What is an Evergreen Content?

1K Blog Marathon: Day 15

“I’m gonna take this moment
And make it last forever
I’m gonna give my heart away
And pray we’ll stay together
Cause you’re the one good reason
You’re the only girl that I need
Cause you’re more beautiful than I have ever seen
I’m gonna take this night
And make it evergreen”

This is one of my favorite lyrics from the song “Evergreen” by Westlife. It speaks of a loving heart that wants to encapsulate all the good memories just to have it forever. It tells a swift moment that the speaker wishes to hold eternally, and to be with the woman he loves.

Forever.

Everlasting.

Evergreen.

In the world of content writing online, creating an evergreen content is the Holy Grail. It’s topics revolves around a “for all season” ideas, which is very much applicable from the time of the creation and even years after it. It’s like a passive income that continuously generates stream of cash even if created a long time ago. It never gets old, never out of style, never lose interest.

To be honest, this is what I always wanted to write, this type of content is what I always think of, and telling myself “What evergreen content can I contribute to world?” Can I really make a dent in the universe?

Talking about the technical side, according to digitalmarketinginstitute.com, “evergreen contents are search-optimized content that is continually relevant and stays “fresh” for readers over a long period of time“. It can generate traffic to your website over time. The more practical and specific or sub-niched a content is, the more evergreen it is.

Common forms of evergreen contents are:

1. How-to’s – blogs about practical answers to practical questions. Like a recipe.
2. Lists – contents about top 10 or top 100 of anything. But sometimes, this should be updated to be more relevant, due to changing of positions or rankings of the listed items.
3. Videos – video contents are more relevant today and even years after its creation. Videos are more practical when showing how-to’s.
4. History or old facts – even old, this entries did not change often, unless science disproves it, like in the case of the 9^th planet, Pluto, which is now considered an Asteroid. But this types of content are evergreen – for every people around the world “needs” to know history.
5. Health and Wellness – of course everyone wants to live a good and healthy life.
6. Financial Management – this doesn’t gets old. The medium of earning may change, but the underlying tips and aspect of money stays the same. And many people are interested on how you will put money in their pocket.

On the flip side, these are contents that are NOT evergreen in nature:

1. News articles – you may say, “But news today will become history tomorrow”. But I will tell you, no one talks about a scandal over and over again for 1 to 2 years. It just gets old, gets boring. And news are being covered by other “current news” every second.
2. Seasonal contents – think of Christmas craze – did it took a year before reader lose interest in it? The moment Christmas passed, everyone forgets. Unless you live in our country (Philippines celebrates Christmas from September 1 up to January 7 of the following year)
3. Product Reviews – you may also state “product review is relevant especially if it’s a big brand”. But the fad gets old, and people just want to compare new competing brands other than old vs new brands.
4. Trends – like I’ve said earlier, fad is short-lived. What’s trending today may not be top1 tomorrow, as contents and viral things pops out literally “out of nowhere”.

How does it helps your blog / website?

Evergreen contents can be setup once and generate traffic for a long period of time. As long as its details are relevant to the readers, well written, it can benefit your SEO.

Tips:

1. Write evergreen contents for readers, not only for web crawlers.
2. Write about a niche or better, a sub-niche for a more focused topic.
3. Use social media to promote your evergreen content.
4. Don’t separate yourself from you readers by being too professional about the topic. Just be natural and friendly.
5. Do your assignments. Learn internal links and link it to your pillar page.

Evergreen contents can take any form. And just like a true love, when you find one, you should never let go of it – and you have to tell the world!

“And that’s one blog, stay hungry!”

“Timeless principles never age, and truth is as young as the day it was spoken into existence.”

― Craig D. Lounsbrough

Do you have any insight about our topic today? Don’t be shy, I won’t bite! You can leave a comment below. Every opinion / fact is highly appreciated. Maybe I can learn from you Senpai!