How to Write Evergreen or Cornerstone Content
Would you love to add more cornerstone content to your blog?
Lately, I’ve been diving into research on content. I’ve been on the hunt for easy-to-apply ideas on how to produce great, original content that search engines love.
When you add in that search engine part to the research, the amount of information out there could make you dizzy.
We all know that Google’s Hummingbird has changed the game, but we don’t yet know all the rules. That is especially why I have fallen in love with evergreen or cornerstone content.
Evergreen or cornerstone content are the articles that are always fresh. They don’t become outdated and Google loves them.
Last week, we published an article called 6 Types of Standout Content of Google’s Hummingbird. In this article, I touched briefly on cornerstone or evergreen content.
Today, I want to give you a few examples of how to implement this timeless content into your blog, no matter the niche.
3 Ways To Create Cornerstone Content
- Describe How/Why Your Company Started
This is a great article to write. This article can motivate and inspire you, the writer. Not only that, but readers love hearing about how companies that they love got started. This is the space to showcase your passion for what you do. Your passion may be the very thing that convinces a reader to become a subscriber or customer. - Draw From Your Frequently Asked Questions
Many companies have a frequently asked questions page on their website. That page has already anticipated your clients questions and potential needs. Turn those questions into an in-depth article.Search Engine Journal’s Tommy Landry suggests a great tip: to link those in-depth articles to your Frequently Asked Questions Page.
You don’t need to limit yourself to just your FAQ page, either. Answer other questions while remaining consistent and timeless.
- Compile From Categories
If you utilize the categories on your blog, you are in luck. This is a quick and easy way to produce cornerstone content. Take one of your more important categories and pick out some of the most important articles.Group those articles together into one evergreen timeless content article.
Summary
I’m not saying that every article you write should be an cornerstone article. I am saying that these articles are a great way to produce original and creative content for your blog.
I’m also saying that they don’t have to be difficult to write. Just from these 3 ideas, you may already be thinking of content for a future blog post.
Your Turn
Do you have a great way to apply evergreen or cornerstone content? I would love to hear your suggestions, so please leave it in the comment section below.
Christine what a wonderful article. Thank you, once again, for offering great useable information. The principals of marketing have changed only slightly over the years. What’s changed are the tools we use and the vehicles used to deliver the marketing messages to our optimal customers. Thanks for the great reminder!
Heidi,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read the article. I always love to hear your input. You are so right, “What’s changed are the tools we use and the vehicles used to deliver the marketing messages to our optimal customers.” 🙂
Hello,
When I write evergreen content. I always have to ask the question, will it pass the 10 year test? If yes, then I proceed to writing. What’s great about evergreen content is that most things that happen in today’s world has not changed much since it was decades ago. The only thing I can think of that changes is that we as human beings find a way to make it complicated. Thank you for the great post!
Nate,
That is the perfect question to ask when composing cornerstone content, “will it pass the 10 year test?”. Thank you so much for taking the time to read the article and comment.
Excellent tips Christine. I have just finished reading some articles on Copyblogger on this very subject. It is very important I think to try and produce 3 to 5 cornerstone articles that target a specific subject your audience is looking to find information on. You can then create a page on your site with the relevant keywords and a short intro and links to the posts. This gives you a page you can then share on social media and direct people to, that search engines will love. Cheers ~Ian
Ian,
Copyblogger is my favorite influencer! That is another great tip! Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks so much for this information. Like most of us, I’m having a difficult time keeping up with the new “rules” at google and facebook. Not to oversimplify, but to show us these steps is marvelous, and much appreciated. If only google would stop making changes! Yeah, right, as if that’s going to happen!!
Hey Tina,
Thank you so much. I’m with you when you say, you are “having a difficult time keeping up with the new “rules” at google and facebook.” It seems like something changes every week. That’s another reason why I love this cornerstone content so much. Thank you for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Great article. I honesty quit trying to please Google and I write articles based on feedback I get from my readers, as well as tips to help them. I notice the older articles get, the more daily visits I’m getting from Google. It’s pretty interesting to watch… I think many of them are cornerstone articles, but I would not have known how to define them before today. I’m just good, knowledgeable, and experienced at what I do and try to give a lot of values to my readers.
