The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving, with brands seeking ways to stay relevant and visible. One question frequently arises is whether to focus on evergreen or trendy content for SEO. Both approaches have distinct advantages, but the decision ultimately depends on your brand’s goals and strategy.
Ashley Liddell, Co-founder and Creative Strategy Director at Deviation, emphasizes combining both strategies for maximum impact. As a content marketer with a “search everywhere” mindset, Ashley has helped global brands grow their search share by integrating search into holistic marketing efforts.
In this article, we will explore how you can create trendy content for SEO while maintaining long-term visibility. We’ll look at the pros and cons of evergreen and trendy content for SEO. Moreover, we’ll learn how each approach works, when to prioritize trends, and how to seamlessly incorporate them into your SEO strategy.
Should You Focus on Evergreen Content or Trendy Content for SEO?
When deciding between evergreen and trendy content, both approaches have distinct advantages. Evergreen content remains relevant over time and builds a steady, long-term audience.
It is useful for addressing common, ongoing issues and needs ensuring consistent traffic, though competition can be tough. Meanwhile, trendy content lets you be fast and the first to engage with emerging conversations, often providing short-term traffic spikes.
Pros of Evergreen Content
- Consistent relevance over time
- Builds lasting relationships with your audience
- Requires fewer updates once published
Pros of Trendy Content
- Less competition compared to evergreen topics
- Allows you to be the first to cover new trends
- Can drive short-term traffic boosts and engage a larger audience quickly
That said, trendy content can be less useful in the long term, as its relevance fades when the trend passes. However, spotting recurring trends can help offset this issue, as you can revisit topics that tend to cycle back into popularity.
By blending evergreen and trendy content, you maximize short-term visibility and long-term engagement. Evergreen content forms the foundation of your strategy, while trendy content fills gaps when relevant trends emerge.
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How to Create Effective Trendy Content for SEO
To create effective trendy content, immerse yourself in the brand’s industry and target community. This helps you spot emerging trends before they become mainstream.
Regularly monitor social platforms where your audience engages, such as TikTok, Instagram, or Reddit. These platforms provide insight into what topics are gaining momentum.
Steps to Creating Trendy Content for SEO
- Immerse Yourself in the Audience: Spend time on social platforms where your audience is active. Engage with content as they do to understand emerging trends better.
- Leverage Tools: Tools like Glimpse help validate your trend observations by providing search volumes and growth rate data.
- Link Trends to Brand Strategy: Ensure the trend aligns with your brand’s core topics. For example, a fashion brand could link the cowboy boots trend to broader footwear discussions.
- Incorporate SEO: Integrate a trend into your SEO strategy after identifying a trend. This includes keyword research and ensuring content aligns with SEO best practices, whether it’s blog posts or user-generated content (UGC).
By immersing yourself in your audience’s space and utilizing relevant tools, you can create trendy content that catches attention and supports your brand’s goals.
When Should You Focus on Trendy Content for SEO?
You should focus on trends if your goal is to grow a community of brand advocates, not just customers. Trend-led content helps build deeper connections with your audience and enhances your presence in search results.
It is especially useful for businesses aiming to increase brand awareness, grow their search share, and drive revenue growth.
Key Indicators for Using SEO Trends:
- Community Building: If your brand focuses on building relationships and creating a loyal customer base.
- Increasing Search Share: If you aim to improve visibility across search engines by becoming part of trending conversations.
- Driving Revenue: If your goal is to convert traffic into positive business outcomes, trendy content can be crucial.
Overall, leveraging trends in your SEO strategy helps your brand gain visibility, foster advocacy, and contribute to your bottom line.
How SEO Trends Convert to Business Growth
Trendy content doesn’t just drive short-term traffic—it also helps build long-term relationships with your audience. You grow your community and brand recognition as you contribute to relevant conversations.
Over time, this exposure leads to increased brand searches, social shares, and eventual conversions. Brands benefit from word-of-mouth recommendations and sustained engagement, which leads to business success.
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How to Repurpose and Optimize Trendy Content for SEO
Trendy content can be repurposed and optimized to maximize its impact. You can update trend-based content with more stable, evergreen keywords as the trend stabilizes. Additionally, you can embed trend elements into existing evergreen content to capture ongoing interest.
Strategies for Repurposing Trendy Content for SEO:
- Update Trending Keywords: After the initial trend dies down, revisit the content and update it with stable, high-traffic keywords that align with the new search patterns.
- Enhance Evergreen Content with Trends: If you already have successful Evergreen content, such as a mortgage calculator, consider adding trending information (e.g., government budget impacts) to attract more traffic during specific events.
Avoid Overusing Trendy Content
While Trendy Content can be powerful, overuse can backfire if irrelevant. Always ensure that the trend aligns with your brand’s core message. If a trend becomes less relevant, focus on evergreen content and shift your strategy accordingly.
Balancing between evergreen and Trendy Content ensures you remain relevant without stretching beyond your expertise.
Conclusion
In conclusion, balancing evergreen and trendy content for SEO ensures long-term growth and immediate visibility. Trendy content for SEO allows you to engage quickly with emerging topics, while evergreen content offers consistent value over time.
Integrating both approaches creates a dynamic strategy that drives traffic and builds lasting connections with your audience. Always ensure your content aligns with your brand’s goals for maximum impact.