The purpose your content serves depends on where it is in the sales funnel. Most content is meant to increase brand awareness. It’s why companies offer blog posts and videos free of charge. Then you’ve got your carefully crafted CTAs, which are meant to drive sales. But there is a middle ground between a blog post and a piece of sales copy, and gated content takes up some of that space.

What is gated content? It’s content that wants something in return, like a name, email address, and sometimes, a phone number. Content like white papers or ebooks are usually gated and for good reason. They offer a lot of value, which means companies can ask for a bit more in return.

Feeling hesitant about producing gated content? We’ll bet you’re a bit more excited about the idea after reviewing a few of the benefits.

Increases Traffic to Your Website

If you’re gating content, it means you’re offering something valuable like market research, in-depth tips, or case studies. Competitors, customers, and even journalists are eager to access this kind of information. People recognize quality, so if you promote an ebook on a topic people wish to learn more about, you’re almost guaranteed site visitors.

Boosts Your Company’s SEO

One of the best ways to increase your company’s search ranking is to be cited by quality sources, preferably authority news sites. When you provide new, original, and insightful information, other websites use that information to support their own blog posts. All of these websites linking to your ebook signals to Google and other search engines that you are a high-quality source of information, and they rank your results higher.

Increases Your Lead Flow

A talented sales rep without a lead is a sad sight, indeed. Supplying enough leads to your sales team can be a challenge. Offering useful information can boost the number of people who come to your site and indicate their willingness to be contacted in the future. If your ebook wasn’t gated, you’d get very little in return for all of the time and effort you put into creating it. Remember that every piece of content should somehow help your organization meet its goals. The goal for your gated content is to help you attract prospective customers in your target audience.

Brings High-Quality Visitors

Someone who’s willing to exchange their contact information for an ebook is someone who is either very involved in your particular industry or a prospect who is serious about eventually making a purchase. Once you’ve received their info, you can confidently turn it over to your sales department knowing you’ve presented them with a decent contact.

Even if they are someone who simply works in your industry but doesn’t need to buy anything, you’ve increased your credibility in the eyes of influencers who will possibly go on to cite your information in their own materials.

Aids Your Segmentation Efforts

When you create the forms for your gated content, think about what you’d like to know about your customers. Don’t simply settle for their name, email, and phone number. For instance, would it be helpful for your marketing efforts if you knew:

  • Which industry they work in
  • What their job title is
  • The size (i.e. number of employees) of their company

All of this information can help you tailor your buyer personas to more accurately target your ideal customers. Asking the right questions with your gated content can help you discover cool insights about your customers. After reviewing the forms, you may notice there’s an entire category of people you hadn’t even considered targeting before.

It takes time to create the kind of material people will give you their number for. That said, if you plan it right, that initial investment will pay dividends in the form of greater customer insights and increased lead flows.