To gate or not to gate?
This post will help you find your answer.
We’ll dive deep behind the reasons for gating content, how to gate content for maximum ROI, and when to avoid it to prevent your sales funnel from starving.
The undeniable benefits of gating your content
Gated content benefit #1: More leads doesn’t equal less SEO traffic
In the wake of multiple Google Algorithm updates, quality has eclipsed quantity when it comes to content. Numerous studies confirm a positive correlation between content with more characters and higher search rankings.
You might think search traffic to your pages will plummet because there’s not as much long-form content readily available. This is true, less high-quality content can hinder SEO, but you can still combat this. How?
By offering a mouth-watering piece of “teaser” content on the download page.
Remember, people will determine whether your gated content is worthy of giving up personal information for, based on your existing content. So if your pre-gated content is weak, you can expect that to starve your lead gen; but if your pre-gated provides enough value, visitors will feel they have more to gain by handing over their precious contact information.
There’s even a research that shows, sites that are publishing in-depth content and downloadable resources experience better results than sites that are just publishing content.
How gated content can be dangerous (when to avoid gated content)
There’s a time and place for everything, and gating content is no different.
Like building a delicate tower of cards, the wrong move at the wrong time can undermine all your hard work. Gate your content incorrectly, and you’ll innocently sabotage your lead generation.
Instead of attracting leads, you’ll be repelling them, rapidly.
That’s why you should avoid gating content if the following apply to you...
When to NOT gate your content #1: You don’t have a solid customer persona
“With personas, businesses can be more strategic in catering to each audience, internalize the customer that they are trying to attract, and relate to them as human beings.” (Krux marketing team)
Research from the Edelman group shows that brands and business are failing to grasp the most basic motivations, objections, and desires of customers. Their consumer marketing survey - which questioned over 11,000 people in over 8 different countries - found that 51% of people feel brands are doing a poor job of asking about and fulfilling their needs.
Further research even reveals that 40% of consumers say most promotions don’t deliver anything of interest.
Personas are important: that’s obvious. But as research shows, most businesses are lacking when it comes to creating and using them effectively.
Don’t be one of those businesses.
Make sure you have an accurate picture of your customers' needs/wants before creating and gating your content. Not only will this save you time, but you’ll shoot up the ROI of your gated content, because you’ll know exactly what they’re looking for, and how - and when - to give it to them.
Read more on our blog: Let's End This Gated vs Ungated Content Battle Once And For All.
What do you think of the gated vs ungated battle? What are you thoughts? Let us know below!
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