In the world of digital marketing, one question consistently arises: Should you gate or ungate your content? Gated content is when users are asked to provide their contact information—such as their name, email, or phone number—before gaining access to valuable content like whitepapers, eBooks, or case studies. On the other hand, ungated content is freely accessible without any barriers, allowing users to access the information immediately without having to submit any personal details.
Both strategies come with their own sets of benefits and drawbacks, but in this blog, we’ll focus on how ungating your content can still help you capture high-quality leads and grow your business.
What is Gated Content?
Gated content is primarily used for lead generation strategies. It’s an effective tactic to capture prospects’ contact information, which can then be nurtured through email campaigns, phone calls, or direct outreach. Businesses typically use this method when they want to ensure that the individuals engaging with their content are serious prospects who are interested in their offerings. However, the downside is that gated content can create friction between the user and the information they’re looking for.
What is Ungated Content?
Ungated content, by contrast, is freely available for anyone to access, without the need for any information in exchange. This method is often seen as an easier, frictionless way for visitors to interact with your content. But how do you still generate leads if visitors can consume content without having to provide their contact details? Here’s how you can maximize ungated content for your lead generation efforts.
The Benefits of Ungating Your Content
1. Increased Visibility & Traffic
You’ll experience higher engagement, reach, and traffic when your content isn’t hidden behind a lead capture form. When you remove the gate, you invite more traffic, especially from organic search engines. Without the need for an email or registration, more people are likely to engage with your content, share it, and ultimately discover your brand.
More people consuming your content means more potential customers encountering your message. As search engines index more pages on your website, the visibility of your content and brand grows exponentially, which can rapidly help spread awareness about your brand and the product.
2. Boost Brand Awareness
When you ungate your content, it becomes easier for potential customers to find and interact with your brand. The more people can access your content, the more likely they are to share it within their networks, enhancing your reach. The added benefit of ungated content is that people don’t need to commit to anything upfront. They are more likely to engage if there’s no risk of unwanted follow-up emails or sales calls. This enhances your brand’s reputation as a valuable resource and thought leader in your field.
3. Build Trust and Credibility
By offering ungated content, you build trust with your audience. You are providing real value without asking for anything in return. This demonstrates confidence in your expertise and your product or service, positioning your brand as a leader in your industry. The ease of access allows potential leads to get to know you before they’re ready to buy, which builds credibility over time.
4. A Larger Pool of Potential Leads
Even though ungated content doesn’t capture information upfront, you are still creating a large pool of potential leads who may later convert. Visitors who found your content useful might not be ready to fill out a form right away, but they could become interested in your offerings down the line. Keeping your content accessible without the need for immediate conversion can attract more prospects who will eventually return when they’re ready.
5. Try Ungating Landing Pages When Conversion Rates Are Less Than 3%
If your gated landing pages have a conversion rate of less than 3%, it might be worth experimenting with ungating your content. This can increase traffic and engagement, giving your content more exposure. By removing the friction of a form, you’re more likely to capture the attention of visitors who might otherwise bounce off your site without converting.
Overcoming the Challenges of Ungated Content
While ungated content brings many benefits, it’s also important to acknowledge its potential downsides. For instance, it can make it more challenging to directly monetize content since there is no immediate exchange of information. Additionally, competitors can access your content freely and replicate your ideas. However, there are several ways to mitigate these challenges:
1. Use Other Tools to Track Engagement
While you won’t be capturing leads through gated forms, you can still track how visitors engage with your ungated content using lead generation tools like website tracking or content download tracking. For instance, using tools to track visitors who download an ungated asset (like a PDF or whitepaper) can help you identify high-intent leads, even if they didn’t fill out a form. Tools like Leadful’s website tracking can give you insights into which companies are interacting with your content, allowing your sales team to follow up with personalized outreach based on the content they’ve engaged with.
2. Use Ungated Content to Drive Paid Leads
By offering ungated content, you can attract more prospects through organic search, social media shares, and other channels. You can then use this visibility to drive paid leads. For instance, if a visitor consumes your ungated content and shows interest in your services, you can retarget them using paid social ads or email marketing. This combination of organic and paid lead generation maximizes the potential of both strategies.
3. Combine Ungated Content with Calls-to-Action (CTAs)
Even though your content is ungated, you can still include CTAs that invite visitors to take further action. For instance, you can include a CTA at the end of a blog post or a whitepaper that encourages visitors to subscribe to your newsletter, book a demo, or contact your sales team. These CTAs can be an excellent way to convert interested visitors into actual leads.
4. Create a Lead Magnet Funnel
One strategy for leveraging ungated content is to use it as a stepping stone in a larger lead-generation funnel. For example, after offering ungated content, you can use follow-up emails or retargeting ads to offer gated content in the future, such as exclusive case studies, webinars, or advanced whitepapers. This allows you to continue building relationships with your leads and capture valuable data when they are more engaged.
The Power of Combining Gated and Ungated Content
While ungating your content offers many benefits, it’s important to strike a balance between gated and ungated content to maximize your lead-generation efforts. Offering a mix allows you to capture leads through your gated content while also gaining broader visibility and traffic with your ungated content. By tracking visitor behavior through advanced tools like website tracking, you can continue to identify potential leads from both gated and ungated content, ensuring that your sales team never misses an opportunity.
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