What Is Gated Content？ [All-Encompassing Guide to Gated Content]

When crafting content for your website, you might find yourself with pieces that have consumed significant time and resources. As a result, you seek ways to maximize their value. This is where the term “gated content” enters the picture. But what exactly is gated content, and should you incorporate it into your strategy? This article delves into these questions and more, addressing:

What constitutes gated content?

How does gated content differ from ungated content?

What are typical examples of gated content?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of gated content?

How can you effectively utilize gated content?

Continue reading to uncover everything you need to know about gated content, and subscribe to Revenue Weekly for the latest insights and strategies for impactful content creation on your website!

Gated content refers to online material that necessitates users to complete a form to access the content. These forms typically request basic personal information, such as their name and email address. Gated content generally takes the form of white papers, guides, and product demonstrations.

Now that you understand what gated content is, you might be curious about its distinction from ungated content.

Let’s compare gated content with ungated content to better understand the differences between these two content types.

Gated Content

Gated content is designed to generate leads for your business. By requiring users to submit their information, you can contact them later, such as through email marketing. Gated content typically has less exposure since users are asked to provide information, which can deter some from engaging with the content. This results in fewer people accessing gated content.

Ungated Content

Ungated content is accessible without requiring users to submit any information. Visitors to the website can read or watch the content immediately. While some ungated content may offer a voluntary sign-up for additional material, it does not restrict users from accessing the original content.

When comparing gated content with ungated content, the latter tends to have more views and traffic, as it is free to access. While ungated content can still contribute to lead generation, it generally focuses on brand exposure.

Let’s explore some examples of gated content.

1. Self-Publishing School

Self-Publishing School offers a book titled “Published,” which provides information on becoming a published author. This content is available in PDF, audiobook, and physical copy formats. To access any format, users must complete a form, making it an example of gated content.

2. Bplans

Bplans is a resource for information on starting and running a business. They offer a free business startup guide that assists new business owners with various aspects, from identifying customers to estimating startup costs. Access to this guide requires users to fill out their information, making it gated content.

3. LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning provides numerous courses to help individuals advance their careers. These courses cover topics such as decoding body language and learning photography, offering valuable knowledge. Access to this information requires users to sign up for a free trial, which is an example of gated content.

With a better understanding of gated content, you may be pondering the benefits and drawbacks of using it. Below is a concise list of pros and cons to help you evaluate the positive and negative aspects of gated content.

Pros of Using Gated Content

Gain insights into the types of content your audience prefers

Acquire high-quality leads for your business

Generate a return on valuable content, such as converting leads into sales

Cons of Gated Content

May create an access barrier for your audience, potentially deterring them

Reduces the number of individuals who view your content

Poses indexing challenges due to its less straightforward indexing by search engines

While gated content has its drawbacks, it doesn’t mean you should avoid it. The key is to know when to use gated content, which leads to the next section.

Let’s delve into best practices for using gated content to ensure its effective implementation!

1. Define Your Objective

The initial step in using gated content is to determine your goal. When creating content, it’s crucial to establish the purpose of the material. What are you hoping to achieve by sharing this content with your audience?

If your goal is to build brand awareness, it’s best not to gate your content.

If your goal is to capture leads, gating your content is an effective approach.

When aiming for brand awareness, you want as many people as possible to see your content. Gating it could lead to potential customers bouncing from the page, especially if they are unfamiliar with your company. Conversely, if you’re aiming to capture leads, gating content can be a great way to gather their information, especially if you’ve already established brand awareness and trust.

2. Analyze Your Competition

When deciding between gated and ungated content, it’s essential to look at your competition. Before deciding to gate a piece of content, you want to see if competitors have similar content and how they provide it to their audience.

If competitors offer ungated content, you may not want to gate your content. Unless your content offers more value than your competitors, you risk losing leads to them because their content is free.

If competitors use gated content, you have two options: gate your content similarly or make it ungated to drive more traffic to your content, depending on your objective.

Understanding your competitors will help you determine whether to use gated or ungated content.

3. Identify Your Audience’s Sales Funnel Stage

The final best practice for using gated content involves determining where your audience is in the sales funnel. The sales funnel is the process your audience goes through to become a customer for your business. It is typically divided into three stages:

Awareness: Prospects discover your business and learn about what you offer.

Consideration: Prospects start to view you as a viable option or solution to their problem.

Decision: Prospects decide whether you are the best option for their needs.

Understanding where your content fits in the sales funnel is crucial in determining whether to gate it. For example, if your content is intended for the awareness stage, it’s best to leave it ungated. People may not be familiar with your business yet and may not feel comfortable submitting their information, which could deter them from the page.

At the awareness stage, it’s best to have ungated content so leads can become acquainted with your business. For the consideration and decision stages, you can use gated content to attract leads. At these stages, your audience is either weighing their options or ready to make a decision.

Having gated content could help you capture these leads and provide follow-up information that converts them into sales for your business.

Figuring out how to use gated content and determining the appropriate times to gate content can be challenging. If you’re unsure how to create effective gated content for your business, WebFX is here to assist. With a team of over 500 experts, we can help you create valuable gated content to generate more leads for your business.

Over the past five years, we’ve driven over $10 billion in leads for our clients, and we can help you achieve similar results. Contact us at 888-601-5359 (or reach out online) to speak with a strategist about how our content marketing plans can help you create impactful gated content!