With the ever-changing digital marketing landscape, it doesn’t take long for certain content to become outdated, maybe even over the span of just a few months — like how the leaves of a deciduous tree turn brown and fall from its branches. Unlike trees, though, your content isn’t going to regenerate its relevance on its own come springtime.

But what if you created your content to imitate a fir tree, so it stays green, tall, and strong through every season? That’s what we call “evergreen content” and it’s an important component of your marketing strategy. Here’s why.

Related: Modern technology is shifting the way we communicate. Is your content marketing agency shifting along with it?

What Is Evergreen Content?

Evergreen content is content that continues to be relevant long past its publication date. Its search traffic is consistent (and might even grow) over an extended period of time. This type of content is not tailored to contemporary fads, holidays, the news cycle, or even the time of year. It is created to intentionally withstand the test of time and to continue ranking highly.

An evergreen topic is perennially informative. Think:

• Questions to Ask on an RFP
• Ways to Safely Cut an Avocado
• How to Overcome Writer’s Block

Topics like these remain relevant because they are not time or event specific. In contrast, consider something like COVID-19. While the term’s search rate has been incredibly high the past few months, its search frequency is already trending downward. In a year, its relevance and search ranking won’t be nearly as high — not a good sign if too much of your content is dependent on that period-specific term.

3 Ways to Create Evergreen Content

If someone goes to your website or content hub and the first thing they see is something that’s obviously dated, it looks like you’re out to lunch — that doesn’t really inspire confidence. With evergreen content, even if you wrote it five years ago, it’s still working for you. Here are three ways to create it:

1. Produce intentionally evergreen content.

Although the subject and life span of evergreen content will look different from one industry to the next, the same principles apply. A great way to incorporate it into your marketing strategy is to focus on what consumers want and need to know about your business. Think about the services you offer, your mission statement, or the history of your brand.

2. Refresh old content.

This might be a response to industry-specific trends, changes in technology, or new statistics and research findings. Recycling old content and making updates helps you keep your content sharp, helping to retain its value. It’s like pruning the dead branches of a pine tree.

Consider our blog about the updates to the Google algorithm. It tracks the changes over the years, but new changes occur all the time. We keep an eye on that piece, refreshing it every year or so to keep it accurate, updated, and fresh — which keeps it evergreen.

3. Follow SEO best practices.

Even with valuable evergreen content, if your audience can’t find it, it’s not doing you any favors. The digital world is incredibly vast, and a single Google search will offer you billions of results. Ensuring your evergreen content is coupled with good SEO practices is crucial to its success.

Industry trends, marketing tactics, and the way we communicate are changing every day. Even if you’re making the most out of evergreen content, it is crucial to regularly check on your search rankings and whether your focus keywords are trending to ensure that your content is, in fact, still relevant and visible.

Creating great content takes time and resources — it’s worth making it last. Want to implement evergreen content to your marketing strategy? Contact us to find out how we can help.