Why You Need To Stop Asking For Email Addresses
Should you ask visitors to exchange their email address for your best content? Does gating content turn off potential leads? Let’s talk about the pros and cons of gating your website content.
What’s the definition of gated content?
Gating is the term for restricting access to high-value information in order to obtain contact information to qualify someone as a “lead.” Gating acts like a “tollbooth” that identifies high-intent and high-quality opportunities for sales.
For example, ungated content is when a visitor clicks a link on your site and reads a blog post or watches a video immediately. It’s free and open to everyone.
An example of gated content is when a site visitor clicks a link, but before they can see the information, they must fill out a form (usually asking for their name, email, and other qualifying information). Once they hit “submit,” the content is unlocked.
Some examples of gated content include technical specifications, CAD drawings, white papers, and pricing guides.
What are the Pros of Gating Content
On the surface, gating content sounds like an obvious solution.
Identify leads
This is the obvious reason. Generating qualified, “right fit” leads is the mission of most B2B content. Site visitors exchange contact information for accessing helpful information. If the gated information is good enough, the email addresses obtained should be followed up on by sales.
Monitor marketing performance
Gating content creates a natural touchpoint for you to track marketing performance. When your analytics are set up correctly, you can track the user’s conversion from paid ad to website to qualified lead.
Determine level of “intent”
A prospect looking for a pricing sheet is at a different stage of buying than another looking at specifications. Different content reflects the site visitor’s level of intent. Gated content that is geared towards high-intent visitors can help the sales team evaluate the next step forward.
What are the Cons of Gating Content
Gating content has some pitfalls.
Bogus information
Plugging in fake emails or contact information can sometimes be enough to get past the gate. This garbage contact information clutters up your CRM, wastes time, and distorts your performance data.
Creating friction
Friction is the resistance a site visitor encounters, preventing them from getting the desired information. The more complicated the form, the less likely site visitors will go all the way through. Friction is the enemy of lead generation. Only ask for the bare minimum.
Blocking access to search engines and AI
Gating content also means you’re gating access by search engines and AI platforms. The content most frequently gated is likely the best content for SEO/AEO/GEO. This can actually hurt your whole website!
Is gating content right for you?
Conversions are everything. Gating key content might make sense, but the more barriers you create, the fewer opportunities you’ll have. Leads that arrive by gated content may not be in the “buying mode” you hope. Immediately rolling them into a sales campaign or drip email sequence might be more hurtful than helpful.
One thing is for sure, your future customers are starving for helpful content. Creating and sharing that content is the fastest way to keep the leads coming. Weigh the pros and cons of gating that content, but in our opinion, the easier you make it the better!
If you need help coming up with incredible content or the right strategy to get it noticed, Signalfire is here.