What is Evergreen Content in SEO?

“Today’s newspaper is tomorrow’s fish and chips wrapper.”

Except for evergreen content.

What is evergreen content, and how can it help with my website’s SEO?

Evergreen content is content that stays relevant long after it has been published. It’s not time-dependent or urgent and will continue driving targeted traffic and readers over time.

What is Evergreen Content

Like an actual tree, Evergreen content is SEO-friendly content that remains fresh, active, and relevant over time.

The following is evergreen in nature: “The Benefits of SEO Services For Businesses.”

The nature of the topic is evergreen. SEO services will always provide businesses with the same type of growth benefits. The topic’s intent will not change and will educate businesses on the benefits of the service.

Most content will inevitably either become outdated or require minor editing. This is generally not the case for true evergreen content.

Effective Evergreen Formats

There are tons of content types available online, but true evergreen content follows the following format types:

• Statistics and facts
• Formal guides that cover very specific topics
• Tips and tricks blog posts to address very specific problems
• How-to articles (applies to all niches: tech, lifestyle, food, etc.)
• Product reviews (Some products that frequently update, i.e., phones, may not be considered evergreen)

Using the above formats doesn’t automatically make your content evergreen.

Key formats are one thing; executing them correctly is another. Here’s how you can mobilise evergreen content formats:

Making your article and blog post evergreen:

• Provide curated industry advice and tips to position yourself as an authority
• Provide in-depth answers that cover the parent topic and closely related subtopics
• Answer FAQs in-depth in a separate section below your blog post
• Simplify confusing industry concepts so new readers turn to your website for an explanation

Examples of Evergreen Content

Evergreen content can arise as subtopics under a parent topic or industry. Here are some proven examples:

“The Ultimate Guide to Buying Your First Home”

This is an excellent example under the home loan topic and niche. A one-stop hub for everything about first home buying is extremely valuable for young adults entering the market and seasoned brokers browsing for information.

For this type of content to become evergreen, it should cover professional advice when scouting for property, considering all factors such as:

• Local market indicators
• Mortgage rates
• Housing supply and demand
• Nearby shops and schools
• Location demographics

While we’re at it, an ultimate guide for any topic (first home buying for this case) should cover any nuances about the topic and utilise different types of content such as:

• Slides
• Illustrations
• Explainer videos

That way, you’ll cover all holes and leave your readers everything they need to know about when buying their first home or pursuing whatever topic you’re working on.

How-Tos, Tutorials, Explainers, etc.

DIY, self-learning, and the internet (social media) are excellent. Content that is easy to digest and follow can be fun and very informational for relevant audiences.

Besides, the internet is a central hub for people looking for information. Whether you’re marketing to students, pet owners, service providers, or everyday homeowners, how-tos and tutorials are timeless ways to engage with your readers.

10 Ways, 10 Tips, and other listicles

Using the classic list-type content is a strong foundation for a true evergreen article. Blogs like the following examples can boost your site traffic either consistently or during peak seasons:

• 10 Fast Ways to Brew Coffee at Home
• 10 Health Benefits of Cold Showers
• 10 Ways SEO Can Grow Your Business

For example, if you Google the benefits of blogging SEO, you’ll find our article sitting on the first page:

It’s evergreen since blogging SEO isn’t fading away anytime soon—especially after Google’s Helpful Content update rolled out.

If you think about it, none of the listed examples have expiry dates. Whether you’re reading this in 2023 or two years later, it will remain relevant and attractive to people looking for similar information.

Still confused? Check out our live evergreen pages for your reference:

• Blog SEO: 20 Benefits of Blogging To Improve SEO
• Domain Authority & SEO: Everything You Need To Know

A Piece of Advice

Note that while the examples above are potentially evergreen content, not all topics following those formats are evergreen or relevant to your business.

In other words, you must develop content that resonates with your message and delivers it effectively to your target audience.

That’s where the challenge begins. The difficult part of developing evergreen content is standing out from the competition by adding unique twists to your content or targeting long-tail & low-competition keywords.

But when implemented properly, you’ll deliver genuinely useful content that your customers are looking for and a strong chance of moving up Google’s ranks.

Examples of Content That Aren’t Evergreen

There are a ton of common misconceptions surrounding evergreen content that even seasoned content developers fall victim to.

To better understand what makes evergreen content as it is, how about we look at what it is not?

Here are common types of content that don’t quality as evergreen:

• Blog posts on pop culture and market trends
• News articles
• Fashion and clothing trends
• Viral content

Source: Backlinko

As discussed, evergreen content should not expire and remain valuable for years after publishing. While the potential for leads and traffic from this season’s trends is massive, you get more long-term value from evergreen content, and the ROI from rich content generation will be massive.

Why is Evergreen Content Important for SEO?

Google rewards high-quality content, achieved with SEO and content marketing services, where evergreen content is a prime example.

Hence, evergreen content is considered amongst the highest value type of digital asset. Combining it with proven white hat SEO, this content can drive high quality organic traffic and customers and boost revenue.

But remember to develop evergreen content around well-researched keywords you want to rank for. Even the best content is not seen if it doesn’t rank well on Google.

Source: CognitiveSEO

Use fundamental SEO strategies such as keyword research & optimisation, competitor analysis, market research, and on & off-page SEO. The easier it is to find, share, and digest your content, the more substantial it has for your bottom line.

Tips To Maximise SEO Impact of Evergreen Content

Here are surefire tips to maximise the SEO impact of your evergreen content:

Ensure evergreen content is easily accessible

After publishing your first evergreen content, do not leave it buried over time. If you set and forget evergreen articles, you won’t earn the traffic and results you want.

Instead, put your article front-and-centre or highlight its value across other pages so readers can easily see and access it when visiting your site.

Here’s how we recommend doing it:

• Publish training guides and 101’s for beginners in the industry and have it point to your ultimate guides and other evergreen content.
• Design a sidebar or footer listing evergreen articles on your homepage or blog pages.
• Update evergreen posts with new information and fresh content to showcase them to your audience.
• Build a strong buyer/user journey across your website by publishing a start here page. This works similarly to the first tip, as it should include tutorials and how-tos.
• Leverage the power of social media channels and launch a campaign around evergreen content across all your accounts.

However, you want to highlight your content doesn’t matter as long as you give it the visibility it needs to drive traffic and attract potential leads.

Keep updating your content with more relevant information

Refreshing your content is key to staying up-to-date with the latest findings and information.

While you shouldn’t need much work updating evergreen content, your industry might discover new updated information to which you can link or inform your audience about.

Besides, updating old pages will restore freshness, boost SEO rankings, and improve your overall website quality.

Content decay happens due to loss of interest, freshness factor (a known Google ranking factor), or outdated information. It is crucial that all websites have a method to detect and address decaying content consistently.

After refreshing your content, promote it like it’s new (think social media, link outreach for link building). Give it a few years, then the cycle repeats.

Remember, the internet is flooded with new content all the time—and many will compete for the same keywords you’re aiming for. 

Contact our SEO specialists in Sydney, and we’ll help you detect and prevent content decay from taking away valuable traffic on your site.

Final Thoughts

You don’t want to spend days developing well-researched and exciting content only to last a few days before losing its quality. 

While evergreen content promises exceptional ranking potential, traffic and engagement gains, and reliable SEO impact, they will only yield remarkable results with proper execution and maintenance.

Reach out to our SEO growth specialists to discover how to develop evergreen content for your business and drive organic traffic for years.