What is timeless content? Beginner's guide with practical tips for 2024

Over the past few years, we have published many evergreen articles on our blog.

This is why we survived all of Google's weird updates.

Timeless content helps you generate SOLID traffic even after a few years of publishing.

We have generated a lot of traffic to our website over the past few years and most of that traffic comes from Google. 

GREAT credit goes to the evergreen articles we often post on our blog.

What is timeless content?

Timeless content is ANY timeless content. It remains relevant even after five years.

Remember, your content MUST provide LONG-TERM value to your target audience. 

For example, a how-to guide offering comprehensive, clear instructions on building a website is likely to attract and retain visitors longer than a website featuring the latest trends in SEO, which can quickly become outdated and irrelevant.

The most common formats of evergreen content include:

• Articles based on lists (listicles) 
• Practical guides
• Product Reviews
• Informative videos
• Electronic books
• Études de cas

Table of contents

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Benefits of Creating Timeless Content

Some of the benefits of evergreen content are:

Long-term value: timeless content continues toattract traffic from Google even after a few years, thus providing a constant source of website traffic.

Improved traffic and leads: high-quality, evergreen content often attracts more links, social shares, and engagement from users, improving your website traffic and sales. 

High EAT value: By consistently publishing valuable evergreen content, you establish your brand as a TRUSTED source of information, improving your website's EAT SEO .

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6 Tips for Writing Timeless Content in 2024

Understand the difference between trending content and evergreen content

Trendy and timeless content are two very different approaches to content creation. You need to understand the difference between these two types of content.

• Trending content generates MORE traffic at first, but quickly fades away. Examples are news articles, reactions to current events, and viral trends. 
• Timeless content generates moderate to high traffic for a long period of time. Examples are guides, tutorials, case studies, and lists.

Here's a quick overview of these two types of content;

If you want to build long-term trust and authority, focus on timeless content.

Timeless content won't last if there is NOT enough research on the topic. This is why keyword research is extremely important, which brings us to the next point.

Here are some of the best tips for creating essential content for your website in 2024.

Long-tail keywords are best

Whatever topic you choose for evergreen content, be sure to do keyword research. 

You can look for long-tail keywords that have sufficient search volume (<1 searches) but not a lot of competition. 

As mentioned above, we've created tons of detailed guides and timeless articles on our blog. 

Almost ALWAYS targeting long-tail keywords resulted in a constant stream of traffic from Google.

Here are some best practices for finding long-tail keywords for your website.

Go beyond general terms: don’t start with seed keywords. You need to go beyond general keyword terms and narrow your topic to specific questions or issues your audience might have. 

For example, instead of “cooking,” think “healthy one-pan meals for busy families.”

Use keyword tools like SEMrush , because they help you discover hundreds of hidden keywords. Opt for Ubersuggest if you are looking for a free alternative.

Use question phrases: look for long-tail keywords that start with “how to”, “what is”, “how to”, “the best way to do it”, etc. Question keywords often have CLEAR intent and your content will often rank in Google Featured Snippets if you target them.

Focus on keywords with less search volume (200-500 searches): although high volume keywords are tempting, they probably have HUGE competition. It's almost impossible to rank high for highly competitive keywords unless you have an authoritative website with millions of links. 

Remember, moderate search volumes can still generate good traffic with less effort. 

Also look for low competition indicators, such as keyword difficulty scores below 50, if you want to rank higher with minimal effort.

Write for beginners

What's the #1 thing you need to make your evergreen content (whether articles or videos) a HUGE success?

Wider audience.

Targeting beginners makes your content valuable to a broader audience, including those who are new to the topic or looking for in-depth information.

