Create Evergreen Content For Your Blog

Every site needs content that attracts traffic, as that is how you get people onto your site to then buy your products/services.   Certain types of content are better at doing this than other, which is known as evergreen content.  Whilst talking to people online, there is still many that don’t know what this is, which is why I decided to put this post together for you.  If you’re researching cheap seo service for your business, then you need to visit shgseo.com, they offer solutions for making SEO accessible to your business.

What Is Evergreen Content?

Content is king!  We’ve all heard that countless times before because it is true.  That is what your website is built upon.  After all, you can advertise and promote a site everywhere, but if when people visit it and see that there isn’t any decent content, they won’t stay around for long.

Evergreen content is a term used to describe the very best content on a site that brings in traffic. It can also be referred to as; cornerstone content, foundation content and pillar content.

How can you judge what your best content is though?  Well, evergreen content has a few unique characteristics from your other content.  It will;

• Consistently attract traffic,
• Not be time specific (so still relevant in a year, ten years, twenty years, etc.),
• Naturally attract backlinks from other sites,
• Rank highly in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages)

You may only have a few examples of evergreen content currently on your site, but that is what you should be striving to create more of.  The more of these types of posts you have, the more attention your site will get.

Different Types Of Evergreen Content

So now that we know what evergreen content is, what are the best types to create?

Well there are quite a few different types that you can create.  One of the key things to remember is to try and keep it timeless.  This means that news related items tend not to work as well (though they can still be good to bring in traffic over the short term).

Let’s take a look at some and why they are good to use.

‘How To…’ Tutorial Posts

Just about everyone likes ‘How to…’ posts and tutorials because they are useful.  There is always something that we can learn online and a tutorial is usually the first thing that we look for.  We will often go straight to Google and search for what we are after (i.e. ‘How to bake a cake?’, ‘How to build a house?’, ‘How to mend a car?’, etc.)

These types of posts guide people step-by-step through a process, usually including images and videos to help them.  These are great as people can keep referring back to them at any time to help them and are often linked to from other sites.

Some examples of How to… /tutorial posts could include;

• How To Create A Newsletter In AWeber
• How To Create And Format An eBook Video
• How To Make Funky Images For Your Blog Posts

Whatever your site is about, there will be some sort of tutorial that you can create.  Just think about what your readers would want to learn from you.

Definition Posts

I’m a big fan of starting from the basics and working your way up to more complicated aspects.  Visitors to your site won’t necessarily know all the different aspects you are talking about, so it’s good to be able to point them in the direction of a post that you have written explaining the basics for them.

If people can’t understand what you are talking about, then they will leave your site to find answers elsewhere.  If however you can include a link to a definition post, then you are more likely to keep them on your site for longer.  The best bit is that you can link to your definition posts from future posts to help out new readers.

Here are some examples of definition posts;

• Beginners Guide To Google Webmaster Tools
• Your Complete Outsourcing Guide
• What Is Feedly?

Top Lists

People love lists!  I’m pretty sure that you will have seen plenty of them whilst browsing your favourite sites.  Whether it’s; ‘Top 10 this’ or ‘Top 20 that’, there will always be something that you can make a list out of.

The reason why people like lists so much is because they can browse through them quickly.  Whereas with tutorial posts you have to follow them carefully, you can skim through a list to find what you are after.  This isn’t a bad thing as more people will likely click onto the post to take a look.

People also like to compare lists.  Let’s say that you write a ‘10 Greatest Movies Of All Time’ post.  People will be interested to see what you have included compared to their own opinion or other lists that they may have read.  This can encourage people to leave a comment to agree/disagree with your post or maybe suggest some that you missed off the list.  All this does is help start a conversation, which can, in turn, bring even more people to the site to give their opinion.

Here are some examples of Top List posts;

• Top 50 Earning Blogs!!!
• 10 Mistakes to Avoid as an Affiliate Marketer
• Top 10 Tips To Becoming A Great Writer

Opinionated Posts

Opinionated posts are exactly that, posts where you give your opinion on a subject.  These tend to be where you make an argument for one thing over another, instead of trying to be neutral.  That doesn’t mean you have to be nasty or argumentative just for the sake of it, you are simply giving your own opinion.

These types of posts work in that they attract debate from readers.  Either, readers will totally agree with you and tell you why OR they will completely disagree and tell you why you are wrong.  The point is that you are getting people talking on your site.  Hopefully, this will create debate between your readers as well.

Just remember, you’re trying to encourage debate, not to annoy and lose your existing readers.

Here are some examples of opinionated posts;

• CommentLuv vs Disqus – Why I Don’t Use CommentLuv!
• 8 (Ninja) Reasons NOT To Use The Empower Network [INFOGRAPHIC]
• Your Blog Sucks!

Start Creating Your Evergreen Content!

So, there we have it!  We’ve looked at some examples of different types of evergreen content and why it is good for your site.  Remember though, this doesn’t just apply to articles you write, it can also apply to; videos, podcasts, infographics, slideshows, etc. that you make for your site.

Now all you have to do is start creating your own!

Have you tried creating evergreen content for your site?  Had you even heard of it before?  Please let us know below in the comments section.