Evergreen Content: What It Is and Why You Need It

Do you know how to cook? I do. And I don’t.

I’m no chef, but I’m good at following recipes—and in 2024, all of my recipes come from online. Sure, I own a few cook books. But by far, the fastest, easiest way to access great recipes is through any number of online websites that offer any bit of information I’d need to know in the kitchen.

But still, I have a few questions. Sometimes my questions are simple. What’s the best temperature to roast asparagus? How long do you cook chicken breasts in the skillet? Should I bake chocolate chip cookies on aluminum foil or parchment paper?

If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen—and think how many people in American households do—then you know that you’ve had similar questions, and lots of them. And you know as well as I do the incredible boon that the internet is.

If I need to know, or even remind myself about, what temperature to set the oven at and how long to roast the asparagus, I can determine that in seconds. And often, I need to know in order to get dinner ready right now.

I do that, of course, by using the search engine.

A quick look at “asparagus oven roasted” brings up sites like The Pioneer Woman, Insanely Good Recipes, All Recipes, and Natasha’s Kitchen, to name a few. Even The New York Times has an asparagus recipe!

These names pop up because they know how to produce content that answers questions that will never stop being asked: How do I cook this?

That, readers, is what we call evergreen content.

As marketing content writers, think about the ideas you write about. Ask yourself: “Will people be interested in this tomorrow?” If you’re writing about the latest Taylor Swift news, probably.

But then ask this: “Will people be interested in reading this years from now?” If so, you’re going green— evergreen, that is.

The poet Ezra Pound famously said that poetry is “news that stays news.” In the world of content creation strategy, what Pound said is relevant to marketing content writers, too. If you’re building a blog content strategy to increase business and conversions, there are benefits to having your content “stay news,” which means you want it to be evergreen.

When you’re content planning, publishing “evergreen content” is going to help you maintain relevance in the long run because your content—like cooking—never goes out of style.

Here you’ll get a sense of what makes content evergreen—and not—with some tips to help your content creation strategy and ideas for topics.

What is evergreen content?

Evergreen content, whether published on your blog, website, or social media, features topics and content that maintain relevance for a long time.  Rather than referencing trends, short-term stories, or even holidays, they “transcend the latest ‘buzz,’” as Hubspot says, “by providing long-lasting expertise that users come back to again and again.”

But if you have a recipe for, say, cinnamon rolls—and, just as good, the frosting for those cinnamon rolls, that will be good at any time of the year, meaning your site visits are going to remain consistent.

How to tie a tie and how to bake cinnamon rolls is “news that stays news” because people—well, some people anyway—will always need this information. And importantly, they’re going to be searching the internet for it. Blogs, including yours, are one of the places that most people with questions will land, so good blog content strategy will benefit from evergreen content.

Why use evergreen content? Here are five reasons:

• It gets the attention of potential customers, answering a question they and others have had over a longer period of time. “Is it good to invest in GameStop?” is a question that might have been made prior to the news blowup in 2021, but “Should I invest in real estate?” is a question that is longstanding, and can extend over years and even decades. Customers interested in GameStop are limited; those interested in real estate, potentially unlimited.
• It drives traffic to your blog, website, or social media channel not once but consistently and continually. When someone is looking for information on a topic that popped up in social media, or on the news, that interest will last for a few days at best, and if your site answers that limited-duration content, you could get a surge for a few days. Evergreen content, though, by answering a question that has more durability, can keep traffic coming to your site over months and years.
• It can boost your Google rankings. If your site gets a lot of traffic for a day or two, your ranking may go up but will also promptly fall. Instead, think Wikipedia: They are frequently at the top of Google’s rankings because they answer questions that are established and proven, and those rankings keep them at the top for a longer time. Broader questions bring in more people over a longer time period—and that’s good SEO strategy.
• It can position you as an expert and leader in your niche industry. My niche industry is writing, and if I write about a particular writer who’s popular at the moment, then, when the interest fades in that writer and moves onto something else, my content goes sour. But if I instead write about content like “How to write well,” it never fades because there will always be new writers looking for such content. And they’ll come to me as the best provider—or so I hope.
• It can connect you with an audience. When the audience keeps coming back to you for more, they’ll soon trust that you are the source for their needs. If you answer longstanding questions they have in the form of evergreen content, in other words, you have the opportunity to create brand loyalty.

All these results are more likely if your content stays relevant long after you click “post.”

What is NOT evergreen content?

A few things jump to mind that are not evergreen.

