Why You Need an Evergreen Content Strategy

Are you building a website and want to attract viewers? Do you already have a website, but your visits are declining?

You need an Evergreen content strategy! That's the best way to maintain your audience and gain a new following over time. If you've noticed a drop in visitors, it probably means your content isn't current, but Evergreen content is designed to stay relevant as time marches on.

An Evergreen content strategy can benefit any website and maximize your audience's attention, no matter the topic or the size of your market. Making your content Evergreen is simple, too--there's no reason to avoid updating your posted material. If you make it more relevant, you'll see the results.

Are you interested in gaining a larger audience? Keep reading to learn how an Evergreen content strategy can work for you.

What is Evergreen Content?

Evergreen content is designed to hold a position in search results for a long time. When new content is posted online, most of it drops out of search results fairly quickly. However, with an Evergreen content strategy, your content will stay relevant much, much longer.

It all starts with a strong topic and supporting content. These are topics that maintain their search frequency, no matter the year or what is happening in the world. Without these components, an article cannot stay relevant for long.

Once you've identified the right Evergreen topic, you can use the SEOScout Content Optimizer to bring it to life. This editor will help you improve your SEO and keyword usage. It also tracks the comprehensiveness and expected grade level of your writing as well, so you can easily adjust and make your content more interesting while you're writing. That's how you create relevant content to help you raise your website's rank in search engines, and that's how you reach your audience.

In short, an Evergreen content strategy will keep your articles fresh and relevant. They can stand the test of time, just like an evergreen tree.

Examples of Evergreen Topics

Evergreen topics stay relevant regardless of trends, the time of year, or the latest news cycles. Using the right types of graphs and infographics is one way to keep your audience interested in your content, but the subject still matters. No one wants to read an infographic about a boring or irrelevant topic.

A great example is "How to lose weight" because people always want to lose weight no matter the year or current events. There are many articles posted online about this subject, and the frequency of Google searches on this topic remains consistent over time.

Plus, even though there are tons of diets and fads, the way to lose weight never changes. As long as you burn more calories than you consume, you will probably lose weight. The science behind this doesn't change, so even old articles are still considered relevant today.

On the other hand, a search for "U.S. presidential elections" would not be considered Evergreen. These elections occur every four years, and while there are a ton of informative articles on the subject, they are not going to stay relevant outside of election season. A page with this information will be replaced quickly, losing its rank in Google's page rankings as it becomes irrelevant.

How do you identify a strong Evergreen topic? Think about your own Google searches. How often do you ask questions or look for guides to solve a problem? You might want to incorporate often searched keywords such as:

• How, what, when, where, why, who
• Guide, tips, list, tutorial

Whenever possible, these keywords should be used in your title and throughout your writing process--these words are prime examples of Evergreen content and are regularly used in searches. In other words, any topics or titles using these phrases will draw more attention to your website.

As you identify the right topic and begin to write, try using the SEOScout Content Optimizer to see how strong your ideas are and improve the way you write about them. The editor will let you know how often to use certain words related to your topic. 

You can also run previously posted articles through the Evergreen content editor to see if they need to be updated to hold your audience. Your website will thank you, and you may see an increase in traffic! 

Why Writing Evergreen Content is Important

Search engines are one of the main ways that people find your website, and Evergreen content helps people find you in search engines because it keeps your rankings high over time. If your content is not optimized, Google is much less likely to recommend you.

Your website is valuable to you, and it's valuable to your audience, but only if they can find it. Evergreen content improves your search rankings and leads to more links and shares, further boosting your authority. It's a positive cycle with benefits that increase over time. Why would you not want to post Evergreen content, so you can take advantage of increased traffic from search engines?

On the other hand, current news topics or other content that isn't Evergreen can become irrelevant quickly. For many websites, posting this kind of content is simply a waste of valuable time and resources. Why would you spend time creating content that is going to expire in a few days or weeks?

If you use an Evergreen content strategy, you help your website stay relevant for months or maybe even years after posting an article. You can also make this process even easier by using an editor like the SEOScout Content Optimizer because it will let you know which keywords and related topics to include for maximum exposure.

The Strategy: Saving Your Content Budget by Writing Evergreen Articles

If you're going to put time and money into your content, you want it to last. Maybe you've already posted an article, but it needs to be updated because it's outdated. How can you make the most of your budget? Follow the process below to maximize your content budget and gain additional benefits along the way.

