Evergreen Content - Write Articles about Topics that don't Change

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By Paul Edmondson

Definition of Evergreen Content

  • Evergreen: Perenially fresh and enduring.
  • Content: The materials, including text, video, and images, that forms a document or article.
  • Evergreen Content: Perenially fresh and enduring articles.

Examples of Evergreen Content

There are several types of evergreen content. Examples include encyclopedic entries, product reviews, how to tutorials, and other informational resources. What makes content evergreen is an enduring quality that is unlikely to change.

Examples of Evergreen Hubs

  • While Robin will tell you English is a living language, but the grammar rules for who vs whom are pretty constant. This article will be a valuable resource for years to come.
  • Some types of product reviews lend themselves nicely to evergreen content. James's series on Rolex watches is encyclopedic in nature, so the value of the content will endure.
  • Some questions never get old like "How to say I love you". Millions of people a day ask this question and many people are interested in different opinions on how to do it.


Which Topic for Evergreen Content is More Popular

Looks like Rolex Watches beats out Who vs Whom, and How to Say I Love You

Why is Evergreen Content Valuable?

Evergreen Content can be extremely valuable. A well written piece of content that does an excellent job at answering a question, explaining how to do something, or reviewing a product or place in detail can satisfy people over a long period of time. Hence the name "evergreen content". Since evergreen content is enduring and capable of receiving traffic for many years from search engines, directories and other collections of useful links it can be extremely valuable.

Imagine you have a sports website or a blog that publishes scores for the games that were played the day before. Your site has 1000 readers. You publish an article that is read 1000 times that day. However, after that day is passed, the article is no-longer current because it's old news, there are new games now, and that's what readers care about today. Today, you decide to take a day off to play in the sun. You come home and check your traffic. Since you didn't publish a new article almost all your traffic is gone.

Now imagine that you have a site that covers proper manners and answer questions like "How to set a table", "How to hold a folk", "Proper way to write a thank you note" and "Is it rude to talk with your mouth full". You will write one article per day. At the end of the year, you have over 300 pieces of evergreen content. The site has people that come to it to see what's new, which are your loyal users, but the majority of your traffic comes from Yahoo, Google and MSN. Today, you decide to go for a walk and rest your hands from all the typing you have been doing. At the end of the day you sit down at your computer and check your site's stats. You see a slight increase from the same day last week, because you published four great evergreen articles the previous week. Evergreen content is kind of like owning a bond that pays a dividend. You write the article, then it pays a dividend over a long period of time with traffic to your site.

The Idea Bank is full of examples of evergreen content suggestions. Feel free to rob it:)

What site is the best example of evergreen content?

  • about.com
  • wikipedia.com
  • answers.com
  • imdb.com
See results without voting
sapheyerblu profile image

sapheyerblu 5 years ago

This is a great article, very informative. Thanks.

Paul Edmondson profile image

Paul Edmondson Hub Author 5 years ago

Thanks for the comment.

Responding to an email...Yes, there can be a seasonality affect to evergreen content. Such that Halloween articles are popular at Halloween time etc. From the chart above, it's interesting that who vs whom is constant, how to say I love you peaks around Valentines Day and Rolex Watches peaks around Christmas which is the biggest shopping time of the year. The trends make it easy to see the seasonlity in the topics.

jstankevicz profile image

jstankevicz 5 years ago

Great HubPage and well stated argument for evergreen content. What do you call short lived content - Internet candy? The nightly news? Regards, Jack

Drax profile image

Drax Level 2 Commenter 5 years ago

Paul very interesting article, it makes one look at material with a different perspective and there's even an oxymoron in there for good measure. :-)

Paul Edmondson profile image

Paul Edmondson Hub Author 5 years ago

Here's something else to think about. Write about stuff that is new today, but will be evergreen for the future. If you are first to write about something, the search engines usually will give you the top spot. If that topic has longevity, then you you'll get traffic for a long time. So I think the sweet spot is brand new today, but will have life. Like new product reviews, new hotels. Be first and you'll reap rewards.

eva profile image

eva 4 years ago

Thanks for writing this useful article. It open eyes of hubbers

ANH N. 4 years ago

Thank you. May be very intersting!

jhulott profile image

jhulott 3 years ago

Thanks Paul,

Evergreen content is also good when preparing autoresponder courses as people can sign up at anytime and you want to make sure the content is relevant to them.