Here are some quick tips for writing timeless content for beginners;

• Use clear and simple language: avoid technical terms. Write so that even a fifth grader will understand your explanation.
• Break down complex concepts: simplify complex ideas into smaller, understandable pieces. Use examples, illustrations, and step-by-step instructions to explain your points.
• Don't just explain: stop explaining complex topics. Focus instead on the “why”. Explain what something is, why it is important to your audience, and how the reader can benefit from it.
• Offer practical advice: your content should be extremely actionable. Anyone reading your evergreen content should be able to implement it directly and benefit from it.
• Answer common questions: If you create articles, make it a habit to include an FAQ section and answer potential questions newbies might have on the topic. If you create videos, try answering the questions at the end of the video.

Are you new to search engine optimization? here are the Ultimate SEO Glossary Terms explained in simple words.

Shining a light on persistent content

Most people bury their content once they publish it. This is a BIG mistake.

Here are some of the best ways to showcase your evergreen content.

Create a featured content section highlighting your best articles or foundational content.

Highlight your evergreen blog posts in your website sidebar.

We used to feature our popular posts in the sidebar (many blogs and websites still display their top posts).

You can also create a “Start Here” page on your website to showcase your best content and tutorials.

Here's an example from the NichePursuits blogs;

If you don't intend to create an exclusive "Start Here" page, you can display your evergreen content on your About page or Contact page.

Update your content from time to time

One of the BIG challenges of creating timeless content is: “How do I keep evergreen content fresh?” »

Don't sit back and relax once your evergreen content is published.

You should update your evergreen blog posts regularly. 

Audit your best-performing content every quarter or year and identify which posts performed well. Find out what's missing and improve it.

Here are some quick tips for updating your evergreen content;

• Look for outdated content such as dates, years, statistics, trends or tips. Be sure to include the latest information. Remove anything that is outdated or no longer works.
• Update internal and external links. Make sure your links always lead to relevant and informative pages.
• Come up with new ideas for relevant keywords to use in your title tags, meta descriptions, and throughout content.
• Improve the readability and structure of your permanent blog posts. Use compelling headlines, subheadings, and bullet points. Add attractive images to break up text and make scanning easier. 
• Replace old or outdated visuals (such as illustrations, charts, or featured images) with high-quality visuals. Use free tools like Canva for images.
• Include an FAQ section to answer common questions. This is a great way to target long-tail keywords and improve your SEO.

Finally, add a “Last updated” date at the top of your blog post. This way, you can assure your readers that they are getting the most recent and up-to-date information.

The essential ? You should update it regularly with new information, statistics or images related to the topic. You can add new sections, answer reader questions, and consider tweaking the introduction or images.

Reuse your permanent content 

What’s the best way to get the most out of your evergreen content? Reuse it in several formats, such as:

• Electronic books
• Videos
• Infographics
• Podcasts
• Checklists and more

It takes a lot of time to create timeless content, so repurposing is a good idea because it allows you to get the most out of your content efforts. Content marketing existing.

Here are several ways to reuse your content:

Change format: the most common method is to transform the format. For example, from blog posts to videos, videos to blog posts, infographics to engaging presentations, and social media posts to ebooks.

Reuse for different platforms: There are many social media networks, such as Twitter and Instagram, that you can use to repurpose your existing content.

The key here is to create tailored content for each platform.

• For Twitter, you can take existing points from your evergreen content and turn them into Twitter threads.
• For Instagram, you can create engaging images or videos explaining your content.
• For Pinterest, you can create illustrations and add bullet points to explain the topic.

Host Q&A sessions or webinars: you can also create webinars to answer specific questions or explain something meaningful based on your content. The key here is to use your evergreen blog post or video as a starting point for live discussions and audience interaction.

Above all, break complex topics into small pieces. You don't want to put everything in one format (especially when you're starting out). Include key points and add interesting snippets to create bite-sized content for different platforms.

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Persistent Content Examples FAQ

Here are some of the frequently asked questions about evergreen or timeless content.

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Final Thoughts on Timeless Content

So the next time you consider publishing content, remember the power of timelessness. 

Invest in creating high-quality, evergreen articles that will continue to attract traffic and sales. Whatever the evolution of the game Content marketing, your content must remain relevant and valuable.

What do you think about publishing evergreen content? Did you find this guide helpful? Let us know your views in the comments.