How to create evergreen content that generates traffic for your site
Digital marketers know that posting articles or blogs on your website can be a great way to build content for SEO strategy and create awareness. You also have the opportunity to make a stronger relationship with your audience.
Many marketers, however, focus on seasonal content and articles that are trending. These can generate traffic for a short time, but only for a while.
According to HubSpot’s State of Marketing Trends Report (2022), 83% of marketing professionals believe focusing more on quality than quantity is better, even if that means publishing fewer blogs.
How can you produce quality content if it depends on the latest topics? Enter evergreen content.
Let’s face it, creating evergreen content takes a lot of effort. Many marketers have tried this type of content, but they have yet to see the desired results.
How can you make something that will not age?
This article will discuss evergreen content, why you should have it, and how to create one for lasting results.
Let’s get started.
Evergreen Content Explained
Many of you will have heard of this term and may even have some idea what it means.
For those unfamiliar, evergreen content refers to search engine-optimized content that remains relevant throughout the year and can even stay current for a more extended period. Some may say all content is sustainable if it remains online once uploaded to your website.
Evergreen content isn’t just another type of content. The content continues to attract visitors even after it has been published.
Evergreen content is an excellent strategy for content marketing and SEO because it uses topics users, will likely search for throughout the year.
Content of this type comes in all shapes and sizes. Listicles, How-To Guides, Tips, Reviews, and Videos are all examples of evergreen formats. It’s important to remember that just because you produce these formats, your content is only sometimes evergreen.
Timeless topics will make for evergreen content.
Let’s take a look at seasonal content to understand it better. This type of content is tied to a specific time of year, a popular item, or even the news. Once enough time has passed, the hype around these topics will usually fade.
Marketers often create content to coincide with holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Traffic can be generated by content around holidays, but after the holiday has passed, this level of traffic is unlikely to continue.
Why is it important to have them on your website?
No secret, seasonal content can generate a large amount of traffic for your website. However, it can also become obsolete even faster as new trends emerge.
You can get lasting results by creating evergreen content. You can start by creating one for the following reasons:
Great for SEO. Search engines are likely to rank your content if you use evergreen topics. It will also drive traffic to your website and continue doing so for as long as it is high-quality.
Lead Magnet. You can get visitors to look at your products or services by displaying your expertise with evergreen content. It’s always relevant, so you can use it every time to get new leads.
Excellent marketing material. Evergreen content has this benefit, which is my favorite. It is a versatile tool for marketing because you can use it again and again.
Create value for you and your clients. You can assist your audience in resolving their problem, as it addresses a common issue. Steady traffic can also help you grow your website.
A smart investment. Creating evergreen content takes time. It will ensure that your content is always of high quality and interesting for your audience. It’s a great investment that will pay off in the long run.
Lasts years. Evergreen content is a great way to save time. One high-quality article can be a great investment, as opposed to seasonal posts that last only a few months or a week.
Step-by-Step Guide: Creating Evergreen Content
It’s time to create evergreen content that will be effective for years. Start by following these steps:
Find a problem to solve
Evergreen content must solve a customer problem. The problem doesn’t need to be central, but something people will encounter at some point.
Changing tires can be a problem for many car owners if you sell auto parts such as tires. Create an article or video showing your customers how to change their tires and rotate them to prevent wear.
You’re now solving the problem and adding value to it!
You can’t just stumble on a problem. It takes some effort to find what works for your website. Here are some steps to help you find the problem that you should address in your evergreen material:
Do you know? You are familiar with your own business and can use that knowledge to identify your customers’ pain points.
Ask customers. Send surveys to your clients. The worst that can happen is they don’t respond. What are the benefits? Learn about your customer’s problems and what you can do to help them.
Check out your competitors. Some may say you should copy your competitors, but I believe many ways exist to avoid this. Check out what they are doing to understand what works. Then, you’ll have a better idea of the problem that you want to solve.
Search the Internet. The Internet is a great tool, but only if you use it properly. You can check out frequently asked questions on a specific industry using platforms like Quora or Reddit. You will be surprised at the available information.
Search for Keywords
Since evergreen content is a search-engine-optimized piece, it requires some keyword research to make it as effective as possible. You can also determine if the problem that you are trying to solve is one people are searching for online.
How do you proceed?
Invest in the right tools. Many free tools like Google Trends or Keyword Surfer provide basic keyword research. You may miss out on some opportunities if you don’t pay for tools. If you don’t want to spend money, free versions will still give you valuable information.
The next step is to know what to look out for. The monthly search volume should be your primary metric when conducting keyword research. You can use this to determine the number of potential viewers that you can reach by using a certain keyword or phrase.
Note that there are no actual benchmarks for what constitutes a healthy search volume, mainly because niches and industries differ in size.
You will see a high search volume if you work in a popular niche, such as fashion or beauty. A specific place like bass fishing might have a smaller book. Compare only keywords within your niche.
Last but not least, try long-tail keyword phrases instead of using keywords alone. We all use the Internet to find answers to almost anything. Optimizing your content with longer keyword phrases makes it easier to get their attention since they are usually more focused on a specific topic.
If you go back to the example of the car parts industry, some keyword phrases that are relevant to tire changing include “how many times should tires be changed” and “how long is it necessary to change tires.” These keywords have a high search volume, which means that people want to know the answer to these questions.