We\u2019ve had success leveraging evergreen content in the past. One piece that stands out, simply because of its age and the volume of traffic it receives, is our content strategy guide<\/a>. Since it was published in 2014 (and updated in 2019) it has received over 63 thousand page views and a constant flow of traffic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what makes this evergreen? Well, the obvious answer is that the topic isn\u2019t something time-sensitive. Additionally, the content isn\u2019t specific to our company, such as an update, or pat-on-the-back blog post. Rather, it\u2019s a resource for many people working in digital marketing. And, most importantly, it\u2019s really, really good. Quality is key since, for your content to be truly evergreen, you need to be confident that a competitor won\u2019t come along and make something better (more on that later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we mentioned, evergreen topics never lose interest. This also means that they are not seasonal, so while elections happen on a regular basis, \u201cUS elections\u201d is not an evergreen topic. Rather, it is a seasonal topic that ebbs and flows every four years. So what is an evergreen topic? Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally, how-to guides remain evergreen so long as the methods never change. \u201cHow to write code,\u201d for example, may change over time alongside changes in technology and trends. Additionally, definitions and lists tend to perform well over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Content that isn\u2019t evergreen can be classed as time-sensitive or trending content. Newspapers are a classic example of publishers creating time-sensitive content. After all, you want the most up-to-date content when you\u2019re reading the news while sipping your second cup of coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also plenty of other industries and brands that rely on time-sensitive content, such as fashion brands. A piece on the best summer fashion trends is a staple piece of fashion content, but it\u2019s hard to keep that as relevant for more than a few months from its publish date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evergreen content, on the other hand, allows you to grow traffic levels while producing content at a steady rate, as the model we\u2019ll discuss later proves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time-sensitive topics are those that lose value after a given point. They either become less relevant or outdated relatively quickly. Content that contains dates and data-points that could expire soon, or content that is inherently seasonal are time-sensitive. Here are a few more examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evergreen content, when created on a consistent basis, essentially starts to layer the traffic from different pieces on top of each other. For example, if you publish your first blog post on day one, and it generates 100 views, overall blog traffic on day one equals 100. If you publish a post on day two, and it gets 100 views, and the first post also generates 100 views, traffic for day two is 200, and so it goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tomasz Tunguz, a venture capitalist, has explored this idea<\/a> in great depth and has done the best job we\u2019ve seen of visualizing an evergreen content strategy vs. a time-sensitive one. In the following two charts each colored layer represents a single piece of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the evergreen example below, you can see that \u2018layering\u2019 we talked about above. Even factoring in some decay, the results are obvious:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conversely, time-sensitive content looks a lot more \u2018spiky\u2019 with traffic levels fluctuating dramatically. Most significantly, in the following example, by publishing the same number of posts with the same number of first-day views, the time-sensitive blog never gets above 70,000 visits per month, whereas the evergreen content model reaches just short of 200,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can see this on our blog too. A time-sensitive article about new platform updates, for example, received a lot of traffic when it was first published (16,500 page views in month one, most of those within one week or publishing). On the face of it, that\u2019s better than the content strategy guide, which only got 1,423. However, if you look at the chart below, you can see that in the first ten months\u2019 traffic for each post, and the value of evergreen content becomes more clear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The evergreen post shown in yellow continued to get consistent traffic every month, receiving almost 15 thousand pageviews between months 2 and 24, while the time-sensitive piece of content received less than 4 thousand pageviews in the same amount of time. From the traffic alone, the evergreen piece is much more valuable because of this \u2018compounding effect\u2019 of evergreen content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not to say that evergreen content is a set it and forget it deal. Like most content, it should be monitored, revised, and optimized over time. In comparison with time-sensitive content, however, evergreen content is far easier to sustain in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main issues facing companies that rely solely on time-sensitive content are resources and competition. To grow traffic to your website, while relying exclusively on trending topics, you need to create content at an increasing rate. And the kind of newsworthy content that will gain attention is likely to be covered extensively. To compete with outlets such as the New York Times, for example, you\u2019d have to post an unwieldy number of highly news-worthy articles in record time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You now know the benefits of evergreen content and are ready to get started, but how do you go about creating such content? Good question! Before jumping in, follow the tips below to ensure you\u2019re creating valuable content that will continue to retain relevance and gain traffic over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier, we mentioned a few content types that tend to perform well as evergreen pieces, but that\u2019s not the whole story. To discover the most valuable topics, you\u2019ll want to do some research:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keyword research<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have your topics, it\u2019s time to get to writing. Remember that the primary ranking factors separating the good content from the outstanding are quality, authority, and uniqueness. That is to say that each piece of evergreen (and non-evergreen) content should be the best option out there for users to find the information they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read through your content and have an extra set of eyes (or four) read it too. Be sure to replace any trending topics and references to pop culture as they can quickly become outdated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned earlier, your competitors and the top-ranking pages can be strong indicators as to what users and search engine crawlers are looking for in great content. Are they providing more thorough information? Consider adding more detail and examples to your content. Is their language more clear? Use content writing tools such as Hemmingway to simplify your copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you set out to make a piece of evergreen content, it can be tempting to try and write \u201cWar & Peace,\u201d leading to a behemoth piece of content that attempts to be all things to all people. And that\u2019s if you ever manage to publish it. So, narrow your focus and create something that serves a specific purpose, fulfills a specific intent, and speaks to a given audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When creating new content, remember the phrase \u201cDon\u2019t let perfect be the enemy of good,\u201d by which we mean, put the effort into shipping it as soon as possible. Then, learn from the initial traffic and engagement. Focus on updating and repurposing\u2013which brings us onto the next point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite best intentions, evergreen content will begin to age and start to give subtle cues to readers that it’s old or out-of-date, which will lead to a drop in traffic. Was the post published on a blog with its publish date displayed anywhere? If so, consider republishing the post when it\u2019s updated so it is moved back to the top. This is especially useful when you publish lots of content; you can\u2019t expect readers to land on your blog\/resources section and casually scroll to page 43.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s also an opportunity to update the post to reflect changes. These changes can be information and statistics, or just refreshing content to make it more relevant to a new\/altered search intent. Users may not be looking for the exact same type of content five years down the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Changing the format can be a good move, too. You could turn a blog post into a video, a webinar, or an email series. There are plenty of options that are relatively easy wins in this scenario. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip: If you plan on replacing the old piece of content with the new one, then be sure to either use the same URL as the older piece, or 301 redirect to the new piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Graph](\"https:\/\/brainlabdev.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/unnamed-1-1-1024x445.png\")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nEvergreen topic examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What is the opposite of evergreen content?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Time-Sensitive topics:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The benefits of creating evergreen content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Increased traffic and lead potential<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. Self-sustaining articles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Requires less output<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to create evergreen content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Search for evergreen content topics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Write valuable evergreen content<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Check the SERPs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Know your audience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Proofread, then perfect<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Repurpose content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Leverage time-sensitive content to aid discovery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n