A well-rounded content marketing strategy incorporates both evergreen content and trending content to maximize reach, engagement, and long-term value. While both types of content have their place in a successful content plan, they serve different purposes and deliver distinct benefits. Understanding the differences between evergreen and trending content—and knowing when to use each—can help you create a balanced content strategy that addresses your audience’s needs today while continuing to drive traffic and engagement in the future.
In this guide, we’ll explore the characteristics of evergreen and trending content, their respective advantages, and how to effectively use both in your marketing efforts.
What is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen content refers to content that remains relevant and valuable over time. Just as evergreen trees maintain their leaves year-round, evergreen content continues to attract and engage readers long after it’s published. This type of content typically addresses fundamental topics or issues within an industry, providing timeless information that can be revisited by readers for months or even years.
Examples of evergreen content include:
- How-to guides: “How to Optimize Your Website for SEO”
- Resource articles: “The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing”
- FAQ posts: “Common Questions About Digital Advertising”
- Case studies: “How Company X Improved Conversion Rates by 40%”
These types of posts are valuable because they address core topics that are consistently relevant to your audience. Whether someone reads the content a week after it’s published or a year later, the information remains applicable, helping to build long-term traffic and SEO performance.
Benefits of Evergreen Content
1. Consistent Traffic Over Time
One of the key benefits of evergreen content is that it continues to generate traffic long after its initial publication. Because the content is always relevant, it attracts new readers over time through organic search or social shares. This steady flow of traffic makes evergreen content a valuable asset for increasing SEO performance. By ranking well in search engine results for relevant keywords, evergreen content can serve as a reliable source of inbound traffic for months or years.
2. Improved SEO and Authority
Evergreen content is typically keyword-optimized around core industry terms and queries, helping it rank well in search engines. Over time, as more users discover and engage with the content, it accumulates backlinks and social shares, further boosting its SEO performance. Because evergreen content remains relevant, it becomes a reliable way to build domain authority and increase your website’s overall visibility in search results.
3. Long-Term ROI
While creating high-quality evergreen content requires an initial investment of time and resources, it offers a strong return on investment (ROI) in the long run. Unlike trending content, which may have a short lifespan, evergreen content continues to deliver value for an extended period. It’s a long-term marketing asset that consistently brings in new leads, readers, or customers without requiring frequent updates.
What is Trending Content?
In contrast, trending content refers to content that focuses on current events, industry trends, or viral topics. Trending content is highly time-sensitive and designed to capitalize on popular conversations, breaking news, or seasonal events. This type of content gains rapid attention shortly after publication but typically has a shorter shelf life compared to evergreen content.
Examples of trending content include:
- News articles: “New Google Algorithm Update and What It Means for SEO in 2024”
- Seasonal posts: “Top Holiday Marketing Trends for 2024”
- Viral topics: “The Latest TikTok Marketing Hacks You Need to Know”
Trending content thrives on immediacy and relevance. It’s designed to engage your audience around timely topics and encourage rapid sharing across social media and other platforms. While it may not deliver long-term traffic like evergreen content, trending content is essential for keeping your brand current and visible in fast-paced industries.
Benefits of Trending Content
1. Increased Engagement and Social Sharing
Because trending content focuses on topics that are top of mind for your audience, it is highly shareable. Readers are more likely to engage with and share content that feels relevant and timely, especially if it aligns with a popular trend or addresses a current issue. This increased engagement can boost your brand’s visibility on social media platforms and encourage conversations around your content.
2. Opportunity to Capitalize on Current Events
Trending content allows you to quickly respond to industry news, viral trends, or important events. By producing content around these timely topics, you position your brand as an up-to-date source of information, which can help attract new readers and followers. This is particularly valuable in industries where staying on top of trends is crucial, such as technology, fashion, or digital marketing.
For example, if a new social media platform gains popularity, creating content that explains how businesses can leverage it for marketing can help you capture traffic from users looking for insights into the trend. Trending content enables you to capitalize on short-term opportunities and drive quick bursts of traffic.
3. Boosts Brand Awareness
Trending content can introduce your brand to a wider audience, especially when it’s shared extensively on social media or picked up by media outlets. By tapping into popular conversations and offering unique insights, you can attract attention from new readers who may not have otherwise found your content. This increased exposure helps boost brand awareness and can lead to more followers, subscribers, or customers.
When to Use Evergreen Content
Evergreen content is best suited for addressing topics that are foundational to your industry or business and that will remain relevant over time. Consider using evergreen content in the following scenarios:
- Building a Content Library: Evergreen content is ideal for creating a content library that can serve as a resource for your audience. Whether you’re offering how-to guides, tutorials, or case studies, evergreen posts help establish your brand as a reliable source of information.
- Improving SEO: If your goal is to improve search rankings and generate long-term organic traffic, evergreen content is essential. By focusing on high-traffic keywords and consistently updating your evergreen posts, you can maintain strong search engine visibility.
- Lead Generation: Evergreen content that addresses common pain points or challenges for your audience can serve as a lead generation tool. Consider creating downloadable resources, such as e-books or white papers, that offer lasting value in exchange for contact information.
When to Use Trending Content
Trending content is particularly effective for driving short-term engagement and staying relevant in fast-moving industries. Use trending content in the following scenarios:
- Capitalizing on Industry Trends: If there’s a significant change or development in your industry, such as a new technology or regulatory update, creating timely content around the topic can help you capture traffic from people seeking information. For example, after a major Google algorithm update, SEO agencies can benefit from producing content that explains its impact on search rankings.
- Seasonal Campaigns: Trending content is perfect for seasonal or event-based marketing campaigns. Whether it’s a holiday season, a product launch, or a major industry conference, creating content around these events can help you stay relevant and engaged with your audience during peak periods.
- Viral Topics: If a topic or trend is gaining rapid attention on social media or within your industry, creating content that taps into this trend can help you reach a wider audience. For example, producing content that capitalizes on a viral social media challenge can drive immediate traffic and engagement.
How to Balance Evergreen and Trending Content
A successful content marketing strategy strikes a balance between evergreen and trending content. Here’s how to incorporate both:
- Start with Evergreen Content: Build your content foundation with evergreen pieces that will drive long-term traffic and SEO. These should address key topics in your industry and provide lasting value. Once you have a strong base of evergreen content, you can layer in trending topics to capture short-term engagement.
- Repurpose Content: One way to balance the two is by repurposing evergreen content into trending content. For example, if you have an evergreen post about “Best Social Media Marketing Tips,” you can update it to include new insights about a recent platform update or viral trend.
- Monitor Industry Trends: Stay up to date with the latest trends in your industry by using tools like Google Trends, BuzzSumo, or social media monitoring platforms. This allows you to quickly identify opportunities to create timely content that resonates with your audience.
Conclusion
Both evergreen and trending content play important roles in a successful content marketing strategy. While evergreen content provides long-term SEO benefits and consistent traffic, trending content helps you stay relevant and capture short-term engagement around popular topics. By finding the right balance between the two, you can create a content strategy that addresses your audience’s ongoing needs while remaining agile in a fast-paced digital environment.
