What Is Evergreen Content and Why Do We Like It?

On HubPages' niche sites (like Holidappy, Dengarden, and ToughNickel), evergreen content is usually the most successful in terms of traffic. But just what makes content evergreen? Evergreen content is information, advice, or other material that is accurate, up-to-date, and perpetually relevant.

Articles that are evergreen may change over time, but usually, these changes are for style, appearance, clarity, and specific figures that may vary slightly over time (e.g., the average price for a motel room in a particular town). Some topics are seasonal—meaning they are only likely to be relevant during a particular time of the year—but still evergreen because their content becomes relevant again year after year. Other articles—like those about current events—are not evergreen because they are only relevant and useful to a broad audience for a short period of time. 

Examples of Evergreen Topics 

• "How to Use an Angle Grinder and Grit Pads to Wet-Polish Stone and Tile"
• "The Real Right Way to Tie Your Shoes (85% of People Do It Wrong!)"
• "The 5 Best Orchid Species to Cultivate Indoors in a Tropical City"
• "The Best Air-Fried Keto Meatloaf Recipe"

Examples of Evergreen-but-Seasonal Topics

• "3 DIY Halloween Decorations Using Supplies From the Dollar Store"
• "The Quickest Way to Rake and Bag Fallen Leaves on a Wet Day"
• "How to View the Annual Monarch Migration if You Live in the Midwestern U.S."

Examples of Non-Evergreen Topics

• News and current events (e.g., "Hillary vs. Trump: What the Preliminary Poll Numbers Say")
• Personal journal/blog post content (e.g., "January 1st, 2020: My New Year's Day  Reflections on COVID-19") 

While non-evergreen content is awesome, and our users are welcome to write whatever they wish, most successful articles on our niche sites have a few things in common—their content is unique, helpful, well-written, well-formatted, and evergreen. For that reason, most non-evergreen content written by our users tends to remain on HubPages, while most high-quality evergreen content tends to move to our niche sites that have higher search-engine visibility and get more traffic.

For more on evergreen content, visit our help center article on this topic. 

Image Credit: CHUTTERSNAP via Unsplash; Canva

Adverbs and Hyphens in Compound Modifiers

When using adverbs in compound modifiers, a hyphen between the two modifiers is often necessary. Here are a few examples:

• a well-liked historian
• the stubborn-minded muckraker
• an egg-shaped rock

When using adverbs that end in "ly" in compound modifiers, however, the hyphen should be omitted. Here are a few examples:

• the barely conscious captain
• a highly likable lizard
• an aptly named apartment complex

Pro tip: When using the adverb "very" in a compound modifier, omit the hyphen. "Very" is treated like an "ly" adverb (e.g., the very hairy hound). 

Pro tip 2: Not all words that end with "ly" are adverbs. If used in compound modifiers, "ly" words that are not adverbs do call for a hyphen (e.g., "supply-chain problems").  

Amara Hassan, From Pakistan, 47 Fans, 21 Hubs, Joined 3 months ago

Amara Hassan

Amara, a parent and former teacher, is a newer member of the HubPages community who writes about food, gardening, spirituality, science, and more. Check out their article about veggies you can plant in your garden without buying seeds on Dengarden and their crispy potato popcorn recipe on Delishably. 

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