Want to Create More Evergreen Content? Stop Writing about These Topics
Everyone who has to deal with content in any of its manifestations knows that content is the key to everything in digital and social media. Whether we are talking about a blog, website, or even creating social media content, if the delivered information is fresh and engaging, it will attract the audience and become a warranty of success – especially if it is evergreen content.
Respectively, if the data you provide is not appealing, your site is doomed to fail. It doesn’t really matter whether you are the one responsible for content writing, or if you prefer to collaborate with freelance writers. Even if you are not involved in the process itself, you still need to have a strong sense of what your audience craves.
How else can you satisfy your target audience’s needs and ensure your website’s or blog’s success?
And how can you keep your content fresh and trending? Several solutions could help. First of all, you can invest lots of time and money in generating more blog posts. However, the easiest way to drive more website traffic, rank well in search engines, and ensure long-term success is to engage in creating evergreen content!
What Is Evergreen Content?
Speaking of content that rank well and bring your blog or website numerous benefits, it is impossible to go past the concept of evergreen content.
The main idea behind the type of content that we call evergreen is that it never becomes obsolete. In simple words, this term relates to materials that remain relevant over the years and keep driving traffic to your website in the long run.
So, basically, if you engage in filling your site with this type of content, you only need to write it once. Later, you’ll continue getting benefits from it for years to come. How cool is that?
However, defining this concept, there is one thing to keep in mind. As you can already understand, not every type of content can remain fresh and relevant to the day. For example, you can never turn a news post into an evergreen piece.
News is only relevant for a short time, and often, such posts become obsolete in a few days or weeks, if not hours.
What topics remain relevant? Apart from time-sensitive subjects like gadgets, presentations, or news, there is a whole range of themes that never become irrelevant.
Articles on topics like health, personal development, blogging, and other evergreen themes will contribute to your blog’s long-term success. People will be interested in reading such pieces, even five years from now. Let’s figure out the many themes which could be classified as both evergreen ones as well as those with a short expiration date. For example, when someone posts the results of Facebook quizzes , this info is a flash in the pan, but it can be noticeable even years after posting because some researchers may use it to create broad analytical reports.
How to Find Evergreen Keyword Opportunities
It seems all good and well to say that you need to find evergreen keywords, but surely the process is easier said than done, right? Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to locate evergreen content topics, including the methods identified below.
Find keywords with search volume
Google has long been the go-to website for locating keywords based on search volume. A simple evaluation of common keyword searches on Google used to yield a close approximation of the number of times a certain keyword and related keywords were searched for, but this is no longer the case. Instead, Google has begun limiting the amount of information offered to those searching for related keywords and their search volume, which can put quite a damper on people and businesses searching for evergreen content keywords that can last for months and even years.
Instead of using Google, opt for SEO tools like Ahrefs and Wordtracker, as both provide more distinct numbers associated with certain keywords.
Further Reading: The 16 Best SEO Tools to Power Your Search Engine Marketing
Check keyword search volume trend to confirm evergreen nature
Once you have found keywords to use to create evergreen content, make sure you check the search volume on those particular keywords. Keyword search volume on Google and other search sites will be far more effective at informing you of the value of a piece of content than simply looking at your competitors’ blogs or websites.
The same sites listed above, Ahrefs and Wordtracker, can be used to evaluate keyword search volume to make sure that any upcoming piece of content you create will act as a post that will keep traffic coming back to your site or profile in perpetuity.
Confirm that search intent is consistent
Nailing down search keywords is important, but nailing down the intent of those same keywords is an oft-overlooked aspect of creating an evergreen article. The topic of a post, page, or caption is not enough to capture the interest of a rogue Google; you must provide content that adequately answers the question or provides the information the searcher is seeking. This is where search intent comes into play.
Before selecting a keyword, make notes about the phrases or context in which those keywords are searched for. This will help you determine exactly how you should frame your topic and proceed with writing your content.
What forms of delivering content work best with evergreen topics? If you are looking for content ideas that will bring lasting benefits, here are a few suggestions from EssayPro, a professional essay writing company, who are experts in the art of writing:
Further Reading: The 5 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid with Content Marketing Campaign Keywords
Evergreen Content Topic Ideas
Product reviews
Reviews on different types of products are always in high demand. Therefore, such pieces can remain relevant over time, but only if you pick the right product. If you believe that the chosen product will be relevant in the market for years, then writing a compelling analysis of it will bring you significant traffic.
Further Reading: 4 Effective Ways to Use Customer Testimonials in Your Content to Increase Conversion
Case studies
Although the data presented in a particular case study becomes a bit outdated over time, the piece itself will remain relevant, as others will use it in their research.
Tutorials and how-to guides
There are plenty of reasons why how-to posts are trending. First of all, they are always relevant as they offer solutions to some recurring issues that people never stop facing. Besides, such materials are easy to read, and they are proven to drive lots of traffic.
Glossaries of terms
This type of content is meant for defining the main niche-related terms. Although every niche faces numerous changes over some time, the key terms typically remain unchanged. Thus, such pieces remain evergreen as long as the niche itself is relevant.
Resource lists posts
Similarly to how-to’s, list posts are super easy to read. Therefore, if you include some evergreen ideas into such a material, it will keep bringing you benefits over the years.
