Are Pop-Ups Effective?

Internet pop-ups have long been a source of controversy in the world of digital marketing. While some contend that pop-ups are a useful tool for grabbing users’ attention and boosting engagement, others counter that they are obtrusive and infuriating. So are pop-ups effective or not?

A pop-up is an overlay created by a user interacting with the website. Pop-ups may be used for a number of things, such as gathering email addresses, advertising, or enticing people to subscribe to a newsletter.

Statistics show that roughly 70% of visitors are annoyed by pop-ups.

But also pop-ups have been proven to increase user subscription rates.

The Pros & Cons

Here are some pros and cons of website pop-ups:

Pros:

1. Attention-grabbing: Pop-ups are an effective way to grab the user’s attention and draw them towards a specific action.
2. Increased Conversions: Pop-ups can be an effective tool to increase conversions, such as email sign-ups or sales.
3. Targeted Messaging: Pop-ups can be used to deliver targeted messaging to specific user segments, based on their behavior on the site.

Cons:

1. Intrusive: Pop-ups can be seen as intrusive and annoying, interrupting the user’s browsing experience.
2. Negative User Experience: Pop-ups can negatively impact the user experience, especially if they are not easy to dismiss or appear too frequently.
3. Ad Blockers: Many users have ad blockers installed, which can prevent pop-ups from appearing.

Opt In Rate Over Time for Pop-ups

Generally, the longer you wait to trigger the pop-up, the worse it performs. Counter-intuitively this means people are more willing to subscribe to something earlier rather than later when online.

 

Best Practice Guidelines

So, when should you use pop-ups on your website?

1. Use Sparingly: Limit the use of pop-ups to specific situations, such as when offering a discount or promoting a sale.
2. Provide Value: Ensure that your pop-ups provide value to the user, such as exclusive discounts or access to valuable content.
3. Targeted Messaging: Use targeted messaging to show pop-ups to users who are most likely to be interested in the offer.

Other considerations are:

Make it Easy To Go Away

Don’t depend solely on the close button. Allow closing when user hits the ‘ESC’ key, even consider the ‘Enter’ or ‘Spacebar’ keys. Also, allow it to close when the user clicks anywhere outside of the popup.

Make it Pretty

A cool video is nice. Or put some cool graphics and try to make it as eye-catching as you can. At least a pretty-looking thing might just stand a chance. It just might.

Make it Less Frequent

Code the pop-up to show up only once every few weeks, not always. Make it less frequent. Make it intelligent, rather than loading up every single refresh.

Make it Less Intrusive

Resort to using really huge full-screen pop-ups only when you really have to. Otherwise, consider going for less intrusive ones that is smaller in size.

Make it Easy to Engage

Don’t make the pop-up ask for too much. One, maybe two textboxes at maximum. But mostly, all you really need is the email. Anything more than that and you’re probably asking for too much.

Here are 5 examples of pop-ups done right.