Content — typically a guide, report, or template — made available only after a visitor provides information, usually an email address, via a form.
Why it matters
Gated content is a common lead-generation tactic, trading a piece of valuable content for contact information. It involves a real tradeoff: gating content generates leads but reduces the number of people who'll actually access and share it, since the form itself is friction.
In a sentence
"We ungated the guide after testing showed it was driving meaningfully more traffic and backlinks than it was generating usable leads."
Related terms
- Antonyms: Ungated content (freely accessible without providing information).
- Often confused with: Paywalled content (gated content is typically free in exchange for information, like an email address; paywalled content requires actual payment).