Industry FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions are just that: questions that are frequently asked. FAQs are consistently considered evergreen posts because they continually provide answers to questions that are not usually limited to a specific period of time. Users from all walks of life can benefit from a page of frequently asked questions, and this is one of the types of content that has the greatest shelf life currently available. Constructing high-quality FAQs is a powerful content marketing strategy that can offer continual returns.
Your own original research
Original research can drive organic traffic by providing information that might not be readily available elsewhere. When creating your own original research summaries, make sure you avoid dated language, such as language that references current seasons, weather patterns, and other identifiers that may make readers feel as though the content is not relevant to their current set of needs.
When creating your own original research, whether that comes in the form of content on your social media platforms, or news articles posted to your own site or elsewhere, make sure you design that research to deliver information and compete for a high search ranking. SEO strategies are vital for effective content creation, and are also essential to continually drive organic traffic.
Tools posts
Posts that impart your wisdom by delivering tools for others to accomplish their goals are one of the most effective types of evergreen blog post, as these posts allow readers to avoid their own long-term research regarding how to yield specific results. In essence, “tools” posts provide value by making the search for information more convenient for your audience. When creating these posts, you must also make sure you are discussing relevant content for common keyword searches, and identifying the tools that are most likely to yield evergreen content ideas. Highly specific tools that only encompass a single industry may not lend themselves to creating the long-lasting content you are aiming for.
What Is the Opposite of Evergreen Content?
Now, as we have defined the concept and main ideas of this type of content, let’s define the topics or niches that you should not write about if you want your articles to stay trending for years.
Breaking News
Of course, trending news sparks up the interest of the audience, drives lots of traffic almost immediately, and offers a great content strategy for short-term gains. To maintain readers or creating high quality content that will last, news should be avoided. No one is interested in reading week-old news. Thus, as soon as the interest around the chosen event starts fading away, so will the interest in the post.
Fashion
Although the topic of fashion is evergreen to a certain extent (meaning that there always are people interested in it), fashion trends are changing rapidly. Thus, if you write an article about the main trends of the season, it will become obsolete already by the beginning of a new season.
Tech
Tech topics are always trending. If written well, pieces on related subjects can spark up the genuine interest of your readers and drive lots of attention to the source. However, such content is not evergreen, as well.
The world of tech is fast-paced. New gadgets and solutions are introduced every month or even week. That is why posts in this niche can’t remain fresh over a long period.
Press Releases
Just like in the case of breaking news, press releases are also time-sensitive. Such posts are only fresh and relevant for a short period.
Education
College students have always been a large part of the audience, which means that writing for them can definitely help you drive more traffic.
However, the topic of education is not really evergreen. As technology and other industries evolve, the teaching methods, as well as the demands of colleges, are changing. Today, the studying process is already much different from what it used to be a year ago. Thus, such content becomes obsolete quite soon as well.
Trends
In every niche and industry, there are specific trends. However, as a rule, any tendency is being replaced with a new one in a year or less.
Thus, writing about trends related to any industry, don’t expect it to remain relevant for a long time.
Further Reading: The 6 Content Marketing Future Trends You Need To Understand Today
Statistics
Statistical data also becomes obsolete rapidly. If we take a look at some major agencies that collect and publish statistics, we can see that their data is being updated regularly. Thus, statistical information also can’t be called evergreen.
The same applies to numerical reports. Such pieces may be engaging and useful for the readers, but only for a short time. Statistical data delivered in reports expire quickly and soon becomes irrelevant.
Innovations
People love learning about new solutions, concepts, and ideas. Therefore, content on innovations is engaging.
However, innovations, regardless of the industry they refer to, are only fresh as long as they are new.
Seasonal Content
Regardless of the niche of your blog or website, you might want to write about specific seasons or holidays, either for marketing or entertaining purposes. Many businesses release fresh pieces dedicated to holidays to promote their special offers.
Blogs also use such topics quite often as they can generate lots of traffic. For example, articles on topics like “how to decorate your home for Halloween” or “how to pick the right present for your beloved one for Christmas” are trending at that specific time of the year . However, as soon as the holiday season is over, such pieces become obsolete.
Further Reading: 4 Reasons Why Holiday Posts are Crucial to Your Social Marketing Plan
Articles on Some Events
Pieces that are written about specific events also have a short expiration date. Information about both upcoming events and those that have already taken place will not retain its value in the long-term perspective. Thus, this is one more example of content that is not evergreen.
All the above-mentioned types of content marketing are clear examples of what is not considered evergreen. These topics may be trending, but you shouldn’t expect them to continue bringing long-term results.
What to write about? Remember all of the types of evergreen content mentioned above, which work well regardless of what is going on in the world. They remain relevant, engaging, and bring value for years to come. That’s what we call evergreen content.
Final Words
Without any doubt, evergreen content is great for marketing purposes. It minimizes the time spent on creating articles but, at the same time, allows you to collect traffic from a long-term perspective.
However, in order to get all those benefits, it is vital to choose the right topics, the ones that people will gladly read about in a year or even later.
The most significant advantage of such content is its timelessness, so you have to write about something that always remains relevant.
Hopefully, this article will help you get on track and define what topics will work best for you!
Hero photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash
This is a post contributed by one of my marketing partners.