A Million Dollar Stripe Page: Why Some Content Is Worth $$$

Stripe brings in about $1 million worth of traffic a year with a single page.

It’s not the homepage. It’s not even a landing page.

It’s a blog post.

So why’s it worth that much?

We’re about to show you.

But that’s not the only page making Stripe money. We’ll also take a look at their broader resource folder and dive into the overarching strategies Stripe uses to drive revenue through best-in-class content.

The Stripe Resource Page Driving Almost $1 Million in Organic Traffic 

This is the page that’s raking in almost $1 million dollars worth of traffic per year:

Surprised?

It’s probably different than what you thought a page should look like in order to be that valuable. 

It’s only a little over 900 words long. 

It doesn’t have a CTA. 

Its header is much longer than most.

But it has averaged traffic worth $75,064 per month this year. At this rate, it’ll bring in a bit over $900,000 worth of visitors by the end of the year.

But it’s not even in Stripe’s top 10 highest-traffic pages. So what’s the deal — why is this page’s traffic so valuable, and how does it capture those visitors?

How a Single Page Becomes So Valuable

The secret to this page’s value is in its first paragraph. It explains that 35% of online transactions in 2020 were done through credit and debit cards.

The total value of those transactions was $4.2 trillion; a staggering figure that underlines Stripe’s main value proposition: Don’t miss out on a third of all online commerce.

That means the keywords this page competes for are incredibly valuable. By holding top positions for keywords with substantial search volumes and high costs per click (CPCs), Stripe has built this page into the high-value traffic magnet it is today.

Here are a few high-value keywords that this page ranks for and consequently contribute to its traffic value: 

 1. ‘How to accept credit card payments’

This keyword alone has a monthly search volume of approximately 2,900, with a fairly high CPC of $11.51. 

Ranking in the top three positions for this keyword means Stripe’s page is a primary resource for businesses looking to navigate the complex process of setting up credit card payments — a fundamental requirement for online commerce.

 2. ‘Take credit card payments online’

With 400 monthly searches and a CPC of $20.60, this keyword represents a more niche but highly lucrative audience. 

Businesses searching for this keyword are likely in the process of optimizing their online payment systems or establishing their online presence. This makes them prime candidates for Stripe’s services.

 3. ‘Accept credit cards online’ and ‘Accepting credit card payments online’

These keywords, with 800 and 400 monthly searches, respectively, command CPCs of $23.25 and $21.68. 

Their high CPC values reflect the importance of online transactions for businesses. Those are high-intent, bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) keywords driving traffic that’s very likely to convert into revenue.

The combined search volume for these keywords amounts to thousands of high-intent potential customers actively seeking solutions that Stripe provides. 

Ranking in the top three for all of these keywords gives Stripe’s page targeted visibility that drives considerable organic traffic to their site. It also represents potential sales conversions, given the high intent of the search queries involved.

The high CPCs associated with these keywords underscore the competitive nature of the online payment processing industry, as well as the high value that businesses place on finding solutions for accepting online payments. 

For Stripe, the value of ranking at the top of the SERP for this kind of keyword is double: It brings Stripe new customers, but it also deprives their competitors of that same customer base. 

They aren’t competing with encyclopedias for top SERP spots — they’re bumping competitors down the results page.

By focusing on keywords that directly align with their value proposition, Stripe captures and converts a segment of the online market that is crucial to their business model, making the page — and the content it contains — worth its weight in gold.

Breaking Down a Million-Dollar Resource Page

Now that we know what makes the page valuable, let’s break down why it ranks so well, plus some potential opportunities for optimizing this content. 

What Stripe Is Doing Well

There are three areas where this resource page excels above the competition. Let’s take a look at them.

Content Simplicity and Value

Stripe’s content strategy makes complex payment processing concepts accessible to all users, regardless of their expertise level. This approach hinges on making content that is both concise and clear, avoiding unnecessary jargon and overly technical language that could alienate potential customers. 

The goal is to ensure that readers can quickly grasp the essential information without feeling overwhelmed. This is crucial for engaging a broad audience that includes small business owners, startup founders, and even larger enterprises looking to understand and implement Stripe’s payment solutions. 

For example, Stripe breaks down a thorny financial regulation that has changed recently using clear and precise language:

This isn’t easy subject matter — it still reads at an 11th-grade level, meaning the language isn’t as simple as possible. But it’s short, precise, and not so oversimplified that it would lose meaning. The whole page takes less than four minutes to read on average.

By making complex subjects approachable, Stripe not only educates their audience but also positions themselves as a helpful and authoritative source in the payment processing space.

In addition to the content’s accuracy and simplicity, Stripe further improves this page’s value and credibility by incorporating high-quality third-party sources. In this case, the example above links to a credible news report confirming the information and explaining it in more detail. 

By linking to or citing these sources, Stripe does several things at once: they provide readers with a pathway to further explore the topic, support their claims with evidence from respected entities, and build trust with their audience. 

Trust is a significant factor in search engine optimization (SEO), as search engines like Google use the quality and relevancy of content, including the reliability of its sources, as a ranking signal. 

By using high-quality sources, Stripe not only bolsters their content’s authority but also improves its potential to rank higher in search results. This helps attract more organic traffic.

To put things in Google’s terms, it’s helpful and people-first content. It’s in line with Stripe’s area of expertise, cites other expert sources, and doesn’t waste time with filler.

SEO Optimization

Stripe’s meticulous approach to keyword research and targeting is foundational to their content marketing success. 

By focusing on high-value, high-intent keywords, Stripe ensures that their resource pages — like the one we’re breaking down here — capture traffic from users who are not just browsing but are actively seeking solutions to their payment processing needs. 

