The graphical overlays that pop up on a website after a visitor spends a certain amount of time on them or after they take a specific action on them, are called pop-ups. Most people have come across a pop-up or two on the Internet. Most companies use pop-ups to gather the email addresses of their website visitors. However, they can be used in plenty of other ways too, such as for promoting products, recommending related products, segmenting an email contact list, increasing demo sign-ups, recovering abandoned carts, and more. However, pop-ups tend to be controversial because when they were first introduced on the Internet, they started showing up everywhere. Some companies used two, three, or even four pop-ups at a time, and others used them to play loud music or to spam visitors. All of that meant that the pop-ups were annoying, which made them hated by both companies and consumers. However, things have changed, and implementing website pop-ups effectively can help companies achieve more success.
Multiple pop-ups
While it’s not generally recommended, showing several pop-ups on top of each other can sometimes work. As long as the pop-up can provide context to the website, or explain why it is showing up to the visitor in the first place, it can convert a lot better than if it doesn’t.
A great example of multiple pop-ups is the turntable and record company Victrola, which stacks pop-ups on top of each other. The first pop-up that customers see gives them 10% off any purchase, and when they close that one, they see another one hiding behind it with a better offer. The reason why most customers don’t find this strategy annoying is that both pop-ups are triggered at the same time, which means customers aren’t interrupted multiple times during their website visit while getting a great deal.
Targeted pop-ups
Companies can create targeted pop-ups that personalize the experiences of their website visitors. It’s important to remember that customers are three times more likely to abandon a website if the content on it is over-personalized. The goal is to find the perfect balance between generalization and personalization.
One company that has successfully managed to do so is Leadfeeder, a popular B2B traffic tracking tool that helps companies understand who’s visiting their websites. The company uses pop-ups to increase conversions and sign-ups, as well as share useful content with its visitors. However, instead of sharing the same pop-up with each website visitor, by using targeting, the company shares relevant offers based on the pages that each website visitor decides to check out.
Timed pop-ups
One of the best ways that companies can avoid getting any sort of negative reaction from using pop-ups is by waiting until the users have started engaging with their websites before showing them any pop-ups. According to research, pop-ups that are properly timed can generate much higher conversions than those that aren’t. By using a timed trigger to show a pop-up, that pop-up is going to appear to website visitors who already value the website.
The global payroll platform, Panther, successfully utilizes this pop-up strategy with its customers. Instead of showing a pop-up to each website visitor as soon as they open the website, the company has decided to show its pop-up a few seconds after a visitor looks around on the website. Additionally, instead of the pop-up taking up the entire page, it only shows up at the top of the website to make it less intrusive and avoids blocking visitors from viewing the page.