Content marketing is a tool that we can all use: it can be applied to practically any niche, and in any imaginable format.
But not everything related to content creation is easy. There are elements that complicate it and can burn your blog, if you are not careful.
And then, there are elements that can escape us between the whirlpool of maintaining a blog, it does not matter if it is personal or a company.
One of these elements, and to which we pay very little attention, is the expiration of the content we create.
Table of contents, [ show ]
What is “evergreen” content and why is it so important
The “evergreen” content is that which remains in force through time, regardless of trends, trends or current events.
For example: if you have a news blog, each content you create will die when the news is no longer valid, that is, who is interested in 2018, that in 2005 Barça claimed a penalty against Atleti?
On the other hand, if your blog is about astronomy, you know that everyone is always looking for a guide to choose the right telescope, the most important astronomical events, such as the star showers.
Another example is this Hostinger tutorial : everyone is always looking for how to create a website with WordPress, no matter when, it is always current content.
This content, so called because it does not expire, is also called “evergreen content”.
The more evergreen content you create, the more life your blog will have, Google will know that you are not a “day flower”, and your readers will know that you are an expert in your niche, for example, astronomy, fashion, etc.
Well, here are some tips to make sure that your content is “evergreen”.
1. Review and update technical aspects
Imagine that your blog has been online for ten years: the article you wrote in 2010 is flawed. Many.
Starting with a simple one: Google recently changed the size of its snippets on results pages, from 160 to 320 characters. (If you are SEO, maybe you can discuss this, but it is only an example, and we know that they do not position the meta descriptions, but they help the CTR)
You can start with this: go over titles and descriptions in your SEO plugin.
You can also check the links: there may be broken links, or links to outdated content, or links that have already changed.
Reviewing old content is vital for something so simple but mentally affecting: the date. If you have a guide made in 2012, even if it is updated, if it says in your blog that it was created in 2012, then it will seem outdated, so, update the dates and even put the validity in the headline: look for something and you will see how many titles include the month and year so you know it’s up to date.
The images should also be renewed: they may be very heavy, with poor quality, or they are simply captures of an old version of the software that you have been taught to use. Replace them equally.
2. Update your most popular old items
Yes, we must update the old content, but not all. Not everything we publish has the best quality, nor is everything well received: focus on your most popular content only.
To find out what they are, go to Google Analytics, the “Behavior” tab and click “General Description”. At the bottom right click where it says “Full Report.” Ready. You already have the list of the most popular content.
Now what to do with them? Update them!
I leave you an idea: recycle.
- Create a video of each item and add it
- Create a podcast
- Create an infographic
- Do a webinar about it
- Convert it to downloadable ebook
3. Use relevance as a thermometer for your content
Even if you make the best article in the world, it will lose relevance over time, and will be considered “old” at some point. No matter what brand you are, everyone goes through that drink.
It also applies to “evergreen” content.
This means that you must update the information in those articles to make them relevant again.
I am not talking about popularity, but relevance.
To know if your content is relevant you must ask three questions:
- Does it arouse the interest of my readers?
- Is it timely?
- Does it help your business objective?
If the answer to all three questions is yes, then it is content that needs to be updated.
Before you get to work, there is something else you should do: go to Google Trends and see if people are still searching for the article you are thinking of updating. There you can see search trends on Google.
If you see a lot of waves in the searches, then you should wait a bit, because that content is not relevant and will not bring you visits. If the volume is constant and medium-high then you should update it.
And since your content is more relevant, it will be seen and shared more.
Concentrating on renewing relevant content can improve the life cycle of your content and drive visits and even capture leads from your blog.
But there are more ways to know if a content is relevant or not:
- Check how much has been shared in the last weeks or months
- How many leads have you got with said content
- A heat map
Regarding the latter, the heat map, I clarify: we are not looking for popular content, but relevant. For example: If you have an article with relatively little traffic, but the heatmap shows that it has or had a high click-through rate, then that content is relevant, even if it’s not popular, and you need to update it, because it’s a signal. huge that you should do it.
You can also create A / B tests for the design of said content, add interactive elements, graphics, and enrich the content … a thousand things you can do about it.
Conclusion: you can’t ignore your old content
You may not like it (I don’t like it), but you can’t ignore your old content.
If you want to create evergreen content for your brand, you (we) must make an effort to really create it, because they are not only achieved with guides and tutorials.
Creating evergreen content involves maintaining content: detecting content worth improving, and taking steps to keep it current over time.
Go back to your old content, and discover how to improve it: from optimizing the images, to updating the screenshots, or even rewriting or adding a few paragraphs, or improving SEO: in the long run you will see the fruits.
You will be surprised to see what content will come out as a result of your relevance analysis, believe me.
With the time and work in creating and maintaining your evergreen content, you will turn your blog into a library of relevant content and boost your brand in every way.
