Featured article by Christian Philips, Website Maintenance Specialist
Pop-ups are usually described as ‘annoying,’ but for marketers, pop-ups are anything but that. As tools for advertising, pop-ups work—no two ways about it. Good pop-ups have a conversion rate of more than 9%, a figure which no marketing team can afford to ignore. Unfortunately, most people hate pop-ups, especially mobile users. Pop-up blockers have become popular as a result.
However, when used properly, pop-ups can enhance a visitor’s experience. What’s more, Google has rules in place meant to regulate them, so you’d have to follow those for the sake of compliance. In doing so, you’ll be able to make the most of pop-ups without harming your brand’s reputation.
Here are a few tips on how to use pop-ups safely on your website:
1. Comply With The Rules On Intrusive Pop-Ups
Since 2017, Google has penalized websites that use intrusive and annoying pop-ups, especially on mobile devices. The exceptions are pop-ups that are necessary, such as those for age verification purposes.
To stay within Google’s rules preventing pop-up abuse, your mobile pop-ups like small app banners and push notifications shouldn’t occupy more than 25% of a mobile device’s screen. Also, you’d be better off using exit pop-ups. Non-compliance with these rules can harm your website. If you aren’t sure about some of them, there are companies that can help you keep your website safe when it comes to pop-ups and similar elements.
2. Go For Pop-Ups With Compelling Offers
While others maintain that pop-ups ruin user experience, that doesn’t have to be the case. It’s possible to incorporate pop-ups in a way that could benefit visitors. You can do this by offering something compelling in your pop-ups, like a freebie or lead magnet that’s closely related to your product. That way, instead of giving users a reason to leave your site, you can increase your site’s conversion rate.
3. Use Well-Timed Pop-Ups
Probably one of the most significant things you can do to improve your pop-ups is to adjust their timing. A pop-up that appears as soon as someone lands on your webpage won’t win you any popularity points, so it may be better to set your pop-up to appear as soon as users have finished reading a blog post or have reached the end of a page. Your pop-ups could also have a time limit.
Rather than having a pop-up that doesn’t close unless the user closes it, make your pop-up close automatically after about three seconds of idle time. However, this means you have to make sure that the message or offer on the pop-up is compelling enough. That’s why it’s equally important to invest in good content, which will enable you to improve your pop-ups as well.
4. Aim For Interactive Pop-Ups
Search engines’ rules on pop-ups are about improving user experience, so make your pop-ups less obtrusive and more interactive. You don’t want the equivalent of a loud salesman as a pop-up, especially when it comes to call-to-action (CTA) rules, design, size, and content. Moreover, your pop-ups shouldn’t slow down your website’s loading speed.
5. Make Your Pop-Ups’ Designs Clear And Clean
It’s important that you use space wisely, particularly when creating pop-ups for mobile devices. Your pop-ups should have a clean design that stands out on your site’s main page. Their CTA buttons should direct users to the next step. An unclear and cluttered mobile pop-up can negatively affect user experience and won’t help with customer conversion.
6. Segment Your Visitors
Your pop-ups should offer a solution to a user’s problem. You can do this by segmenting the visitors to your website. Group people according to their needs and characteristics. There are tools online that can help you accomplish this with ease. Businesses often use segmenting based on their buyers’ interests and current stage in the purchasing process.
Pop-ups with a single generic message is often ignored. They aren’t safe to use on your website since they do more harm than good. See to it that the pop-ups on your website are relevant to your customers’ needs. It all comes down to understanding your visitors and tailoring pop-ups according to user intent.
7. Use A Pop-Up Chatbot
Everyone knows what chatbots are. If you’re thinking about using them on your pop-ups, make sure that the visitor has been on your webpage for at least a few seconds. Pop-ups on a delayed display won’t affect your load time, making the experience nice and quick. Chatbots are also well-suited for mobile devices. Remember: Google ranks websites based on their performance on mobile devices.
8. Place Small Icons On Your Pop-Ups
Large, in-your-face pop-ups are no longer used today; they’ve been replaced by pop-ups with slick, vibrant designs and small icons. Website owners that use pop-ups should see to it that the layouts and elements they opt for are pleasant, not irritating, to look at. Nicely designed, compact pop-ups with minimalisticons are much more effective.
Conclusion
Pop-ups can harm websites by getting on visitors’ nerves and giving your business a negative reputation. This could result in users avoiding your website in the future. The tips in this article will allow you to create and utilize pop-ups that are safe for your site and beneficial to your business. After all, using pop-ups is still considered an effective marketing technique today.
Christian Philips
Christian Philips is a website maintenance specialist with intensive experience in business data security. He has been in the industry for over five years. Christian likes engaging in water sports activities during his luxury time.
