In the Search Engine Optimization world, most people pay significant attention to “evergreen” content, which is content that remains relevant no matter what time of the year it is, or even what year it is. It can be re-purposed, re-posted, re-syndicated, and re-read at any time, and it still retains its value, so most people see it as a smart, long-term investment.
While this is mostly true, you shouldn’t neglect the potential power of its counterpart which isseasonal content. Seasonal content is content that’s only valuable or relevant during certain times of the year or during certain events; for example, it could be tied to a literal season, a holiday, or a particularly busy time of the year for your business.
For example, you might write about how to protect your plants from the winter cold, or about your favorite Halloween recipes, or even how to address a boom in real estate spending. But how can you implement this seasonal content effectively?
Key Considerations
These are some of the most important things to keep in mind:
1. Remember the advantages.
Seasonal content isn’t inherently better or worse than evergreen content; instead, it has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, even though it’s only effective for part of the year, it also comes with less competition, so you can use it as a way to build a more specific niche readership. It’s also useful for targeting specific keywords related to your chosen season and it can build your brand’s expertise in that area. Play to those advantages when developing your content.
2. Headlines are everything.
The headlines of your articles are the most important feature–with seasonal content as well as evergreen. The headline is the first thing your readers are going to see, and the most important piece to optimize for SEO, so put ample time and energy into creating your seasonal content headlines. Make sure you explicitly include keywords relevant to that season, or your readers may be disappointed when they read it.
3. Build on your previous efforts.
Seasonal content may not be relevant for the entire year, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be reused or built upon. After all, winter comes around every 12 months (whether you like it or not). Instead of launching a new seasonal content strategy every year, or abandoning your efforts at the end of the season, reexamine your strategy to build on your previous year’s efforts and keep your momentum going.
4. Only syndicate your posts when appropriate.
Hopefully, you’ve already got a syndication strategy in place, promoting your older content marketing posts on social media and other publication channels on a regular basis. However, you’ll want to avoid promoting your seasonal content when it isn’t appropriate, or it could appear as though you aren’t organized. Instead, keep your evergreen content in regular rotation, and only syndicate your seasonal content when the time is right.
5. Pay attention to the competition.
Next, pay close attention to how your competition is using seasonal content. Not every industry benefits from using seasonal content, so think about what your contemporaries are doing. Beyond that, look for key competitive opportunities by considering types of content your competitors aren’t writing, and jump on them. If your competitors seem to have a lockdown on a given seasonal niche, it may not be worth the pursuit. One of the greatest advantages of seasonal content is its low competition, so if that advantage is made irrelevant, its power significantly wanes.
6. Target your keywords carefully.
Finally, do your keyword research well in advance of creating any content. Seasonal keywords spike in traffic for short periods of time, so it’s important to notice patterns in traffic and competition from year to year. Optimize your headlines and body content accordingly.
Keeping these considerations in mind and adjusting your strategy accordingly will help you develop better seasonal content and make it work better for your brand. Evergreen content, while cost-effective, doesn’t have a monopoly on the content marketing world, and doesn’t need to be your only developed content. Understand where your business fits in the scope of your industry and balance your content strategy accordingly.