Paraglider profile image

Paraglider Level 5 Commenter 3 years ago

Great examples - the sports results site vs the manners site. Lots to think about.

RyanRE profile image

RyanRE 3 years ago

I learned something new today. I have been building lens for a long time and just started on Hubpages and this is the 1st time that I have ever heard the term "Evergreen content". I typically hear the term "Unique Content".

Blake Glenn 3 years ago

This is good information Paul. It's especially important since, in the last 18 months or so, several firms such as Demand Media and others, have raised millions in VC money to acquire domain names. They plan to use many of these names as conduits to distribute "evergreen content".

Thanks to your article, I have some content tips for my own site(s).

Paul Edmondson profile image

Paul Edmondson Hub Author 3 years ago

@Blake Yes, keyword domains mixed with evergreen content has proven to be a good model for consistently attacting visitors. It should be noted that some domains monetize better with content while others do better when items are offered for sale. Just depends on the domain and topic.

Squimpleton profile image

Squimpleton 3 years ago

I try to only make hubs that I think are evergreen. I may be wrong, but at least the intention's there.

Tyrone 3 years ago

I never thought of this concept, now I know what to follow with my hubs!

Mosz 3 years ago

Super nice article about what Evergreen content means. Very well written! Best of luck to you!

Moon Daisy profile image

Moon Daisy Level 5 Commenter 3 years ago

That's a great hub and very interesting and food for thought for all hubbers and website owners everywhere.  Thanks for sharing this information.

fxdaddy profile image

fxdaddy 3 years ago

Thanks Paul, this is a great article. I'm starting to realize that evergreen articles are the only ones worth writing.

Rudra profile image

Rudra 3 years ago

Thanks, I am now shifting to evergreen topics.

internet marketr profile image

internet marketr 3 years ago

But the Question is How to write everGreen Content for a Sport site??

Paul Edmondson profile image

Paul Edmondson Hub Author 3 years ago

@Internet marketr - that's funny, but actually very possible. Evergreen topics for sports are things like How to throw a curve ball or How to shoot a jump shot. For newsy sites, they are usually very good at gaining links since it's a bit easier to get links into your site for very current topics.

So if your site is timely and you get lots of relevant links to your content, then, mixing in evergreen content on news sites is a good strategy to get more traffic.

Peggy W profile image

Peggy W Level 8 Commenter 3 years ago

Thanks Paul. I am very new to writing hubs, etc. and found your evergreen topic interesting and useful. Since our product/service IS new........perhaps I should use the name of the service in my title?

Paul Edmondson profile image

Paul Edmondson Hub Author 3 years ago

@Peggy W - If you are launchign a new service and want people to find it by searching, then, yes, it's a good idea to use the name of your service in the title of the page or if you are making it on another page, put it in an H1 html tag and the title meta tag. Hope this is helpful and good luck with your new service.

cowgirljess profile image

cowgirljess 3 years ago

Great article, I was wondering what you ment by evergreen, in another one of your articles.

Dorsi profile image

Dorsi Level 5 Commenter 3 years ago

Thanks Paul. I am really starting to understand enduring and "evergreen" content. It's fun to write about current "hot" topics but the ones that endure are the ones that people will always search for, like you said.

sahed profile image

sahed 3 years ago

I VOTE FOR wikipedia.com

LondonGirl profile image

LondonGirl 3 years ago

The recent comments show you've created evergreen content yourself!

jvphantom profile image

jvphantom 3 years ago

Very Informative. I will read more. Your ever green is good!

SiddSingh profile image

SiddSingh 3 years ago

Hi Paul,

Great information! Can this be the answer to this question: What is better, a blog or a website?

unduki profile image

unduki 3 years ago

Wow, you answered questions I didn't even know I had. Thanks!

'J

reagu profile image

reagu 3 years ago

Great suggestions. I'll use these principles when I write hubs.

WHoArtNow profile image

WHoArtNow 2 years ago

A great article as always Paul, some things to think about for the future!

