evergreen content receives more social shares. Since the relevance of trending topics wears out some time since its publication, it is quite understandable that evergreen content can fetch you more social shares and bring in more leads.

7 EVERGREEN CONTENT TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Quite often, brands think that they are crafting content around evergreen topics that are timeless when in reality their published content loses relevance with time. When we talk about evergreen content, you must understand that it needs to be timeless, meaning that the content should make sense even after a lot of time has passed. Even when the topics follow a trend, the content must have the scope of flexibility so that it can be updated as and when needed.

Now, if you are a novice in this field, then there is no need to feel lost. I have got some superb tips ready for you. These tricks will definitely work in your favor! Let's have a look then, shall we?

Ø Keep your audience in mind

Like any other piece of content, evergreen content remains valuable only if it meets the query of the users. To make sure that the content you craft has permanent relevance, you need to write with your audience in mind. You must assess your target. Surrounding their expectations, you need to build content that offers value to your audience and serves as a solution to their problem.

Ø Create diverse and flexible content to appeal to different audiences

Every customer is dynamic, and each one has different expectations from you. As some may prefer quantity to quality, you may have to keep a mix of posts that are lengthy, and you also need to make sure that they are appealing enough. Some may ask for readable material, others might find videos and info-graphics more engaging. So, you need to produce content that can be useful and appealing to all kinds of audiences. The goal is to put something on the table for each one of your users. This way, you will also be able to distribute your content into multiple channels, thus increasing the number of shares and traffic flow.

Ø Recycle the content through social media

If you are wondering how to use evergreen content after a while, then social media is the answer to your question. The key to evergreen pieces creating a stir even after a year or two is the continuous promotion of it through various social mediachannels. The best channel being Facebook, with Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest following right behind –social media can be the game changer here.

Ø Repurpose the content

To give a new lease of life to your evergreen content strategy, you can try re-framing the content into trends that are currently in vogue. It’s like serving old wine in a new bottle, if you know what I mean! Change the blogs into videos, videos into PDF download sand the writings into audio feeds – the number of combinations that you could try are endless! You need to use your creativity to create something that no one else tried.

Ø Pay no attention to current events

Putting one date can make even the smartest evergreen content turn generic, putting all your efforts down the drain. So, keep a safe distance from current events and news as they last for a short time. Also, make sure that the keyword of your content isn't time bound either. Only then will a search query made for your post will give you a higher rank on the search engines.

Ø Put your SEO skills to use

Search engine optimisation is the best way to get more value out of your evergreen content. To use the potential of evergreen content, you must build an SEO strategy for your content. Start with proper keyword research followed by well-crafted Meta titles and Meta descriptions to get the most out of the posts that you make. Optimise your content at the very beginning, so that you don’t have to work on the same post time and again.

Ø Avoid technical language as much as you can

Considering that the vast majority of your audience will be beginners who will be struggling with an issue and looking for help, you need to steer clear from using technical language. A beginner will switch to another purpose for information if they do not understand the overtly technical language in your post despite your article having the answer. To avoid this,create content that is simple.

Evergreen content will help you to drive traffic and gear your content marketing strategy toward long-term results. If you want your business to be right at the top, then it is high time that you start producing evergreen content that maintains its relevance over time. With the above-mentioned tips at hand, I don’t think creating an evergreen content strategy will bea daunting task.

Author Bio: Jijo is a content marketing analyst and a strategist who is associated with GoAssignmentHelp and guest author at @Valuewalk and Inman. He is an active blogger who also serves as an honorary lecturer in several B-schools. Besides being a bibliophile, he is a certified mountain climber too. Follow him on Twitter.