Targeting customers with the right content at the right time is vital.
Why?
Because it helps you create a personalized experience and it nurtures consumers through the content funnel and into a conversion.
In this article, we’ll cover one particular funnel stage: bottom of the funnel content (or BOFU).
As one of the final steps in the sales funnel, customers at the BOFU stage are almost ready to convert. They’re past the consideration stage and they’re ready to make a decision.
For this reason, BOFU content plays a pretty important role.
But knowing how to maximize the value of BOFU content — and how to write BOFU content successfully — is hard. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place for answers.
We’ll walk you through exactly what BOFU content is, how to write effective BOFU content, and how to distribute it to your customers.
Effortlessly export your Google Docs to WordPress with just 1-click.
Get Started Today
BOFU is the closing stage of the content marketing funnel. The customer has moved through the awareness stage and is almost ready to buy your product. In other words, this is where the content marketer (and sales teams) go to close the deal.
Here’s an example of the content marketing funnel:
BOFU content plays a pivotal role in the content marketing funnel. It’s your final chance to showcase your product and build trust with high-quality leads.
The aim of BOFU content is to demonstrate how your product or service works. You should talk about how it works, the features it offers, and outline the key benefits.
Here are some BOFU content types:
To create effective BOFU content, you need to understand what your BOFU customers are searching for. That way, you can make sure the right content reaches them at the right time.
Here are some of our suggestions.
At the bottom of the funnel, consumers are weighing up their options. They’ve done their research, and now they’re trying to find the best solution.
As a result, they’ll probably be looking at your competitors.
While they’re doing this research, you can still grab their attention by targeting [Competitor] Alternatives keywords.
Let’s say that you’re running an email marketing platform. To reach your BOFU consumers, you might target keywords such as Mailchimp alternatives, Appcues alternatives, Clickfunnels alternatives, and so on.
Conducting this keyword research is pretty straightforward. Start by writing down the names of 15 to 20 most prominent competitors. Then, add the word “alternatives” behind it and see what words and phrases appear in the SEO tool you prefer.
When we talk about the “best” keywords in the context, we don’t mean the high volume phrases. We literally mean the phrases people search for when they’re trying to find the best option.
For example, in eCommerce, these keywords could be “best shoes for mountain running” or “best microphone for remote podcasts.”
Targeting these phrases is a good way to reach BOFU consumers when they’re weighing up their options.
So how exactly do you find the “best” phrases to target?
Let’s look at an example.
Picture yourself as a shoe retailer. You go to your SEO tool (we’ll use Ahrefs to demonstrate this) and search “Best shoes for.”
The results?
Over 18,000 keywords.
That’s a lot of results to comb through. Fortunately, there are some quick wins.
Take a look at “Best shoes for jumping rope” as an example. It has over 4000 searches, while its ranking difficulty is only 2.
Simply put, this phrase gets a lot of traffic, but it’s not hard to rank for.
Targeting this phrase gives you a higher chance of reaching BOFU customers at the decision stage of the customer journey.
Customers at the BOFU stage search for more specific phrases. The generic search comes at the top of the funnel (TOFU), so long-tail keywords are better suited to the BOFU.
Long-tail keywords are 4 to 5 words. They’re longer than short-tail keywords, but they usually have lower competition, which makes it easier for you to rank well.
Short-tail keywords like “digital marketing” are pretty broad and difficult to rank for. The intent is also unclear. Is the searcher looking for marketing services? Do they want to enroll in a course? Or do they simply want to learn about the latest trends?
By adding extra words, you can be more specific and reach the right audience.
For example, “B2B digital marketing services” narrows down the search for your audience — “B2B digital marketing services for small businesses” is even better.
Find out more about targeting long-tail keywords in our top 12 keyword research tips.
Although BOFU customers are ready to convert, it’s not a given. It’s up to you to sway their buying decision.
Here are some of our best content marketing tips and suggestions for creating successful BOFU content.
At the final stage of the content funnel, you need to be objective with your content. If you’re trying too hard to convert, you risk putting customers off altogether.
Put yourself in their shoes for a second. No-one likes to read self-promotional articles, especially if it’s a product comparison.
But how exactly can you sell without being pushy?
This article about Clickfunnels alternatives from GetResponse does it pretty well. The article publicly states that they’re reviewing their own tools.