Andre

roshan1980 profile image

roshan1980 2 years ago

good advice, Thanks

Mezo profile image

Mezo Level 1 Commenter 2 years ago

that's a great hub...I've came to this conclusion so late, unfortunately.

search engine traffic is the best

gr8archer45 profile image

gr8archer45 2 years ago

Very efficient & to the point advice!I agree about the how to articles Paul, among all my hubs, the how to bake a cheese cake attracts the biggest chunk of traffic than the rest.

caderade2 profile image

caderade2 2 years ago

Good hub. This is useful information and your hub is defenitely an "evergreen" hub :)

cashmere profile image

cashmere Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago

Am headed over to the idea bank now. Did not know it existed.

myawn profile image

myawn 2 years ago

Thanks for the insight didn't think about this until now I'm new here. Any help I can get is appreciated. An idea bank I didn't know this either.

prasadjain profile image

prasadjain Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago

I just today visited your hubs and felt theya re quite helpful to all who wish to make money by writing successful hubs.This hub has many useful points-taught to everyone selflessly.

Roffi Grandiosa profile image

Roffi Grandiosa 2 years ago

a great hub you got here..

Philent profile image

Philent 2 years ago

Thanks for the tips. Hope I can come up with contents that will last. =)

laswi profile image

laswi 2 years ago

Paul, a question for you. When we display our own Hubs, you get "Suggested Tags" just below the list of "TAGS". How does HubPages get this list of Suggested Tags? Is it relevant only to the Hub? Or, is there some connection with Google Trends or anything like that?

Also thanks for the great information in this Hub. Great job.

Paul Edmondson profile image

Paul Edmondson Hub Author 2 years ago

@laswi - We use a semantic analysis technology that analyzes the text of the hub and then suggests phrases to tag.

laswi profile image

laswi 2 years ago

Thanks for the reply.

Paul Edmondson profile image

Paul Edmondson Hub Author 2 years ago

sure.

Robertbloggert profile image

Robertbloggert 2 years ago

Great info and sorry I guess this answers the question I left on your other Hub.

PWalker281 profile image

PWalker281 Level 7 Commenter 2 years ago

Wow, you are my new best friend! I never heard of "every green" content, but it makes so much sense. I've bookmarked this hub and can't wait to check out the rest!

Nick17Pierce19 profile image

Nick17Pierce19 24 months ago

What's interesting about ever green content in this day in age is the social nature by which "hubpages" are able to constantly receive input and feedback. Wikipedia offers a similar system but the community at large is able to edit and modify topics, which has pros and cons, the largest pro being that the single piece of content gets the "evergreen" status rather than having 10 to 20 different pieces of very similar content that may each have different merits.

DixieMockingbird profile image

DixieMockingbird Level 1 Commenter 24 months ago

I already had evergreen content, but didn't realize it. I hope I can maximize what I was already doing, with your great advice. Thank you!

Mystique1957 profile image

Mystique1957 Level 2 Commenter 23 months ago

Paul...

This is great stuff! I can see why there were some flaws in my traffic, but with this info, I am positive I will improve very much!

Thanks for sharing it!

Thumbs up!

warm regards and blessings,

Al

devsir profile image

devsir 22 months ago

great helpful information

HunterGiftBaskets profile image

HunterGiftBaskets 22 months ago

Evergreen content is a synonym for meaningful content - what has meaning for individual readers and will maintain meaningfulness over time, so new visitors will become readers.

How to... whatever (general topics) have perennial appeal, just look at the ratings of lifestyle and home repair shows.

Great posting, inspirational..

George Martin profile image

George Martin 22 months ago

Very interesting

EmmaMedu profile image

EmmaMedu Level 1 Commenter 22 months ago

Very interesting article! I got some more ideas about what to write.

talfonso profile image

talfonso Level 1 Commenter 21 months ago

I was so surprised that some of my content on sites I wrote on kept earning views in the long run - I blame them for being high quality and evergreen. Because of informative articles like this, I came up with a quote from me: like rosemary, make your content evergreen.

rahat.infinite profile image

rahat.infinite 20 months ago

thanks helpful article

eternaltreasures profile image

eternaltreasures 20 months ago

Evergreen content, this one is my key lesson for today to improve my hubs.

abidan profile image

abidan 19 months ago

evergreen content sounds great

actually this hub evergreen content has good quality information

websclubs profile image

websclubs 16 months ago

Hi Paul,

evergreen content, some articles are relevant to an audience forever. Useful article Thanks

JohnBarret profile image

JohnBarret 16 months ago

Really very informative and evergreen article.