The Process:

Saving Your Content Budget With Evergreen Articles

You can make your content much more valuable and save money by following these simple steps:

• Find keywords and content ideas with high search volumes. 
• If you don't take search volumes into account, people are much less likely to discover your content, which means it will need to be updated or replaced down the road.
• Keyword research is crucial to developing SEO content and keeping your pages Evergreen.

• Ensure the topic has consistent interest over time.
• Evergreen topics will help you the most here. Marketers, as you research topics, be sure to review past and present search relevance to understand what is likely to happen to these search topics in the future.
• Writing about topics that stay relevant over time will make your content more valuable because they will consistently maintain a higher rank on Google.

• Write content that will endure.
• You want your content to endure with minimal updates. The more viewers and clicks you receive on a single article over time, the higher you will rank on Google.

• Enduring content is best for your budget because you do not need to pay to update or replace it later on. Taking the time to write long-lasting content the first time around is in your best interest.

• Update your content to maintain relevancy… then promote it again.
• If your content is out-of-date, you want to update it as soon as possible. Websites cost money to stay online, so irrelevant articles are wasting money when they do not attract an audience or benefit your website.
• If you update your content and make it Evergreen, then you won't have to update it again for a while. That will allow you to focus on new content instead of constantly updating older articles.
• Be sure to promote your updated content again. You can even promote your most popular content regularly, so more and more people will find it and visit your website.

• Build more backlinks for compounding returns over time.
• A backlink is a link that connects your site to another page. Including backlinks improves your Google ranking, so it's a smart way to update your content.
• Your site will get more attention with more backlinks, which means it will show up more often in search results. Again, you want to take advantage of this positive cycle.
• Evergreen content provides opportunities for backlinks, raises SEO rankings, and increases traffic flow. This is an easy strategy to extend your content budget efficiently. 

How to Find an Evergreen Topic

When you're looking for the perfect Evergreen topic, you'll want to stay away from trends that will not last long. Instead, focus on frequently searched topics where interest holds steady over time. You will also want to do some keyword research. If you need some help with this research, there are plenty of tools available online and even on this website.

During your research, look for keywords with a high search volume. Keyword lists and reports can help you find Evergreen topics, but it's important to look at both past and present search behavior. The keywords should have a positive trending search history to be considered Evergreen. If a topic is seasonal or appears to have declining search interest, you will want to choose a different topic. For example, "Easter eggs" is fairly popular in the Spring, but clicks drop off dramatically after the holiday season is over.

Also, don't be afraid to delve into niche topics. Evergreen content is rarely the most popular content; instead, it's the longest-lasting content. If you target niche searches, you could be one of the few websites to provide content on a particular topic. This means your audience can only grow over time because you're only of the only places they can find what they need.

Using Google Analytics is another way to find great topics. You can use it to find topics that interest your viewers and generate more Evergreen content tailored to them. If you create a page that is doing well, dig into the analytics to understand why.

Is your page easy to share? Well-written? Maybe it's super informative? When you figure out why it's successful, you will want to reproduce that format in your other pages and posts. 

Similarly, if you develop a familiar voice that your audience enjoys, continue creating content in that style. Over time, you'll learn what topics and strategies work best.

How to Create Evergreen Content

Search engines are designed to deliver the best result based on the user's search. How do you make your site the best result? You need to generate high-quality content and provide more information than other websites, so your content is ranked higher. You will also want to:

• Show your authority on the subject and use sources.
• Have interesting, engaging content.
• Present a quality website overall. Use good designs and be sure it's easy to read.

Knowing this, you can easily create Evergreen content. Marketers, you know what content your audience wants to read, so this process should be intuitive for you. Think about what information is valuable to your audience based on searches, keyword use, feedback, and past interest. Then, write compelling content in easy-to-digest formats. If you use an editor like the SEOScout Content Optimizer, you'll be able to optimize your SEO while you write.

Be sure to use one of the often searched keywords listed above in your titles as well. For example, titles, including words like "guide" or "how to" are particularly effective at increasing page views. In addition, adding lists and infographics works well. People tend to like content that they can scan for information quickly. If you can find unique ways to incorporate these ideas into your content, people will notice.

In short, use the tools above to create amazing Evergreen content, and you'll be sure to see the results in your website's Google rankings and page visits.

