Should I gate my content?

To gate or not to gate?

Where most organizations/brands fail is when they start selling too much, way too fast. Way too often, marketers trap their best content behind a landing page with a form — turning off 75 percent of their audience in the process.
There has been instances where I take a step back after Sales Development Representatives or Business Development Representatives obsessively plug themselves into my email, after I have downloaded a report or a brochure from somewhere. And I think that’s user experience at its worst.

So, make sure to you have ungated pieces of content that will engage your audience first. Asking to sign up for a newsletter before the visitor gets to settle down and have a proper read equals to a bad impression.

Give “x” (close) option visibility, so that your audience knows it’s not obligatory to sign up. This shows that you’re not force-feeding anyone, anything. In return, this will let you win the audience that’s truly interested with what you do or sell. If not, at the end of the day you are going to have to settle with having a massive emailing list, with fewer people who opens your email.
It’s a lost cause for everyone.

Pre-engage with divisible content that points back to gated piece.

Know that gated pieces of content isn’t exactly the happy-vibe of asking an email address when users register for a webinar. When registering for such an event, users know what they are getting into. The problem arises, when they don’t. This can be solved by addressing clear-cut benefits and promising users of no spam. It’s simple!

However, one of the most common drawbacks to gated content, mentioned time and again by marketers, is that it provides virtually no SEO value. In fact, it will most likely hurt your SEO since much of your content won’t be visible to Google.

Ending the gate Vs non-gate debate

Despite the long-winded debates between marketers, the answer is pretty simple: Gating the wrong content at the wrong time during your customer’s journey can discourage potential clients from continued engagement with your brand.

Don’t take my word for it, You can take Rand Fishkin’s ;)