Is Gated Content Going Out of Style?

You’ve poured your heart and soul into creating that perfect piece of content that you just know your followers will love (and more importantly, share). While you want to be an authority and share your incredible insight, you also know that you’re in the business to make money. That means you need leads. So what are you doing to get those leads through your sales funnel? How do you know that your content will give you the results you really want?

Did setting up a gate just cross your mind? For many years gated content was the standard method for getting information from the people interacting with your content. But in 2018, a gate still the way to go? (We’re looking at you GDPR.)

Before we really decide where we stand, let’s consider:

Why is content gated?

While inbound marketing focuses on putting relevant content in the hands of the right people, it doesn’t always mean having great content is enough, even if you do get tons of shares and likes. Inbound marketing isn’t about getting the most likes; it’s about generating high-quality leads and turning prospects into eventual customers. So if you spend hours crafting a premium piece of content only to find that you don’t see any lead conversion, re-evaluate how you are spending your time.

1. Lead Generation:
   The main reason to put content behind a gate is to generate leads. Once your leads are beyond the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey and have begun to see your company as an industry authority and resource, you will be able to use gated content to progress leads through the funnel. As they continue to see you as a resource, users will become more interested in the valuable content you publish and convert to a lead. In simple terms, no gates can mean fewer leads.
2. Lead Nurturing:
   Completing the form on your landing page doesn’t mean you’ve just made yourself a sale. Most leads aren’t ready to purchase when they first convert. Buyers require a lot of, well, nurturing to be prepared to make a move. This is why tailoring content at every step of their journey helps ease them toward a sale. But, and we’re sure you’ve already guessed this, the only way to sustain this sort of relationship is by sending continuous, relevant information. Plus, users are more likely to convert if the content they see is tailored to their needs. Seems straightforward enough.
3. Direct Sales:
   To really know a lead you have to know their pain points and their interests. Keeping your content gated means that you’ll be tracking relevant prospect interactions (like what content they keep reading and what content they skip right past). When you understand what issues a user is having and how you can help solve them, you’ll be able to more easily nurture them through the funnel.

So now that we’ve laid this out, are you thinking, “Gates seem so important, why would I ever get rid of them?”

What’s the downside?

1. GDPR:
   We’ll start with the most expensive one (fines of roughly four percent of your annual global turnover). On May 25th, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) changed how consent for providing personal information is handled for the European Union. Meaning, consent has to be explicit, easily understood and given by action of the user. What this means for your gated content is that the form must clearly state the reason your company is collecting data and what users may receive from you in the future. While this is exclusive to companies dealing with EU citizens, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this headed to America in the future.
2. Less Engagement:
   Let’s be real, a gate to a lazy prospect is a quick reason to close out of the tab. As a user, it can be frustrating, and even a little bit intrusive. If your prospect doesn’t see enough value in the content you’re providing, they’ll just choose not to view your content. Also, visitors see a form as a means for being pestered by future sales emails and unwanted contact. All in all, not a great way to generate engagement. Don’t forget: Your customers will determine if your form is worth filling out based on other content on your site. If what they see before your gate is really weak, then you can expect that to factor into your leads. Your visitors need to feel like they are getting more out of the deal by giving up their personal information. It’s also not likely to get as many shares as ungated content.
3. Unqualified Leads:
   Just because someone reads your blog or downloads your ebook, doesn’t mean they’ll utilize your services. Even worse, many leads provide fake information, which is fun for your sales team. Some leads aren’t qualified yet merely because it’s too early in their buyer’s journey to convert, unlike leads coming through a “contact us” form. With this in mind, having a gate doesn’t necessarily mean that all the leads you will get will be useful.
   
4. SEO:
   Higher character counts can lead to higher search ranking. It’s no secret that high-quality content ranks better for Google’s algorithm. Limiting or hiding long-form content won’t stop traffic on your page, but it can take a hit. You can combat this by offering an informational and robust teaser to incentivize your readers to fill out the form, but you’ll have to be strategic.
5. Competition:
   An endless number of other vendors are competing for your same leads. You want your content to be the first thing they see. If competitors offer similar premium pieces without the gate, where do you think your prospects will be going? The form can become a significant disadvantage.
   

So to gate or not to gate?

This is where things get a little complicated. For some site visitors, a gate will be a barrier, maybe enough of one to turn away people who would have potentially read and benefited from your content. For many others, it will mean that only people who really want to see your content are seeing it, which will boost the quality of your leads. You have to consider if you’d rather get valuable contacts out of your content or more eyes on that content. Is some information with a gate better than no leads ungated? Whether you gate or not is ultimately dependant on the goals of the premium piece you’ve put out and how you plan to use the information you’re collecting (Hello, GDPR).

• If you don’t have an accurate picture of what your customers’ needs are before they’ve hit your gated content, then you won’t know how to best tailor your content. Develop specific personas to save time and get better returns out of your content.
• What you’ve offered in the past will be customers quickest way to determine what value your new content will bring. If you don’t have a strong track record with your ungated content, then users will see right through your gate and move on without you. You have to be regarded as an authority and provide confirmation of your company’s ability to produce before you can start requiring anything from your customers. Be sure to have enough pre-gated content to add value to your gated content.
• People who have just entered your funnel are still trying to figure out what your company is all about. If they aren’t sure you can provide them real insight, they’re more likely to abandon that form than those who are at a different stage. Consider what stage of the funnel the content is meant to reach.

Taking gates off of your content doesn’t have to mean losing leads and reducing conversions. We’re also not suggesting that a gate can’t perform successfully, especially if you’ve seen success in the past. What we are saying is that there is a lot to consider before you ditch the gate or put one up. If you haven’t seen a lot of lead conversion in the past, consider switching things up a bit. Stop wasting time on leads who won’t convert and nurture those relevant leads.

If you’re not sure how to move forward or are struggling to capture those relevant leads, reach out to a Pyxl digital expert. We’d love to talk with you.

Updated: Apr 13, 2022