Don,
It’s funny that you say that, we’ve notice the same thing with our older posts. That is amazing that you were writing cornerstone content without even knowing it! It sounds like you are a natural. Thank you so much for commenting.
Bookmarking and pinning this. Compiling from categories is a great idea, and one I hadn’t thought of. Thank you!
Shari,
You are so welcome! I’ve been compiling from categories on a few of blogs that I ghost write for and the articles have been turning out so well! Thank you for commenting.
Great post Christine!! And valuable info – your tips are awesome! There is much benefit to be gained from evergreen content! They make great examples of your work too – easy to re-purpose the posts.
A. Lynn Jesus,
You are so right when you say “They make great examples of your work too” because they really do. They establish that you are an authority and have been for a while. Thank you so much for sharing.
I love Heidi’s and Nate’s input on this subject. Part of creating an evergreen piece of content is knowing your audience and your niche. Marketing always changes and peoples access to it changes also.
But the story and how it helps people is the end game.
We have actually come back to the storytelling. How many stories do you know that stand the test of time. The core is still relevant today. That is how to create a powerful post.
Hi Katrina,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read the article and comment back. I agree, storytelling is a great way to produce evergreen content. Thanks for sharing.
You are right… Google keeps changing and hummingbird is no exception… This info is invaluable to all of us who need to create constantly..
Hey Robert,
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you found the information in this article helpful. Thank you also for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Thanks for sharing such great tips, Christine! I like #2. I get a lot of questions and respond to every one. Creating a blog with some of the most asked questions is a great idea! 🙂
Hi Alexandra,
Thank you so much. I love that tip too. That is wonderful that you make it a priority to ask every question. My guess is that you are really building trust with your readers. Thank you for sharing.
One of the best ways to create creative content is to draw from FAQ, mentioned right here in your post.
It’s all about what you feel like your audience will benefit from.
Thanks!
– Sam
Hey Sam,
I love your point about producing content based on what your audience will benefit from. Thank you so much for sharing.
So funny because I’ve never thought of doing it this way! 🙂 I’m a born learner and teacher and I’m always drawn to the meat… but will keep this in mind when the juices don’t want to flow. Thanks Christine!
Hi Norma,
I’m jealous, you never run out of ideas! You must be in the right business. 🙂 Thank you so much for reading my article and taking the time to comment! I always love reading your comments.
I’m fairly new to blogging so this is the first time hearing about evergreen and cornerstone content! This is something I will have to keep in mind when blogging going forward. Thank you for the information.
Hey Marielle,
Let me start off by saying welcome to the world of blogging. Cornerstone or evergreen content is going to be a great way to build authority in your niche. Good luck and I wish you the best.
You JUST did something I have been asking social media professionals to do all year, and I thank you. You spoke to us explaining in easy to understand language what some term means. Given I am Not a professional blogger or sm professional, I heard the terms evergreen and cornerstone but assumed they were platforms, or programs or tools and not relevant to me. I now got it and I can so easily utilize steps 1 & 2. Thank you.
Hi Roslyn,
Thank you so much, you’ve made my day! I’m so glad you found the article helpful and are going to be able to use a couple of the tips. Thank you so much for commenting. 🙂
Christine I enjoyed this article so much, I went back and read your earlier post too. I’d not even thought of the cornerstone method before, but the way you explain it makes perfect sense. I particularly liked your suggestion of grouping articles into one blog post, thanks for sharing, loved the video too 🙂
Hey Jackie,
Thank you so much. Grouping articles together to make one stellar article is probably my favorite tip out of the 3 or at least it’s the one I’m currently obsessed with.
This video was the easiest one I’ve done so far. Thanks for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it.
Interesting article. I had never heard this term before. I am a relatively new blogger and these are some great suggestions to consider!
Hey Terri,
Congratulations on starting your blog. It’s wonderful that you are starting off knowing about these terms and this type of content. Good luck as you move forward and thank you for commenting.
