Hey folks, Elliot here.
When was the last time you went through your existing blogs and asked: is this actually working?
What if I told you that you could be sitting on lead-generating content, and not even know it?
Most content teams are so laser-focused on what to publish next that they never stop to look at what they already have. And in almost every content library I dig into, I find the same thing: blogs that are this close to ranking, this close to converting, yet they're just sitting there collecting dust. All that effort, all that time, and the content is doing nothing.
Improving your existing content can reap serious rewards: for one client, our optimized blogs drove over 200% more conversions (more data later on).
So today, I want to talk about why most content underperforms and how to improve your existing content so it starts generating pipeline.
Why most content underperforms: it's not BOFU
Most content is written for the wrong stage of the buyer journey. Content teams default to broad, educational topics because they're easier to write about and tend to get decent traffic. For example, a blog about ‘What is open banking?’ might bring in thousands of clicks a month.
This sounds impressive until you think about who's actually searching for that keyword: economics students, journalists, people who heard it on a podcast, and were mildly curious. In other words…a load of people who will never become your customers.
BOFU, or Bottom of the Funnel content, targets buyers who already understand the space and are actively evaluating solutions. These are the people who are one good article away from booking a demo. They're not searching for definitions, they want comparisons, use cases, provider lists, and proof that your solution actually works.
The first thing to do when assessing your existing content is to make sure you have content targeting BOFU keywords.
To find the BOFU keywords you should go after, talk to your salespeople. They know exactly what questions prospects are asking, what objections keep coming up, and what specific problems buyers are trying to solve.
The language prospects use to describe their own problems is gold for working out what they're typing into Google. Once you have some keyword ideas, check for volume in a tool like Semrush or Ahrefs. Don’t be put off by small volumes like 10 or 20.
10 high-intent readers are worth way more than 1000 who are not your target audience.
Three ways your existing content is underperforming (and what to do about it)
Here are the most common ways I see content underperforming and what you can do about it.
Crucially, these tips will only work if your blog already has the potential to rank for a BOFU keyword. If the topic is just too TOFU, it’s unlikely to ever bring in leads, no matter how much you optimize it.
1. It's not ranking in the top 5 search results for your target keyword
Content can't perform if nobody is finding it. Position 10 on Google, for example, might sound decent, but very few people scroll past the AI overview and nine higher-ranking results. Realistically, you need a top 5 spot to drive meaningful leads.
What to do about it
- Look at what's ranking above you and ask whether those articles are covering angles you've missed or going deeper into the details
- Run the article through a keyword optimization tool (we use Clearscope) and make sure you're hitting the right terms clearly enough
- Strengthen internal links from higher-authority pages on your site pointing to this piece
- Make sure the target keyword is realistic for your business: if it’s too competitive, try pivoting to a more achievable keyword
2. It's getting plenty of clicks but no conversions
If a blog is targeting a genuine BOFU keyword and people are clicking on it, yet there are no conversions, there's something wrong with the content. The most common mistake I find in this scenario is that the blog is not actually talking about the product.
A lot of B2B content is written to be helpful and neutral, which often means writers stop short of anything that sounds vaguely self-promotional. The result is content that explains the problem brilliantly and then says literally nothing about why your product is the right solution. This isn’t being humble: it’s actually frustrating for your prospects. They’re reading your content because they want to find a solution, so make life easier for them.
What to do about it
- Add detailed content that connects the topic directly to your product. Not a throwaway line or two, but genuine insight into how your product solves specific problems and why your prospect should choose you over your competitors
- Look at your CTAs. Are they placed where a buyer would actually reach them, or just bolted onto the bottom?
- Add trust signals. Case studies, real customer examples, specific numbers. A reader at this stage needs proof that you are the right solution for them, not just an explanation of what you do
3. It's out of date
These are the pieces that covered the right topic for the right audience, but are now showing their age. In fintech, this happens pretty fast: regulatory changes, new market entrants, shifting buyer priorities. A piece that was authoritative in 2022 can actually hurt your credibility today if it's citing stats that are no longer relevant or recommending products that no longer exist in the same form.
What to do about it
- Swap out any statistics that are out of date
- Check that the products, providers, and competitors you mention still exist in the same form
- Review whether the keyword you originally targeted still reflects how buyers are searching today. A simple title change can sometimes make a meaningful difference
Two real client examples where optimizing existing content brought in more leads
Our client Yapily is a leading open banking platform. When we started working together, we noticed that they already had a lot of great content, but some of it could have been performing better.
Here's an example where our optimizations made a significant performance difference. This blog about open banking wallet top-ups went from not ranking at all to consistently sitting in the top 3 for a high-intent BOFU keyword, and has been generating a steady stream of leads ever since.
And here's some more data from a different client in the cross-border payments space.
With this client, we started by prioritizing articles that were already getting some conversions, on the basis that if an article is already converting, it can almost certainly convert more with the right optimizations.
Here are the results from one article:
For both clients, the content optimizations involved:
- Adding a proper product section that explained how the solution actually worked in the context of what the reader was searching for
- Restructuring the content to answer the reader's question upfront rather than burying it
- Adding contextual CTAs throughout rather than relying on one at the bottom
- Making the content more comprehensive overall, adding the kind of detail that serious prospects want to know
Make your existing content work harder for you
I’d bet that buried in your CMS, there are already a few pieces of content that are on the cusp of performing: blogs that are close to ranking, converting, or performing the way they should. They just need a bit of attention.
So before you look for new content ideas, spend an hour reviewing your content library first. You might be surprised by what you find.
Mint Studios Recommended Reads
- How to Write About Your Product In Your Content [And Increase Conversions]
- What is BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel) Content and Why Is it Important?
- How to Write a Blog Introduction That Converts
Thanks for reading,
Elliot & the Mint team 🎉
We help financial services and fintech companies acquire customers and position themselves as experts with content marketing. Learn more about what we do.
