What Is Evergreen Content? 8 Examples & Why They Work

What’s the purpose of blogging anyway?

Is it to create an emotional connection with your audience? Yes, it can be. Your readers are going to love the stories you tell, and they’ll be more likely to connect with your brand and keep coming back for more.

But is this kind of emotional content really what your audience is searching Google for? Unlikely.

What they’re really after is evergreen content.

Your readers have questions. Give them answers.

What Are Your Readers Searching For?

Let’s look inside the head of the average Google searcher. Yes, in fact, these are actual people we are talking about, not just “keywords” or “users.” These people have a pulse, and we ought to treat them as such.

So your audience is on Google, searching for something; what are they searching for?

More often than not, they’re looking for a solution to some problem. They aren’t just killing time looking for amusing anecdotes. They want real, applicable solutions for actual problems in their lives.

Your narrative–rich content isn’t always going to solve those problems for them.

What you need is some evergreen content.

What Is Evergreen Content?

Evergreen content is all about answering your audience’s questions. This type of content is called “evergreen” because it provides the same benefit to your readers no matter what time of year or century they search for it. 

Why do we keep using Google? Because it’s a great learning tool. It’s a place to find answers to questions, like “How to change my car’s oil?” or “What is Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity?”

You already have the answer to your target audience’s questions. That is where your piece of evergreen content comes in. 

And the best thing about evergreen content? You only have to write it once, but it still keeps working for you! People are always searching for the same answers, and your content will still be there for them to find. 

Of course, you may need to update it or re-purpose it once in a blue moon.

Evergreen Content Examples

Here are some of the best examples of evergreen content you can easily incorporate into your blog:

• The “How To”: Those tutorials and guides we all love to find because they teach us something new (example: How to Use Hashtags Effectively & Avoid Shady Practices)
  
• The “List”: Any kind of list is irresistible to your readers (example: Spy Guide: A DIY Checklist for Competitive Analysis)
  
• The “Helpful Tips”: Helping your readers out for all kinds of timeless questions (example: DIY Marketing: What You Can Do Yourself (& What You Can’t)
• The “Complete Guide”: Pulls together a ton of your most helpful content into a single post (example: Your Guide to the Marketing Funnel: How to Attract, Connect, and Convert Leads)
• The “Encyclopedia” or “Glossary”: Includes cohesive, all-encompassing information on a certain subject or definitions of terms applicable to a certain industry (example: What Exactly Is PPC?)
• The “Case Study”: Shows off strategies and successes to boost credibility (example: Visionworks Project Overview)
• The “FAQs Page”: Answers common questions all in one place (example: How Long Does SEO Take to Start Working?)
• The “Free Tools and Resources”: Gives helpful information away to build authority (example: Your Free Digital Marketing Tool Kit)

Really, the only determining factor of an evergreen blog post is that its usefulness lasts beyond the date you post it. When you sit down to write a piece of evergreen content, think to yourself first, “Will my reader find this useful one year, two years from now?”

You have to keep feeding them more of that awesome content that they want. It’s what we content marketers are so adept at doing; keeping the wells overflowing with relatable, intriguing, shareable content.

What Evergreen Content Isn’t

Evergreen content is not anything that has a short relevancy span to your audience. This would be:

• News posts, including social media posts
• Announcements, press releases, invitations, promotions, etc.
• Articles with seasonal specificity (Valentine’s Day gift ideas, Autumn yard projects, etc.)
• Posts about current events or issues (Olympics, politics, etc.)
• Data and statistics
• Speculative or “opinion” content

These types of content may be interesting for an audience to read once at a certain time, but their interest will drop off almost immediately, as they won’t be searching for such content regularly or long term.

Growth and Care Instructions for a Healthy and Happy Evergreen Content Strategy

A good evergreen content strategy must be grown from the ground up and nurtured throughout its lifespan. 

Review the three key instructions for evergreen growth and care, along with the other vital instructions contained within each step. 

1. Choose the right topic.
   • Find keywords with good search volume.
   • Check for a positive trend over time (not declining or seasonal).
   • Look for consistent search intent.
2. Create the content.
   • Optimize for SEO
   • Make it 10X valuable through quality, uniqueness, and authority.
   • Avoid angles with a short lifespan (aka “newsjacking”).
   • Avoid time-constrained language like “last month” or a specific year.
   • Show your expertise, but don’t write for experts.
3. Maintain evergreen status.
   • Promote the content.
   • Build backlinks, sometimes by the dozens.
   • Track your rankings, links, and shares to ensure it’s not dropping over time.
   • Refresh your content to update stats, processes, links, screenshots, etc.
   • Re-spin, repurpose, and reuse your content.

Evergreen Content Is Good SEO

So now we know that evergreen content is supposed to provide solutions to your readers’ problems.

Guess what: that’s what good SEO is all about!

When you craft customized content that addresses specific questions that your target audience is asking, you are one step ahead of the game. You’re optimizing your site to be the best, end-all authority in your neck of the woods.

Evergreen content leads to:

• Boosted search rankings
• More (and more consistent) organic traffic
• Larger number of leads
• Higher business relevancy
• Savings on time, since you don’t have to post as frequently

Add Evergreen Content to Your Digital Marketing Toolbox

Don’t give up on those newsworthy blog posts. And never stop trying to create an emotional connection with your audience. After all, evergreen content is just one more tool to add to your digital marketing toolbox.

If you want help growing your evergreen content, talk to a Big Leap strategist!