First category produces really good stories. Everyone has something interesting to say, when they describe how (and why) they started their business. I should write a story about why I have my first name in my business line – because very few people could spell it and pronounce it, and it is really not that difficult. But, hey, people have troubles spelling even the most common names… 🙂
Hi Simona,
That sounds like a great story and one that I would love to read. You are so right, “everyone has something interesting to say, when they described how (and why) they started their business”. I personally really enjoy reading these kinds of stories. Thank you so much for sharing.
I must say that I have no idea what Cornerstone is??? I’m confused about it and don’t know what you mean to add it to my blogging. Sorry, but haven’t been blogging that long. 🙁
Hey Diana,
When I first started blogging I’m not even sure if I knew what “content” meant. Terms like “content” and “cornerstone or evergreen” have become like a special language that bloggers use and sometimes they are used carelessly. On Tuesday, I plan to answer your question more in depth. Don’t be discouraged and thank you for taking the time to ask your questions. If you have anymore, don’t hesitate to ask. 🙂
Not only do you offer “food for thought” when it comes to content creation, but you also have attracted several really valuable comments that add to that information. Because I focus my writing on helping women with their money issues, it’s relatively timeless. I find my greatest source of ideas to be my clients, who bring up new viewpoints all the time. Thanks for being such a resource, Christine!
Hi Sharon,
I love your point, “I find my greatest source of ideas to be my clients”. Thank you for reminding us that it’s all about the client and thank you for sharing!
congrats on getting a video done–i know that’s not easy, and you did a great job with the content.
Hey Jessica,
Thank you so much. You know, this video was the easiest I’ve done so far. I think it has something to do with it being only about 60sec long. 🙂 Thank you so much for the encouragement. When you are putting yourself out there in a video blog it’s wonderful to have support.
I learned two new terms today! Cornerstone and evergreen! Thanks!
Yvonne,
You are so welcome and thank you for reading the article! 🙂
Thanks for this well written and very engaging post. I want to learn more about this type of article, though I feel a bit confused about how you can take several articles from a category and rewrite them as one. How does that work?
Hi Valerie,
Thank you so much. I made sure to answer your question in depth in this weeks article. If you have anymore questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
This is a really great article Christine and I love how simple the three ideas are! I have actually been contemplating turning my FAQs into posts and now I definitely will do that! I have been wondering how to create content that won’t be affected by the way social media constantly changes and this is the perfect way to combat that not just now but into the future!
Hey Shannon,
I’m so excited that you’ll be turing your FAQs into blog posts! You are so right, that is such a great way to stay timeless. Thank you so much for sharing.
I really like the idea of having a Q&A section or page on my website. That is an excellent idea. I also believe it is important to have fresh and time-less content. Thanks.
Hi Pat,
I’m so glad you like having a Q&A section on your website! Thank you so much for reading the article and taking the time to comment. 🙂
This is great information. I write original and fresh content and don’t try to keep up with Google…it seems to work! I have never heard of these terms. 🙂
Hi Deanna,
Never fix something that isn’t broken and with a plan of producing fresh and original content, I think you’re right on track. These terms are just a guide to help produce what you are already doing. Thanks for sharing.
Yikes, I have never heard of any of this! Maybe I should get more serious. I have also noticed that my older posts are getting more hits just like Don Purdum. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Hi Phoebe,
You are so welcome! It looks like there may be something significant to say about older post getting more hits because we noticed the same thing on many of the blogs we manage.
Christine – one of the things that we try and do for evergreen posts is to write tutorials on the principles of certain things which remain constant e.g. some principle of design, how to create a particular pattern etc
We find that these are always popular.
Hey Caroline,
What a great suggestion “write tutorials on the principles of certain things which remain constant”. Thank you so much for sharing!
What is cornerstone content? i cant understand this but your articles solve my problem thanks for share this
Hi Shaikh,
Welcome to our blog and thank you for your comment! Brian Clark of Copyblogger coined the term, cornerstone in January 2007. According to Brian, cornerstone content is flagship content of your website or the most important information. He states, “A cornerstone is something that is basic, essential, indispensable, and the chief foundation upon which something is constructed or developed. It’s what people need to know to make use of your website and do business with you.”
~ Robin