In an effort to keep content strategies targeted and timely, many merchants focus their efforts this time of year on earning inclusions in holiday gift guides. Almost all major publishers put out their own versions of these guides, which recommend on-trend products to a range of audiences leading up to the year’s peak period for purchasing. While these product mentions are useful in that they create a sense of urgency for consumers searching for the right gift, resulting in a higher purchase volume, they only have a shelf life of a couple months.
The real dividends come when commerce-related content is relevant no matter the season, meaning consumers will continuously return to it. With this in mind, merchant marketing strategies should shift to include prioritizing mentions in evergreen pieces of content, which can be leveraged year-round. This content drives traffic, conversion, social shares, and can occupy valuable positions in search rankings for months or even years after the publish date, driving consumers to merchants’ product pages month after month. What do those pieces look like? We’ve included two examples below of content that works harder for brands than just holiday gift guides alone.
Educational (How-To) Content
When it comes to embracing pieces of evergreen content in addition to gift guides, getting included in an article that offers practical advice to readers is a good place for merchants to start. Research shows that consumers are 131% more likely to buy immediately after they consume early-stage educational content, which could offer anything from advice on how best to organize a home office to tips on applying cosmetics.
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Not only does educational content drive sales, but consumers are more likely to form an affinity with the publication that educated them with this content, adding value to both publisher and merchant. One example of this type of evergreen content can be seen in this Apartment Therapy article, which recommends tips to its readers for designing a luxury bathroom without breaking the bank, while also monetizing links for light fixtures, wallpaper and other relevant products.
Beyond its benefits in terms of revenue, an instructive article of this kind will attract the kinds of links and engagement metrics that Google is looking for, and can perform well in the search engine over a longer period of time. This SEO value, combined with the fact that the content can be repurposed forever (within reason), makes it a more worthwhile mention than that of a holiday gift guide inclusion.
“10 Best” Product Recommendations
A little black dress is evergreen, and so is an article that recommends the 10 best ones on the market. Research shows that consumers are heavily swayed by product recommendations made by people in their life, with 42% of online customers finding recommendations from friends and family influential. Merchants should take advantage of the fact that, for many consumers, certain publications carry the same weight as a family member or friend, and mentions in “10 best” guides in a publication a consumer has been reading for years are invaluable and will be referenced and shared over and over again. In fact, 21% of consumers cite ads in publications as influential when determining where to shop.
Take this article in Gear Patrol, which recommends the 20 best duffle bags on the market in different price variations. Just as consumers would ask their inner circle for recommendations, they consult Gear Patrol as a trusted source to advise them on which is the best travel companion for their next weekend getaway. Inclusions in this type of content, which is heavy with product images and shoppable links, will continuously drive traffic back to merchants’ product pages.
Ultimately, leveraging inclusions in evergreen content, whether it be in large publications like Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar or smaller, niche publications with a loyal audience, will help merchants cash in as long as they live on the Internet. Meaning the benefits of the holidays can be felt all year round.
Jenny Williams is the Director of Merchant Development at Skimlinks and has been there for over seven years. She is dedicated to helping merchants increase their exposure with Skimlinks’ network of premium content publishers.
