The Making of Evergreen Content: The Brand24 Way

Brand24.com was still on a .net TLD early this year. Moving and redirecting things to its new home can break a website’s rankings and traffic norm, but proper execution along with a good content strategy can recover those lost data over time.

This was Brand24’s website’s stats according to SEMRush last May.

And just notice how it had improved over time, with July’s Pokemarketing blog post and Google eventually correcting itself to recognize the .com as Brand24’s new TLD.

Now, with Pokemarketing case study, Brand24 was able to clearly illustrate where it was, and how it recognized what made it possible to make the content a hit.

While it’s true that viral content can help a blog attract fresh pairs of eyes to boost  the online presence, there’s definitely more to that case study.

As you can see, the Pokemarketing post got over 12K pageviews in 1 week. Here’s the second most popular post from the list – 10 Outstanding Examples of Going an Extra Mile in Customer Service – as you can see, it’s a great “evergreen” post from 2015 which gets around 2k page views every month. Make sure to check it out.

It’s the evergreen post that always makes a difference for a website.

As shown on SEMRush’s analysis on the brand.com’s Organic Reach, out of the top 10 position, five keywords are ranking at the top spot for the 10 Outstanding Examples of Going an Extra Mile in Customer Service page, while three other pages rank on the top spot for the other keywords.

You might scoff at the idea of 2,000 views a month compared to the 12,000 views a day. But the consistency of delivering in new and returning customers is valuable for any business, be it for a business like Brand24, or for a simple clothing store online. Take note that despite changing domain TLDs early 2016, this 2015 asset has been continuously reeling in viewers for Brand24. Crazy, right?

A viral post could surely reel in the viewers, but how about considering creating evergreen posts, too?

Make it Evergreen

Not all content is created equal. There are variations in tone, structure, word choice, and grammar, which differentiate a specific material from another. Some are written better than others, while a few stand out over all others. Then there’s evergreen content, those magical pieces of writing that don’t seem to be affected by time and remain to be useful year after year.

Evergreen content doesn’t talk about current events, trends, or happenings that are all bound to fade away in due time. Evergreen content talks about issues that remain to be relevant as you write about it, the year after it, and probably a couple more years thereafter.

Why is Evergreen Content Important?

To be able to make evergreen content is truly rewarding. The ability to make timeless content will bring about many benefits. The following are some of them:

Evergreen content causes higher search engine rankings

By continuing to be relevant despite the passing of time, evergreen content can help give you higher search engine rankings. Some content, even the one that is very hot right now, will be irrelevant after some time. It might temporarily rank on searches but after a while they won’t do so anymore. Evergreen content will continue to rank as it will continue to be relevant. Imagine just what multiple evergreen content could give a website!

If you’ll look back at Brand24’s data, you’ll notice the time that the data was last updated. Brand24’s evergreen content was created in 2015, and it’s still reigning supreme for those keywords in late 2016.

However, length also plays an important role in rankings so make sure to create materials that are timeless and long enough. Are you thinking of 1000-word long articles? Still believe that as long as it’s 300 words or more, it’s enough? There’s no magic word count that brings in traffic. Some website might have long form content, but how does that reflect in their Analytics? With high bounce rates?

People can get bored. People are more fast-paced than ever. If you want to tickle their fancy, you have to see what’s the average attention span of your own audience. A content audit can help you find this out, but as long as you answer their question and supply the necessary data, that’s the optimal length of your content.

Evergreen content increases website traffic and lead conversions

With higher search engine rankings come increased website traffic, and ultimately, increased conversions. What’s even better is that this won’t be just for a short period of time. Being useful for a long time means that it can bring in traffic for a very long time.

Again, by just looking at the data beforehand, Brand24’s evergreen content has continuously pulled in visitors for the website.

Evergreen content increases social presence

Evergreen content is more likely to be shared on social networks for longer periods of time as its usability is retained. Furthermore, as you provide timeless knowledge, you will be seen as a thought leader and you will gain more credibility in the eyes of your readers.

As you grow your credibility through your increased social media presence and evergreen content, you can now use social listening to grow and nurture your leads.

How Do You Get Started with Evergreen Content?

Evergreen content is truly amazing, but how do you start it? The following steps will help you in the creation of evergreen content:

Be comprehensive

When trying to come up with evergreen content, make sure let the word count flow. Aside from the fact that longer content will help your content rank in search engine searches, using a hefty amount of words will help you to fully explain a topic. Limiting your words may provide incomplete thought. A lengthy content may be able to comprehensively dwell on a topic. However, keep in mind that a big block of text isn’t appealing either, so continue to edit your content or improve your content flow.

Keep your content updated

Although evergreen content refers to a timeless material, the way you have delivered it might not be as catchy in the future. Keep your content updated with the desirable style while keeping the message intact. Also, you may want to update keywords to attract more traffic.

Promote your content

Evergreen content might continue to be relevant but it will not stay as such if new content will take the spotlight. Evergreen content will only be effective if you continue to promote it. Don’t go overboard in republishing it though, do your research as to when users are most likely to find your content most usable. Evergreen content needs your help in being the magical online material that it is capable of becoming.

Get Going with Your Evergreen Content

With the right knowledge of evergreen content, you are now more aware as to why it is needed and how you can maximize it. It is undeniable how evergreen content is beneficial for both your site and your users so make us of it the fullest. It’s time to get going with your evergreen content!

Need Inspiration?

To get inspiration for your content, you can use a social listening tool like Brand24. Social listening allows conducting research on any topic you prefer. What’s more, with real-time notifications you’re first to receive new information or news on a given subject.

You can read more about research or start a free trial here.

Author bio:
You can find Erin doing a Baddha Konasana somewhere in La Jolla Cove. Problems with student loans made her interested to sell clothes online. Her own yoga boutique is now five years old, and she’s debt-free.