How to Create Evergreen YouTube Shorts That Get Views for Years (SEO Strategy)

There are two ways to play the short-form video game in 2026.

Game A: The Viral Treadmill. You chase trends. You use the "Capybara" audio. You get 100,000 views on Monday, and by Wednesday, your views drop to zero. You have to post again, or you don't exist. This is the TikTok model, driven by dopamine loops and trending audio.

Game B: Digital Real Estate. You answer a specific question. You get 500 views this week. Next week, you get another 500. Next year, you get another 500. You stop posting for a month, but your traffic increases. This is the YouTube Search model.

While most creators are obsessed with "going viral" (a vanity metric we debunk in our guide to algorithm updates and metrics), smart business owners using AI video marketing strategies are building libraries of Evergreen Shorts with AI-powered video tools. This is the core of YouTube Shorts SEO—ranking for intent, not just chasing trends. Understanding why shorts flatline helps you avoid the viral treadmill.

These are videos designed to rank in search results, not just the feed. They don't expire. They don't age. They work for you while you sleep, generating passive YouTube revenue.

Here is the blueprint for building a passive traffic machine using YouTube Shorts.

What is an "Evergreen" Short?

An Evergreen Short is a 60-second video that solves a problem that people will still have in 5 years, leveraging ideal video length strategies.

• Not Evergreen: "My reaction to the Oscars slap." (Relevant for 2 days).
• Evergreen: "How to tie a tie." (Relevant forever).

In the B2B space, this is even more powerful. As we discuss in our B2B viral guide and LinkedIn video strategy, decision-makers are constantly searching for solutions. If you rank for "How to fix Quickbooks error 404," you capture high-intent traffic every single day using proper SEO optimization and keyword research.

Step 1: Keyword Research (The "Answer" Strategy)

You cannot guess what is evergreen. You must research it using keyword research for shorts.

You are looking for Search Intent. Unlike the "Scroll Intent" of TikTok (where people want to be entertained with pattern interrupts), YouTube users often have "Solution Intent" as explained in our algorithm war guide.

1. The Auto-Complete Method: Type your niche into YouTube search.
   • Type "Real Estate Investing for..." and see what pops up. "Beginners," "Dummies," "Teens."
2. The "vs" Strategy: Compare two popular tools. "Notion vs Obsidian." Learn about free vs paid AI tools.
3. The "How to" Library: List every question your sales team gets asked.

Once you have your topics, you don't need to film from scratch. You likely already have the answers buried in your webinars or podcasts. You can use the best AI video clipper, Joyspace, to extract these specific answers instantly. By using Joyspace's automated clipping, you can identify the exact moments that answer these search queries without watching hours of footage, following the content waterfall strategy and turning one video into 10 pieces.

Step 2: Structuring for Retention (The "Loop" of Value)

Even for search-based content, retention is the ranking signal. YouTube will not rank a video that people click away from after 5 seconds.

You must apply the 3-second rule differently here.

The Search Hook Formula:

1. Verify: Confirm they are in the right place immediately. ("If your iPhone screen is black, do this.")
2. The Solution: Give the quick fix fast.
3. The Context: Explain why it happened (the meat of the video).
4. The CTA: Direct them to the next step.

This structure respects the user's time. Unlike viral entertainment which relies on curiosity gaps and addictive dopamine loops, search content relies on Efficiency.

Step 3: The "Content Waterfall" Workflow

Creating a library of 100 evergreen answers sounds exhausting. It isn't if you use a powerful Content Repurposing Tool like Joyspace AI.

The strategy is simple:

1. Record one 60-minute "FAQ Session" where you answer 20 customer questions back-to-back.
2. Upload the full video to Joyspace.
3. Use the Video to Shorts AI feature to automatically detect the start and end of each answer.
4. Export 20 separate Evergreen Shorts using the content waterfall strategy.

This aligns with our turn one video into 10 pieces methodology and allows you to create keyword-rich shorts at scale. You do the work once, and you create 20 assets that pay dividends for years with Joyspace.

Step 4: SEO Optimization (The Technicals)

For your Short to be found 3 years from now, you need to speak the algorithm's language.

• Title: Must match the search query exactly. "How to Tie a Tie" beats "My Tie Tutorial."
• Description: The first two lines appear in Google Search. Use keywords naturally.
• Captions: YouTube indexes your transcript. You must have accurate captions. Using Joyspace's Auto Caption Generator ensures that YouTube "hears" your keywords correctly. For more on the importance of text and optimizing for silent viewing, read our text-on-screen psychology guide.

The "Related Video" Bridge

The ultimate goal of passive traffic is not just views; it's conversion. YouTube Shorts now allows you to link a "Related Video" on the player.

The Strategy:

1. The Short gives the "What" (e.g., "What is a Roth IRA?").
2. The Related Video gives the "How" (e.g., "Full Guide to Setting Up a Roth IRA").

This funnels passive traffic from a 60-second clip into a 20-minute sales asset, leveraging the related video bridge technique. This is the practical application of the content recycling best practices we advocate for.

Why This Beats "Going Viral"

Viral videos are like winning the lottery—great when it happens, but a terrible financial plan. Evergreen Shorts are like buying rental properties.

• Viral Video: 1M views in week 1. 0 views in week 52.
• Evergreen Short: 1,000 views in week 1. 52,000 views in week 52.

The cumulative effect of having 500 evergreen videos is massive. It creates a "base layer" of traffic that never shuts off.

Conclusion: Build Your Archive

Stop thinking of yourself as a "Creator" who needs to entertain the masses daily. Start thinking of yourself as a "Librarian" who is building a vast archive of answers.

The internet is just a giant database of questions. The person who provides the most accurate, concise, and well-tagged answers wins.

And with YouTube Shorts Automation provided by Joyspace, you can build that library faster than your competitors can even brainstorm their next dance trend.

Ready to turn your knowledge into passive traffic? Start clipping your answers with Joyspace today.