Gating downloads with ActiveConversion

Gating content by putting resources behind a form is a great way to convert leads faster by identifying anonymous visitors and reaching out to them based on their interactions with your site.

We've found that customers who start content gating invariably end up identifying more leads. In cases where our customers have a lot of spec sheets, product manuals, and other content to gate, it can end up more than doubling the amount of identified leads.

What types of content should I gate?

As a rule, your top-of-the-funnel content (like brochures, blog posts, and brand awareness content) should remain unlocked so anyone can easily discover it.

Content lower down the marketing funnel that indicates buying intent or a qualified lead (e.g., spec sheets, product manuals, CAD files) are ideal for gating.

What does content gating with ActiveConversion look like?

When a visitor clicks a link to download one of your gated files, they'll see a popup like the one below. Our content gating remembers who the visitor is for next time so they'll only have to fill this form in once - even if they come back months later.

How do I set up content gating with ActiveConversion?

Assuming you've already installed ActiveConversion on your website and/or landing pages, it's very simple to set up content gating in ActiveConversion.

1. Go to your website and download the resource you'd like to gate. ActiveConversion automatically detects downloads and adds them to the Downloads page, ready for gating.
2. Log in to ActiveConversion and navigate to "Marketing > Downloads"
3. Find the download you'd like to gate and click the "Off" toggle to turn gating on

I'd like to get email notifications when someone downloads my content

You can set email notifications for all downloads under the "Settings for Gated Forms" section of the Downloads page. If you'd like to adjust this setting for an individual download, simply click the name of the download to adjust your settings.

Which filetypes does ActiveConversion auto-detect for gating?

By default, ActiveConversion will detect and list any downloads of the following filetypes under the "Marketing > Downloads" screen after their first download:

• PDF - .pdf
• Microsoft Excel - .xls, .xlsx
• Microsoft Word - .doc, .docx
• Microsoft PowerPoint - .ppt, .pptx
• Programs/Apps - .exe, .msi, dmg
• Zipped files - .zip

If you'd like to gate a file that isn't included in the above list, you can add the CSS class "ac_gating" to the link of a download you'd like to gate:

<a href="" class="ac_gating">Link</a>