These long-tail keywords are carefully selected based on their relevance to Stripe’s offerings and their potential to drive conversions. For instance, the terms “how to accept credit card payments” and “accept credit cards online” are highly specific to Stripe’s domain and indicate a high buyer intent.

Targeting such keywords helps Stripe not only attract traffic but also attract the right kind of traffic — visitors who are likely to become customers.

The strength of a website’s internal link structure can significantly impact its SEO performance, too, and Stripe expertly manages this with 160 internal links pointing to their million-dollar page. 

These internal links serve multiple purposes: they distribute ranking power and page authority throughout the site, guide visitors to this high-value page from relevant places, and help search engines discover it. 

By creating a dense network of internal links, Stripe enhances the visibility and authority of this resource page, making it more likely to rank higher in search engine results. 

This strategic internal linking not only improves SEO outcomes but also enriches the user experience by making it easier for visitors to find and navigate relevant content beyond this single page.

Global Accessibility

So Stripe has good internal linking and keyword selection, but that isn’t enough. They convert that into content for all of these audiences:

Recognizing the global nature of online commerce, Stripe uses a comprehensive international SEO strategy. By offering their site in various languages and tailoring content to local markets, Stripe ensures that this resource page is relevant to a worldwide audience. 

This localization involves adapting the content to reflect local currencies, payment methods, and regulatory considerations. Such attention to detail in international SEO broadens the reach of Stripe’s content, making it useful to users in different countries. 

This global approach not only amplifies the page’s traffic potential but also positions Stripe as a versatile and inclusive payment processing solution for businesses around the world.

Opportunities for Optimization

Obviously, this page is already performing very well — but let’s take a look at some opportunities for further optimization. 

Adding Visuals

Incorporating visuals can make a big difference in the readability and engagement level of the page. They can also give you the opportunity to rank in Google Image search results, bringing in even more traffic.

For example, a simple table showing what information you need for online, over-the-phone, and in-person transactions could centralize that information and become a shareable resource. 

Helpful visuals get copied, referenced, and shared on social media. All of that helps you distribute your content more widely.

Embedded Videos

Demonstrating how to make transactions online, in-person, and over the phone through embedded videos could provide practical value to the audience, making the concepts on this page more relatable and understandable. 

This kind of instructional video would be a helpful addition — and it wouldn’t be tough to make.

For example, here’s a quick video made by a third party showing how to set up Stripe for payment processing. It doesn’t need especially high-quality microphones or editing, just a screen recording, and it has 46,000 views.

Having these instructions in a video format would make the content more valuable, and it might even save their support team time explaining the process.

By fine-tuning the page’s content and SEO strategies and incorporating more multimedia elements, Stripe can still improve this already excellent page. 

The Power of Stripe’s Resource Content

Stripe’s online payments page is just one example of the company’s strategic use of content to build long-term trust and bolster customer retention. 

This page is just one of the 520 resource pages that bring in close to $800,000 in traffic for Stripe every month altogether. 

As you can see, the folder has rapidly grown in traffic and value since it was created.

That’s because each of these pages is designed to address specific questions and challenges at each stage of their customer’s journey. For those just starting out, they explain confusing financial terms (What Is MRR?) and for more sophisticated readers, they dig into business management strategies (e-commerce checkout best practices). 

This approach plays a dual role in Stripe’s business model. 

First, by attracting traffic at every stage of the customer journey, they get to make a first impression with people new to the world of online transactions. At the same time, they can also go for high-intent keywords used by readers who are already intending to start using a payment solution like Stripe.

For example, anyone who ends up on the page for how to accept credit card transactions would immediately benefit from Stripe’s product line. By providing concise, clear, and authoritative content, Stripe not only positions themselves as a go-to solution but also captures leads at a critical point in their purchase journey. Consider how they introduce their product Stripe Terminal in the screenshot below:

Second, the number of highly specific topics covered by Stripe’s resource content plays a role in customer retention.

In the financial services industry, customers demand the latest information on changing regulations and best practices. They want to feel like they’re working with experts in their specific situations.

That’s why Stripe creates in-depth resource pages on highly specific topics like how to register a company in Delaware. By putting in the time to create specific, in-depth guides like that one, Stripe reassures their customers that they can handle their specific situations. They build their reputation with customers who want to know they’re in safe hands.

Stripe’s approach to resource content builds a strong foundation for sustained business growth.

They bring in more than $116,000 worth of traffic a month with the five most popular articles from their resources (the image below shows what pages these are and just how much traffic they each bring in). Through this, Stripe is reinforcing their position as an industry leader and laying the groundwork for further success.

The strategic importance of these resource pages cannot be overstated — they are a critical component of Stripe’s formula for achieving and maintaining high levels of ARR and customer retention, essential metrics for any company looking to make a mark on the public market.

We can’t tell you how much of Stripe’s revenue is from this one folder. But the CPCs on the keywords they rank for are high because they’re the searches people make when they’re willing to spend money. Just look at the value of the traffic brought in by a few of the best articles in the resources folder: 

Build a Resource Content Engine Like the SaaS Greats

Resource hubs are a cornerstone of content marketing for a broad spectrum of SaaS companies beyond Stripe and those in the payment sector. By curating comprehensive resource centers, you can leverage these knowledge bases to educate, engage, and convert your audience. 

When you do that well, it can bring in traffic worth millions, as Stripe’s pages do. 

These hubs serve as a powerful tool for establishing authority, supporting customer decision-making, and driving organic traffic. You can see more examples of this proven strategy by looking at how Kong, Cloudinary, and Asana take similar approaches.