4youreyes profile image

4youreyes Level 2 Commenter 15 months ago

Wonderful hub you explained things very nicely it helped me a great deal Thanks have a good day !!!

Freelance Writer and Web Developer 15 months ago

Your average article on the internet is basically a spun version of info that's already out there. 'Evergreen Content' is a good concept.

vocalcoach profile image

vocalcoach Level 8 Commenter 15 months ago

This type of hub and the information offered is my favorite type. Thanks for helping me understand the meaning of evergreen. Wonderful!

LaurieDawn profile image

LaurieDawn 15 months ago

Thank you for your informative hub. A newbie on hubpages, it helped me quite a bit to figure out what to write on next.

Thanks for sharing! I wondered what evergreen meant when I was reading about it on another website.

Blessings,

Laurie

JArvinV profile image

JArvinV 14 months ago

Great tip and great explanation. Will definitely have to focus on 'evergreen' topics from now on. Thank you for this!

tonymac04 profile image

tonymac04 Level 1 Commenter 13 months ago

Very useful and informative Hub. Thanks for the tips.

Love and peace

Tony

cceerpp profile image

cceerpp 13 months ago

Excellent information. Thanks a lot.

cashmere profile image

cashmere Level 4 Commenter 12 months ago

Good tips to follow, great content from you as ever!

Jamie Brock profile image

Jamie Brock Level 6 Commenter 12 months ago

Thank you, Paul. I appreciate this info on evergreen hubs.

revmjm profile image

revmjm Level 1 Commenter 12 months ago

Thanks for sharing tips about evergreen content.

Rick Rudd profile image

Rick Rudd 10 months ago

Great idea. Reminds me of the term "fashion is never finished".

doug hay 10 months ago

Great post. Thank for you laying this is out in simple language so other bloggers can apply this valuable technique.

Monika 10 months ago

Wow! I will now analyze my blog and ask my writers for their input in helping me produce more evergreen content. What a fantastic article.

easylearningweb profile image

easylearningweb Level 4 Commenter 8 months ago

Excellent tips and so true! Thanks for your recommendations, Paul. When I came across your hubpage, I thought of "evergreen" trees. I will keep the "evergreen" content idea in mind when writing more hubs. :-)

Thanks again!

Easylearningweb

rembrandz profile image

rembrandz Level 3 Commenter 5 months ago

Hello Paul

Thank you for the insight. Wow! I learnt some very important things here.

joseph merlin profile image

joseph merlin Level 3 Commenter 5 months ago

This is what I am looking for Thanks for your great article. I have a website and I have some evergreen articles Now I will also look for Ever green content for long run results.

kievan profile image

kievan 4 months ago

Simple. Short. Sweet. Inspiring.

Thank you :)

Sean 4 months ago

This article is so "evergreen!" Glad I was able to find it to truly understand the evergreen meaning.

Potro Direjo profile image

Potro Direjo 4 months ago

Paul Edmondson (Hub Author, 2 years ago):

mixing in evergreen content on news sites is a good strategy to get more traffic.

Thank you, very enlightening.

Ian Hetri 2 months ago

Very informative for article.

mljdgulley354 profile image

mljdgulley354 Level 6 Commenter 2 months ago

Paul, thank you for sharing this information. I don't know how evergreen my hubs are but I want to search this out more.

s49u58zanne 5 weeks ago

There is some really great information here I will try to use evergreen in my hubs. My specialty is the trucking industry and the issue that are facing the industry.

raciniwa profile image

raciniwa Level 7 Commenter 5 weeks ago

i've linked this hub from a previous page and i find the two quite engaging and informative...thanks for sharing...i still have much to learn...

RealHousewife profile image

RealHousewife Level 8 Commenter 4 weeks ago

Super up and awesome! Thanks - I have read a few about evergreen articles - this one really shines!

davenstan profile image

davenstan Level 3 Commenter 4 weeks ago

I just found this hub. Very useful piece of information. I will be coming up with more evergreen content.

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