The value of ‘evergreen’ and ‘cornerstone’ content
First of all let me start by answering the question on your lips “what the flip is an ‘evergreen’ post?”. An evergreen blog post is essentially a post that has content that doesn’t date and has longevity of value. It may be that it answers a common problem that people always have or is a topic that isn’t time sensitive and people will be interested in reading about well after many short-lived trends have passed. I would like to tell you that I have been familiar with the term evergreen post for a long time but alas, I only heard it for the first time recently when an SEO specialist that I recently started working with, Ryan Gibson, threw the ‘e-bomb’ into the convo assuming that I was all over it. My bad. That said, I am of course always striving to create content that has long term value that enriches user experience (do I sound like I work for Google?!) so while I may not have heard the term, I am certainly familiar with the concept.
So, what constitutes an evergreen post?
In your industry, think about the questions that ALWAYS come up, time after time. What are the topics that are always relevant? What are the constants that never seem to be impacted by trends and changing habits and lifestyles? Evergreen (or ‘cornerstone content’ – another term for the same idea) take those prevailing themes and write around it. Provide solutions and insight, show empathy and demonstrate your expertise in the area. Not only will this have long term value, creating content like this will pay long term dividends for your site in terms of SEO and your brand in terms of user experience. Let me give you a couple of examples; I have two particular posts that I have written for clients that consistently achieve the highest number of visitors every month. That’s because they capture the key phrases that people are searching for. One is a post for Calder Security titled Wired v Wireless Alarm Systems – which type of burglar alarm is best?. It just seems to be something that people, looking for alarm systems, really want to know about so it comes up a lot in searches and it gives people a genuine insight into the two types of alarm system. The other is a post for 3Style Kitchens, Kitchen Splashback Ideas, which explores the design options available for your kitchen splashback. As well as quality content, this post is very visual (as you would expect from a kitchen company) so it ranks well in image searches as well as text ones. These two posts particularly epitomise the idea of evergreen or cornerstone content.
Should all posts aim to be evergreen?
No. Evergreen content is great but most sites will benefit from timely posts as well. It is one of your blog’s jobs to capitalise on the zeitgeist of your industry; creating content around the things that people are interested in right now, the seasonal trends, the industry developments, the changing events and whims that are relevant to your audiences. Piggy backing onto these topics can create great opportunities for you while interest in the topic is piqued – just maximise it while you can because it will have a limited shelf life. Both types of content collaborate to create a varied and interesting blog.
So, talk to your customers, talk to your staff and look around online to see what people are talking about. Use these themes to develop your evergreen/cornerstone content and let it drive your content for a long time to come.
Need help with content?
Writing content doesn’t come naturally to everyone, so if you think you need a bit of help – either some coaching to help you develop your in house skills or a resource to actually write them, I may be able to help. Contact me on 07870 468896 or send me a message.
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