What Is Bottom of Funnel Content? Creating BOFU Content That Actually Converts

You've spent months creating blog posts and guides that attract visitors. Traffic is growing. But conversions? Barely moving. The problem isn't your top-of-funnel content—it's what happens when someone is actually ready to buy. Bottom of funnel content is where decisions get made, yet most websites have almost none of it. Understanding this content type and knowing when to deploy it separates websites that generate revenue from those that just generate pageviews.

Understanding the Marketing Funnel

Before diving into bottom of funnel content specifically, it helps to understand where it fits in the broader picture. The marketing funnel describes the journey people take from first discovering a problem to eventually purchasing a solution. Most marketers break this into three stages, each requiring fundamentally different content approaches.

At the top of the funnel, people are just becoming aware they have a problem. They're searching broad, educational queries like "why is my website slow" or "how to improve SEO." They're not looking to buy anything yet—they're trying to understand their situation. Content at this stage educates and builds trust without any sales pressure.

The middle of the funnel is where consideration happens. Visitors now understand their problem and are actively researching solutions. They're comparing categories of solutions, weighing approaches, and narrowing down their options. Content here helps them evaluate without pushing a specific product.

Then comes the bottom of the funnel—the decision stage. These visitors have done their research. They know what type of solution they need. Now they're choosing between specific options. They're comparing your product against competitors, looking for validation that they're making the right choice, searching for that final piece of information before they commit.

What Makes Bottom of Funnel Content Different

Bottom of funnel content serves people with purchase intent. This fundamentally changes what they need from you. Someone searching "what is SEO" needs education. Someone searching "Ahrefs vs Semrush for small business" needs help making a decision. These are completely different content requirements, yet many websites treat them identically.

BOFU content is allowed to be promotional because the reader expects it. They're actively evaluating products—hiding your pitch would actually frustrate them. They want to know your features, your pricing, how you compare to alternatives. The key is being genuinely helpful in that comparison rather than just claiming superiority.

This content type also tends to have significantly higher conversion rates despite lower traffic volumes. A comparison page might get a tenth of the visitors that an educational blog post receives, but convert at ten times the rate. The math works out: a thousand visitors at 0.5% conversion equals five customers, while a hundred visitors at 5% conversion also equals five customers. Except the second scenario required far less content and competed against far fewer pages.

The Search Intent Behind BOFU Queries

People at the bottom of the funnel reveal themselves through their search queries. They use specific product names, comparison modifiers, and decision-focused language. When someone types "best SEO tool for content audits" they've already decided they need an SEO tool for content audits—they just need to pick which one.

These queries often include words like "vs," "alternative," "review," "pricing," "best," or "compared." They might search "[Product] for [specific use case]" or "[Product A] vs [Product B] for [industry]." Each of these signals that research is complete and decision time has arrived. Your content needs to meet them exactly where they are in that journey.

Types of Bottom of Funnel Content

Comparison Pages

Comparison pages pit your product directly against competitors. These work because people are already making this comparison in their heads—you're just helping them do it more systematically. The best comparison content is genuinely balanced, acknowledging where competitors have advantages while highlighting where you excel.

A comparison page titled "SEO Friend vs Ahrefs for Site Auditing" speaks directly to someone who has narrowed their decision to these two options. They don't need to learn what site auditing is. They need to understand how these specific tools approach the problem differently and which approach fits their situation.

Effective comparison content goes deep on the specific use case in the title. Don't try to compare every feature—focus on what matters for the scenario your reader cares about. If someone is comparing tools for site auditing, they want to know about crawling capabilities, issue detection, reporting features, and pricing for that specific use. Other features are noise.

Alternative Pages

Alternative pages target people searching for options beyond a specific competitor. "Semrush alternatives" or "Ahrefs alternatives for small business" capture visitors who have decided against one option but haven't committed to another. These people are actively looking for you—you just need to make sure they find you.

The psychology here is important. Someone searching for alternatives has usually hit a specific pain point with the original product. Maybe it's too expensive, too complex, missing a feature they need, or simply not the right fit for their use case. Your alternative page should acknowledge these common pain points and position your product as the answer without being dismissive of competitors.

