Evergreen Content: Creating For Posterity
“A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity.” Alexander Smith
Evergreen Content: Creating For Posterity – Timeless, Quality, Fresh…
What is Evergreen Content? Just like the evergreen plant successfully produces leaves that are fresh and green year round, Evergreen Content/Blog Posts withstand the test of time and maintain traction by providing timeless, valuable, and relevant information that people reach for over and over again; it is content created for posterity. Evergreen content tends to be quality articles that answer specific, pertinent questions about a subject and that help visitors grasp the message without too much jargon and deviation. They run the gamut from Beginner guides, How-to posts, recipes, History subjects, Lists, Tips, Tech Q & A, Interviews with industry experts in any field, Informational posts and more. Whenever we do research on a topic of interest, we type in a keyword, and do a Google or other search engine investigation to scour for related materials. More often than not, our search engine of choice will delve deep into its archives and spew out relevant articles that fit our search; it will sort them so you can choose from a selection that runs in the millions.
For example, my search of evergreen content produced 5,670,000 million results and that number will continue to grow. The point being made is that our search engines will often give us evergreen articles that have proven their value by being read, visited, and shared over and over again. Honestly, most of us don’t venture beyond the first 3 pages in our search, unless the suggested list isn’t quite accurate. So, if we want some of our posts to join the annals of sought after, search engine promoted content, we must make sure that we contribute content that fits the criteria. It must be clear and not confusing to the reader. With that mind, remember that this is about evergreen blog posts NOT about evergreen plants.
In this post, I’ve taken the time to curate Google’s top ten posts on Evergreen content and each of them give us very helpful and useful insights on the subject.
READ: The Complete List of Evergreen Content Ideas for Your Blog
4 Examples of Evergreen Articles and Blog Posts
4 Practical Tips to Win With Evergreen Content
What is Evergreen Content and Why Should You Care?
“The writing of the wise are the only riches our posterity cannot squander.” Walter Savage Landor
Evergreen Content: Creating For Posterity – Timeless, Quality, Fresh…
What Fits the Criteria of Evergreen Content? As bloggers, we write our posts to share our knowledge of a subject(s), and to attract existing and new readers. While every post we write might not fit the description of an evergreen topic, we can make some effort to ensure that our content adds something to the ongoing discussion and dissemination of data on the internet. Any time we write a lifestyle topic that offers tips, advice and inspiration to others, and that speaks to people’s concerns about their myriad relationships, specific health categories, career, money, food/recipes, pets, family, nutrition, parenting, money, aging, weight issues and other life choices, we have an opportunity to contribute an evergreen topic to the mix. Even encyclopedia entries, reviews and videos that deal with specific, niche subjects do very well as evergreen topics.
STEPS: To contribute a quality article/post on our topic of choice, we must include helpful, accurate information and resources, add relevant photos, offer step by step instructions if needed, make sure our post is mobile and user friendly for others to share, add infographics if necessary, edit our post for any grammatical mistakes and avoid any deadline/dates that limit the content. So your evergreen topic should stand the test of time and not have an expiration date. Topics that do well are not trendy or time sensitive, and the logic and usefulness of the subject matter will stand regardless of what’s going on in the world. That How-to post you wrote last year, that cherished recipe you shared last week, and even that reading list of books for young adults/seniors/hikers you shared last night fit the bill too. Whenever we create content that help people cut down on doing extra searches on the internet, we have created an evergreen post that will serve as a quick guide for someone down the road. Of course, it is important to make sure that we know our subject well and that we are providing a service that our readers and others need. Key to creating such content should also be our desire to learn more about our subject and add some value to the conversation. Should every article we create be an evergreen post? NO. Why not? Read on below.
READ: 4 Useful Tips for Creating Evergreen Content (With Four Killer Examples)
What Makes Content Evergreen?
What is Evergreen Content? A Guide to Long-Lasting Content That Boosts SEO
More Below!