Then, it takes an objective view of the pros and cons.
Exit-intent pop-ups are another non-invasive method to keep your online visitors engaged.
Let’s use an article about Mailchimp alternatives as an example. A visitor lands on the article and reads the content. When they try to leave the page, a pop-up appears.
The pop-up says something like, Hey! Looking for the best MailChimp alternative? Before you leave, schedule a quick 10-minute call with us to see how we can help.
Or for example, Hey! Unlike Mailchimp, we’re an all-in-one marketing toolkit for your business for a more cost-effective price. Before you go, check out our product with a 30-day free trial. No credit card required. You have nothing to lose!
These are just a couple of examples of how to promote yourself without being too forward. Show customers what they want to see, encourage them to test your product or service, and you’re heading in the right direction.
Consumers have high expectations for content. If you’re writing a lot of waffle with no substance, they won’t stick around.
To ensure your BOFU content meets these expectations, you need to provide actionable takeaways.
Let’s use a Clickfunnels alternatives article as an example.
When a consumer lands on this article, they’re looking for answers. They want to know what alternatives are out there, and they expect to find out in this article.
To meet their expectations and give them valuable content, you need to provide them with the answer.
This article clearly states which alternatives are best for different types of businesses. The reader gets valuable content, an answer to their question, and they’ve built trust with your brand. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Of course, this principle only applies to blog posts. For other types of content (like use cases and customer reviews), you can’t really provide advice — but that’s okay. They serve a different purpose (showing customers how your product works and what the benefits are).
Use cases are a great way to demonstrate your product or service features without coming across as self promotional.
Instead of saying “We can do this,” you’re saying “Look at how this company used our features.” It’s less pushy and it builds customer loyalty.
On our website, for example, we have a video review from a customer and a series of Tweets from various users:
All of this shows visitors what our key features are, and how other customers have used the service.
You can also create a page on your website dedicated to use cases. That way, you can send BOFU customers straight to the page when they click on an ad or visit your site.
If you’re new to use cases, here’s what you should consider:
There are different ways to reach customers at the BOFU stage. The right method depends on your content, your audience, and your budget.
To help you figure out which options are right for you, here are some of the most common practices.
Paid ads (or pay-per-click ads) are a great way to reach BOFU customers. When done well, your ads will reach the right people, at the right time.
Scalable techniques such as AI-powered ads can enhance targeting precision, optimize budget allocation, and continuously refine campaign performance based on real-time data.
For example, let’s say a potential customer searches for “clickfunnels alternative.” To grab their attention, you can create a paid ad that appears at the top of the search results in Google. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
Using ads allows you to test your content and see how well it performs. Instead of waiting to rank organically, you can hit the top spot on Google and start measuring results.
You can also advertise your business when consumers search for competitors. In other words, you can run PPC ads for your competitors’ branded names. For those seeking assistance in managing such advertising endeavors, platforms like Zeropark provide valuable resources to streamline your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns effectively.
Here’s an example:
This type of traffic tends to have fewer conversions because the search-intent isn’t always accurate. Having said that, it’s a good way to keep yourself on the radar of BOFU customers.
Organic search is another way to capture the attention of BOFU customers.
It can take longer to rank compared with paid ads, but for customers that scroll straight past the paid ads, having a well-ranking organic page is super helpful.
So how can you get your page to rank on search engines like Google?
To be honest, there are a lot of factors to consider.
To give you a starting point, we’ll cover the basics. But for a more thorough overview, take a look at this article about using SEO to rank well.
If a consumer is at the bottom of the funnel, chances are they already subscribe to your email list. So why not make the most of it?
Using a series of carefully crafted email content, you can encourage qualified leads to convert. And if you’re using an email marketing platform, you can automate the entire process to save time.
To give you an idea of how to use email at the BOFU stage, here’s a brief example of an email series.
This is just one example. You can add more emails and personalize the content to create a unique and engaging experience for your target audience.
By now, you understand the power of BOFU content. You know what it is, why it’s helpful, and how to create engaging BOFU content that can boost conversions.
To keep your BOFU content regularly going live, take a look at Wordable. With our platform, you can streamline the entire publication process — from Google Docs to WordPress in just a single click.
Check it out for free to see for yourself.
Related reading: