Today, every business owner, no matter what size, understands the importance, more aptly described as “necessity,” of having a web presence. If you are going to spend the time and resources to establish or expand your online footprint, doesn’t it make sense to maximize the opportunity to drive traffic to your site? And, in addition to that traffic, enhance and grow your revenue? Evergreen content is one way to do just that. Let’s discuss it a bit, shall we?
The Definition of Evergreen Content
On of the important aspects of content marketing is understanding content marketing. And, that includes “evergreen content.” As the name implies, evergreen content remains fresh and does not become stale in a matter of days or weeks. You want topics that will be of interest and relevant to readers for many months or even years. Among the various algorithms search engines employ for indexing web pages, one component rates the traffic (i.e. views) that a website or page receives. If you have dated or expired content, you are not getting anywhere near the first page of the search engine rankings, even from that one component alone.
What to Avoid
When you are brainstorming about what type of information to post, it is a good idea to understand what to avoid. Although a breaking news story can seem compelling and all-encompassing at the time, current topics typically fall from interest quickly, only to be replaced by the next one. Keep that in mind when deciding what to include and what to exclude. Other tips include:
- Avoid seasonally-related or holiday topics. An exception would be if you are planning a campaign (i.e. money-making) around a particular season or buying season.
- Avoid trendy or fashionable subjects (unless your site is all about trendy and fashional subjects, of course).
- Avoid information that contains statistics or other numeric data that will soon be out of date. An exception to this is if your site is all about statistics and you are aiming for those links. If the topic is HOT and you are the place to be for those statistics, then that might be an exception. Then again, if that is the case, you are likely established as a statistics expert and already offering services (i.e. money-making) in that area of expertise.
What to Emphasize
Always keep in mind how important those keywords are to your business. Sure, they may not be the “end all” anymore, when it comes to SEO (in the way that they were in the past), but that does not mean that they are gone. Implement those keyword strategies into your SEO! Write content around keywords >> the type of content that will bring value to your website. Identify keywords in your industry and use those in your content. In that way, over time you will be known for those keywords and keyword phrases, as you incorporate them naturally within your writing. Also, consider the following tips and strategies:
- Provide inside information for your specific industry. For example, provide a “How To” or “How Things Work” article, or even regularly scheduled column. These types of things are always good starting points.
- Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.) are a great way to provide an abundance of usable information in a format that appeals to readers (and Search Engines).
- Testimonials, although sometimes overdone and potentially contrived, can be useful as part of a product review section. Just keep it honest and simple. 😉
- Infographics are another idea. While they are mostly graphical, that doesn’t mean that you cannot find one that is “free to use” and include an article along with the infographic. In that way, you may also gain exposure (i.e. social shares) from the infographic designer, as well, and get some extra mileage. Or, create your own infographic and offer it on your site, as well as making it available for others to use.
In Closing…
With some preparation and practice, you will be able to create consistently evergreen content that will keep your readers coming back. There are other benefits that you can reap over time, as well. Already, we have focused on the topic of hitting those search engines and social shares is another one. Then there is the authority (i.e. street cred) and linking benefits… and the list goes on from there…