• News.It’s tempting to incorporate something timely from The New York Timesin your content planning, but once the story is old, so is your blog post! Taylor Swift seems to maintain her position in the public eye and interest, but in time, that will change.
• Statistics. This is something that will often be reported in the news, but statistics are constantly changing. They have an expiration date.
• Reports. Like statistics, a report on something like industry trends is just that—a “trend.” They’re good for quick information for short-term strategic planning, but not for long-term readership and web searches that might bring those readers to your site.
• Pop, fashion, and culture trends. Of the many examples of trends, think about music, for one. How long does an artist or album or song stay popular? A song could be popular for weeks, an album a few months, and an artist perhaps a bit longer, depending on popularity. But in each case, as with movies, fashions, and television shows, there will always be something new to replace the old, and often quickly.

Does that mean you can never use time-sensitive trends? No. As Alyssa Gagliardi writes, “Trend-focused content is good for jumping on a conversation, quick-win engagement, and showing your brand’s personality.”

However, she continues, “it’ll only be relevant while that topic is popular.” So, while trendy content may pull in new customers, readers, and followers, you need to actually keep them. That’s what we mean by sustainability.

As a marketing content writer, what can you do to ensure a piece is evergreen? Here are some starters.

Tips for Making an Evergreen Content Creation Strategy

1. Start a blog.

This may sound like common sense, but if your company doesn’t have a blog, start one! Many internet searches for topics, especially regarding business in your niche, will take you to company blogs. Try Googling “evergreen content,” and watch what happens. You want your company to be on that list of results.

2. Promote your blog content on social media.

People spend a lot of time on social media, and its algorithms can help generate interest in the audience you want to reach. Hashtags are a good thing to research here, as they can give you trending topics that stick around.

3. Cater to beginners.

Just as in tying a tie, the fact is that beginners—i.e., people who want to learn about a topic—will be looking on the internet.

Be the magnet that draws their attention.

Whatever it is that your content creation strategy can offer them that they don’t know, it’s more likely to draw them in not only to the answer, but to your site.

4. Avoid technical jargon.

Because many of your readers may turn out to be beginners, speak plainly.

5. Answer people’s questions.

In some cases, a reader—or a potential client—may reach out to you via a DM (direct message) and ask a question. Keep track of these questions! What one person wants to know is likely what lots of people want to know.

A marketing content writer should have access to these questions so they can work them into their content planning. The more questions you can answer, the more likely someone will come to your site for that answer.

6. Keep pieces updated.

In some cases, you can write things that are timely, but even if their “expiration date” passes, you can update the content to keep it evergreen.

Many of us who write blogs can fall into a pattern of posting and promptly forgetting about the post. Refreshing the posts and updating them regularly (which means reusing them, as well) can bring in new visitors, readers, followers, and customers.

Update the links, post new material and new tips, and do so as often as you can—every month, every quarter, every year.

This is a good investment because it means not only constantly generating new material, but also adding to the wealth of what you already have. This works especially well for blogs, which are more substantive than social media posts.

7. Don’t date or time stamp your posts.

Really, there’s no reason to date anything, especially if the content is evergreen. That way, you can always repost things. Also, within the article itself, be careful of any phrase that dates it like “yesterday,” or “last week,” or “last month.”

8. Choose your keywords.

Optimize your content strategy for web traffic potential by doing SEO research for keywords that show reader interest. Google Trends, for example, can demonstrate over time how much attention keywords get. If the keywords have not only lasted a long time but are also on the increase, use them! Another great place to look, especially on Instagram, is at hashtags: Which are the most common?

I tried an example on Google Trends with something I’m interested in: photography. I got this chart showing interest over just a few days, holding steady:

I found that, over the course of a week, a month, and three months that people consistently searched for this keyword. People want to know about photography. Bloggers: Write about that!

You can do the same thing by looking up popular hashtags on Instagram and keywords on TikTok. What trends the longest over time?

9. Write a case study.

Conduct your own research, post it, and earn credibility. And be sure to align your research with what people are interested in learning. That way, you position your company, blog, or website to be the source for important information and learning tools—all the better if they’re based on questions that remain questions in people’s web searches.

Focus on case studies that show what works and what doesn’t with a particular task. “The opportunity is two-fold,” says Alyssa Gagliardi, “evergreen content and social proof for your business.”

10. Interview a subject matter expert.

Nothing generates authority in writing quite like drawing on an expert in the field.

11. Build internal links into your post.

As an example of tip number 10, let me draw on an expert: I’ll quote Si Quan Ong’s blog post on the Ahrefs Blog. Links, as he points out, are an important factor in Google ranking—the more links you have, the higher your ranking.

The links should be internal links, meaning they’ll link back to your content, which is helpful for your blog content strategy. For one, using those links will draw more attention because you’ll be higher in Google rankings, and second, those links will push readers to more of your content.

12. Make it unique.

Why are influencers so popular? Largely because they’re unique individuals, and readers will appreciate what makes your marketing content individualistic, too. Being unique is a virtue. Write from your own personal point-of-view and experience, and that will give you credibility.