Use Case Pages

Use case content shows your product solving specific problems for specific audiences. "SEO tools for e-commerce sites" or "content optimization for B2B companies" attract people who have identified their niche and want a solution that understands it. Generic feature lists don't convert these visitors—demonstrated expertise in their specific situation does.

The best use case pages feel like they were written specifically for the reader's industry or situation. They reference real challenges that audience faces, use terminology familiar to that space, and show concrete examples relevant to their work. This specificity signals understanding and builds trust in a way that generic product pages cannot.

Pricing and ROI Content

At the decision stage, money matters. Pricing pages, ROI calculators, and cost comparison content serve visitors who need financial justification. Someone ready to buy often needs to convince others in their organization—give them the ammunition they need to make that internal case.

Good pricing content isn't just a table of plans. It contextualizes cost against value, compares against competitor pricing where appropriate, and helps visitors self-select the right tier. Transparency here builds trust. Hidden pricing or "contact us for a quote" can work for enterprise sales but often loses smaller buyers who just want to know the number.

Why Most Websites Neglect BOFU Content

The content strategies most companies follow prioritize traffic over conversions. Top of funnel content is easier to produce, generates more impressive traffic numbers, and feels less "salesy" to write. Teams get praised for growing pageviews without anyone questioning whether those pageviews lead anywhere.

There's also discomfort with comparison content. Writing "Us vs Competitor" feels aggressive, even confrontational. But here's the reality: your potential customers are making this comparison whether you help them or not. If you don't create this content, your competitor will—and they'll frame the comparison in their favor.

SEO metrics can mislead as well. Most keyword research tools highlight high-volume opportunities, pushing teams toward competitive head terms where ranking is difficult and conversion intent is low. The long-tail comparison terms that actually drive decisions get overlooked because their search volume seems insignificant by comparison.

Finding Your BOFU Content Gaps

Start by understanding what decisions your potential customers actually face. What are they comparing you against? What specific use cases do they care about? What alternatives do they consider before finding you? These questions reveal the content gaps that matter.

Search for your competitors' names plus modifiers like "alternative," "vs," "compared to," or "review." Look at what content already exists and notice what's missing or poorly executed. Check what queries are bringing visitors to your competitors' comparison and alternative pages. These are opportunities hiding in plain sight.

Talk to your sales team and customer support. What objections come up repeatedly? What competitors do prospects mention? What specific use cases or industries do they ask about? Each of these conversations reveals a potential piece of BOFU content that could answer the question before it ever reaches a sales call.

Prioritizing What to Create First

Not all bottom of funnel content is equally valuable. Prioritize based on the intersection of search volume, conversion likelihood, and competitive gaps. A comparison page against your top competitor that doesn't yet exist is more valuable than one against a minor player. A use case page for your primary audience matters more than one for a secondary market.

Consider your conversion data as well. Which existing pages have the highest conversion rates? What queries led visitors to those pages? Creating more content that matches proven conversion patterns tends to outperform speculative content about unvalidated topics.

Creating BOFU Content That Converts

The format matters less than the substance. Long-form comparison articles work. So do detailed alternative pages. What matters is answering the specific questions someone at the decision stage actually has. Don't pad content with background information they've already learned. Don't waste their time re-explaining concepts they understand. Get to the point.

Specificity wins over generality. Instead of saying your product is "easy to use," explain exactly how long a specific workflow takes. Instead of claiming you're "affordable," show actual pricing and how it compares for real scenarios. Vague claims get ignored. Concrete details persuade.

Include genuine trade-offs. No product is best for everyone. Being honest about where competitors might be better for certain use cases makes your recommendations for your use cases more credible. The reader knows you're not just spinning—you're actually helping them decide.

End with a clear path forward. After reading your comparison or alternative page, what should someone do? Make the next step obvious and low friction. A free trial, a specific getting-started page, a demo request—whatever fits your business, make sure the reader knows exactly how to move forward if your product fits their needs.