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.
Gated content benefit #2: It can lead to direct sales
Rather than using the usual eBook or email course, Copyblogger wanted to offer something more valuable to their subscribers in exchange for their email addresses. This leads to a premium content library called “MyCopyblogger” that contains 15 eBooks and an extensive internet marketing course; it was accessible to registered users only.
The results?
They increased email signups by 400% and generated $300,000 in sales.
The lesson: When gated content is special enough, it can boost lead acquisition and direct sales.
Gated content benefit #3: Gated content itself serves as powerful segmentation tool
History shows that “divide and conquer” has been a great way to gain political power.
It’s also a great way to boost marketing power. Just ask MailChimp.
When they analyzed the opening rates of 9 million emails, they found that segmented campaigns have a 14.4% better open rate than non-segmented campaigns.
Another testament to the power of segmentation is from an online retailer, Totes Isotoner.
They noticed most online shoppers came to their site and repeatedly visited one category more than others…so, they reached out to those shoppers with segmented email marketing pitches about their favorite category.
The results?
It’s safe to say they didn’t just boost their revenue; they tied it to a rocket and blasted it into outer space with a 7000% increase in email marketing revenue.
Segmented leads put your sales on steroids. They explode the potency of your offers, content, and sales messages by making them highly targeted. And the awesome thing about Gated content?
It naturally filters your leads into segments.
Take a look at Wordstream. Obviously, not all of its potential customers are going to be using the same advertising platform. Some may lean towards Google ads, others may be die-hard Facebook ad fans.
Gated content allows them to identify who’s who, and follow up appropriately.
When reading a post about Facebook ads, here’s what they presented:
And when reading about PPC ads:
Now, when I enter their funnel, they’re not barraging me with random content and offers, hoping that I buy. Nope. Thanks to gated content that identified what I’m interested in, they can strategically deliver customized content and offers that appeal specifically to me. Which means I’m ten times more likely to buy!