13. Strike a balance between trendy and evergreen.

No one is suggesting that all of your content be evergreen. Mix it up. Trendy stuff will bring in quick engagement, which can pay dividends, too. Just have lots of the evergreen stuff to keep visitors coming back.

14. Repurpose your evergreen content.

Wrote a blog? Perfect. Now take that content and repurpose it: Make a video, or post on social media, or include the content in a podcast.

This accelerates the chances of your content—and company—being discovered.

15. Allow comments and other interactions.

Getting people involved can not only keep things fresh, it can also help draw more traffic—especially if readers can share the content, as well. You might even generate a conversation, not just between you and readers, but between the readers themselves.

16. Use formats that draw attention.

Finally, be thoughtful about what formats you use in your content strategy. Remember, people come to your website looking for answers, and if the format makes it easy for them to get that answer, they may just come back. And even stay a while.

Here are a few formats that work:

• How-to’s. Just like “How to tie a tie,” or “How to replace a faucet,” or anything else you can think of, such a format clearly shows readers that you will answer their question. You are the source of knowledge. The “how-to” lists can be for beginners and advanced learners.

• FAQ’s. The social media management company Later says on their blog that frequently asked questions are the “goldmine for evergreen content ideas.” Whatever it is your customers and your followers on social media are asking—either on your social media platforms, your website, or by email—those are the topics to mine. Are there common themes? Address them in your evergreen content.

• Tutorials. In the age of Masterclass, Domestika, and Udemy, it’s par for the course to share what you know. It seems there are plenty of videos on “How to tie a tie,” but what is it that you know that people will still need to know for a long time? That’s the source of your evergreen content. Blogs work well for this format, as do videos and infographics.

• Industry resources. Your website and blog can act as the library for go-to information. Whatever your company’s niche is, mine that for content.

• Recommendations. People love lists, and recommendation lists can include both evergreen keywords and content that your specific audience is looking for. On my Instagram streams, for example, about the time I got back into baking my own bread, I started seeing a lot of recommendations for how to best bake it, what ingredients to use, and so on.

• Listicles. This ultimate list starts with a singular topic—say, “the greatest albums of all time”—and builds out a list that includes commentary. Rolling Stone did just that in 1987, compiling a list of the 100 best albums between 1967 and 1987, and it remains evergreen—certainly for the albums of that time period. They went on to make more lists over the years, expanding the initial list in scope. Music fans can always go to those lists for a good start on what makes a classic album, and so those lists will remain evergreen as long as people listen to music. Think, too, that this is a “curated” list within your niche market—and you’re the curator!

• Tips. In fact, offering tips is exactly what I’m doing here! People will always want to know not only how to do some task, but how to do it well. “How to write content that gets attention” is always going to be an evergreen topic because people will always write and will always want attention. Tips can be offered as advice, “how-to” style articles, or just overall best practices.

The Benefits of Evergreen Content

As noted above, your search engine ranking will be higher if you publish evergreen content that answers the most-asked questions. That means, when someone types a question into the engine, especially Google, your answer will pop up earlier—maybe even first!

It can also rank you high for the long-term because people will ask that question for a long time to come.

Remember: Some things will never go out of style, and that includes baking cookies, tying a tie, or writing a blog.

Evergreen content will help you maintain consistent traffic on your website. That’s a major goal of content creation strategy, isn’t it? If someone comes to your site for an answer, and that answer is relevant and timeless, what’s to keep them from sticking around to see the services you offer?

By putting your best effort into getting evergreen content on your site, you can expect a higher return on investment (ROI). It’s an investment to create content that ensures traffic to your website. Evergreen content can pay dividends for years to come, rather than short-term boosts for “timely” content.

Finally, evergreen content can get more shares when readers repost or share your content in general. You’ve seen that people repost and share content on social media, but that content is almost always timely, and so it flows and ebbs. But a good recipe can be shared for years. If the content you publish is evergreen—I’m thinking of my favorite cooking site, “Budget Bytes,” which has both seasonal and year-round recipes that I will go to again and again and again—that’s brand loyalty, and it’s no surprise that from this loyalty I’ll start telling friends and family about it.

Does your company have a newsletter? Link your blog piece to that, too.

And in the long run, consider this: You can completely change your relationship to deadlines when you use evergreen content. Using evergreen topics can eliminate the need to rush to the next blog to maintain engagement; instead, that engagement can remain constant over time because your content keeps working.

Whether you’re writing in-house or with a content writing service, resist the urge to be “trendy.” It may seem cool at first (or whatever other trendy word substitutes for “cool” these days), but the truth is that consistency means longevity. Trends are “so yesterday,” literally.

I’m not sure how many people visit “Budget Bytes,” but their YouTube channel alone has 32,000 followers, and videos from years ago still have thousands of views. Dependability, too, is what keeps people coming back.