“Posterity weaves no garlands for imitators” Friedrich Schiller
Evergreen Content: Creating For Posterity – Timeless, Quality, Fresh…
Should every article we create be an evergreen post? NO. Why not? For starters, there are websites fully dedicated to answering and providing in-depth information on a wide range of subjects (including obscure topics) and, unless you have something new and original to contribute to the conversation, competing with such sites would not be to your advantage. Sites like Wikipedia, Brainy quotes, urbandictionary, ehow, answers.com, imdb.com, and similar sites curate hundreds of thousands of information on a topic and have legacy on the various search engines. Creating content that could be easily found on those and other such sites without adding a new angle would simply add you to the bottom of the page count. Their dominance in the search engines will be a hindrance if you try to make your blog like theirs. Find your path and develop original content that you, your readers, and others can enjoy. Part of the joy of blogging is the creative outlet and personal satisfaction we derive from sharing our content on the internet.
The creative impulse grows as we take chances with our writing. Staying rigid and copying others will not help us grow. To stay true to who we are and why we do what we do, we are better off mixing up our content to reflect our multidimensional side and our perspectives on other topics of interest. We can create posts on our main niche subject but, don’t get stuck on trying to game the search engines. Don’t write only what you know but, also what you love and what you’d like to know more of … and enjoy the process. As a number of the articles I listed, above and below, have shared, your content is an announcement of your brand, interests and point of view… Develop your niche if you please but, stay true to your writing goals. It is not a popularity contest. Now, go ahead and create that fun topic you’ve been mulling over!
READ: Why you need an evergreen content strategy
Blogging Ideas: 49 Evergreen Content Ideas
Evergreen Content: Why Articles for Experts are Killing Your Blog
This post was inspired by a WordPress Prompt: Discover Challenge: For Posterity – This week, share a post about something that’s about to disappear — but worth remembering. If you could single-handedly prevent something about to disappear from falling into oblivion, what would it be? Whether a place, an object, a word, a custom, a smell, even a person — what would you save for posterity? Your post this week is your chance to play archivist: whether in writing, in a visual medium, or in any other form you’d like, help us remember something hard to find, easy to miss, or about to go extinct. I can’t wait to explore your mementos! To help other participants and new fans find your response in the Reader, tag your post with #DiscoverWP. Not sure how to add a tag? Learn more.
Positive Motivation Tip: Follow your heart and create content that helps you and others learn.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos : Evergreen via Pixabay and Evergreen via Wikipedia
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Please take a moment to read the post before you comment. This is about evergreen blog posts NOT about evergreen plants. Evergreen content/blog posts withstand the test of time and maintain traction by providing timeless, valuable, and relevant information that people reach for over and over again; it is content created for posterity. 🙂 Thank you! <3
Evergreen blog posts can be about anything that is of perpetual interest. Even a very specific niche topic can be evergreen if you write it in a way that even those unfamiliar with the topic can find your article interesting.
Very informative. I really don’t know much about creating evergreen content. I have so much to learn!
Really great article. I need to start writing more evergreen content, I’m sure it’ll bring my page views up!
Creating evergreen content for my blog is a bit difficult thing for me. Generally the current events and stuff we create will become obsolete after some period. But I Guess topics on life, relationships would remain evergreen.
I remember reading an article about evergreen content a couple of years ago. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy writing recipes post (even though I suck at writing directions). Food and recipes are very evergreen.
I try not to be too conscious about my content as I end up producing stiff ones when I think so much about it. But I do aim to produce quality ones as much as possible. I don’t know about coming up with evergreen ones as you’re right, competing with Wikipedia and other informative sites will be tough. I want a lighter, friendlier, more personal tone anyway.
Evergreen content is always a great read. The good thing about it is that it has no expiration date and it will always stay relevant. It’s also referable so can be shared multiple of times.
I have cooking blogs and for the most part, recipes are evergreen content. I still go over my posts every 2 to 3 months to see how I can improve upon them and fit new trends.
I have cooking blogs and for the most part, recipes are evergreen content. But every 2 to 3 months I still go back and review my posts to see how I can improve on them and make them fit “new” food trends.
I have heard much about evergreen articles and I hope to join this genre more often in searches.
This was a good read. Thank you
Evergreen content is a valuable part of a good internet marketing strategy but it becomes even more powerful when combined with SEO techniques. I believe that even the most lasting evergreen piece isn’t worth much if people aren’t searching for that topic or if it doesn’t relate to your business.