What to Avoid With Evergreen Content

When you're writing Evergreen content, be sure to avoid phrases that date your content because they'll give it a shorter life span. This includes terms or phrases such as:

• "Last week"
• "This year"
• "Yesterday"
• "20XX"
• "Tomorrow"

When you date your content, you guarantee it will only stay relevant for a short amount of time. In a few months, when someone sees the date on your article, they may think it's outdated, so they probably won't click on it. With Evergreen content, the topic should always be relevant, and the words you use within the article should reinforce that.

Over time, you will want to track your website's ranking to see how relevant it is. If you notice that your ranking is dropping, then your content is not Evergreen. Don't worry--now you know how to make it Evergreen, so this is the perfect time to update your content and reverse that trend.

How to Update Your Content

If you happen to notice a drop in hits on your site, there are ways to address this problem. It's likely your website just needs to be updated with effective Evergreen content.

First, you will want to find out why your content is no longer relevant, especially if you thought it was Evergreen already. Start by reviewing and addressing the following:

• Broken or outdated links
• Broken or outdated images
• Low-quality images
• Years or other phrases that date your articles listed in the content
• Outdated information
• Not enough backlinks
• Outdated studies and data

After you make these updates, you will want to look at the pages that have surpassed you in the search engine rankings. What are they doing to be more relevant than your website? The higher ranked pages can offer tips, so you can improve your content. They should give you plenty of ideas, so you can add more Evergreen content to your website or update existing articles.

After adjusting any articles, you will want to promote them as if they were new to see how they impact your rankings. During this period, you will want to closely watch the traffic you are receiving on your site. If you see better rankings and increased traffic, you'll know your updates are working.

In general, it's always a good idea to be thinking about topics that are relevant and highly searched. That will help you be ready to write Evergreen content at any time. Think of the last question you Googled--how could you make it Evergreen? Or is it a topic that will fade out of search engines quickly? Thinking about these matters regularly will make it easier for you to make decisions when you're developing Evergreen content.

SEO is always changing. To stay relevant, you will need to respond in a timely fashion and make adjustments when you notice your audience fading away. If you implement an effective content strategy, Evergreen content will keep your pages relevant for a long time.

Learn to Build Links

Relevant links are vital to keeping your content Evergreen. Google prioritizes pages with more links, so you will have trouble achieving a high ranking if your pages have few links or links that are broken.

While doing keyword research, keep an eye out for links that you can include to boost your website's SEO. If you do not have links, it won't matter if you have content that is otherwise Evergreen; your page will still be difficult for people to discover!

If you learn to build links into your content as you create, the whole process becomes much easier. 

Quick Reference Guide:

What Does Content Need to be Evergreen?

Here is a quick list of everything you should consider to create Evergreen articles:

• Use an enticing headline based on keywords
• Do not date the content
• Include relevant studies and data
• Share relevant information with your audience
• Ensure all posted content is easily shareable
• Focus on quality writing and include correct information
• Remember SEO basics--Relevant terms, tags, and links throughout the content

If you follow this short guide as you write your content, you can create strong Evergreen pages and posts for your website.

Summary:

Why You Need a Strategy

Are you still not convinced that you need an Evergreen content strategy? Not only will it improve your page ranking and attract a larger audience to your website, but it will also save you money on content creation over time. With that in mind, why wouldn't you create Evergreen content?

Plus, Evergreen continent strategies are easy to implement. You can use the SEOScout Content Optimizer to check your writing and see if you've optimized relevant terms. On top of the SEO benefits, it will also gauge your writing for comprehension in a timely manner--all for free! This is a great resource to use if you want to improve your site with Evergreen content.

At the end of the day, without an Evergreen strategy, fewer viewers will frequent your site over time. You do not want to lose money, keeping a barren page online, so it's in your best interest to work Evergreen content into your posts.

Conclusion

So, why do you need to develop an Evergreen content strategy? If you want people to keep visiting your site, then it has to stay relevant. Evergreen content is designed to stay relevant to search engines, so it helps you generate organic traffic over the long term.

You work hard to put your content online, and it is valuable to those who read it. Why would you want it to be hard to find? Using Evergreen content strategies, you can reach out to people and expand your brand identity on the internet.

In conclusion, using an Evergreen content strategy is vital to the success of your website. If you want to produce long-lasting, engaging content, Evergreen is the way to go.

Remember, getting started sooner with your updates is better than later when it comes to attracting traffic.