Do Your Site Visitors Enjoy Your Popups? (Or Are They Annoying?)

Let’s be real: some people hate popups. But the numbers don’t lie. Popups are a legitimate conversion rate optimization strategy that really work. So why do they get under some people’s skin so much? In short, because they aren’t done right. Timing is everything with popups, and so is relevance. Showing the right offer to the right person at the right time will skyrocket your conversions. Anything less can be downright annoying.

Here’s how to set up your campaigns for success.

Be Relevant To Visitors

The name of the game here is RELEVANCE. A whopping 70% of Americans say they get annoyed by irrelevant ads, and if you’re reading this blog, you already know this is an issue. Your popup needs to make sense based on where the visitor is on your site, and what you can offer that is relevant to what they’re doing on that page.

Don’t ask shoppers to subscribe to your newsletter if they abandoned products in their cart, and don’t offer blog readers 25% off if they complete their purchase today. If someone makes to leave your site with items in their cart, hit them with an instant discount. If someone has spent several minutes on your blog or has scrolled to the end, ask them if they’d like to be notified when you publish more of the content they enjoyed.

Targeting That Makes Sense

Don’t annoy visitors by asking them to join your newsletter list the moment they click on your blog. Give them a chance to read your content first! The beauty of a conversion marketing platform like Picreel is that you have very granular controls over the targeting. You can even create multiple popups for the same page to target different behaviors.

For example, one popup could be triggered once the site visitor has scrolled to the end of a blog, or after being on the blog for a set amount of time. Both would be a clue that the visitor was actually reading your content, and that’s the ideal to time to ask them if you can send them similar content in the future. If the first popup wasn’t triggered and they make to leave your blog after not reading, this is an opportunity to stop them with a different offer. Because realistically, they’re not going to join your mailing list if they didn’t read your content to begin with. Consider a survey overlay to find out why they’re leaving so you can improve your content for future visitors. Or, use the opportunity to offer a juicy piece of gated content that explores the blog topic in more depth.

Timing Is Everything

This goes hand-in-hand with targeting since the targeting will determine when a visitor sees a popup. Serve up an overlay too soon and you risk annoying visitors; too late and you may miss the chance to convert them.

In general, “welcome mat” and popups that appear instantly tend to annoy the you-know-what out of people. If someone clicks on your service page, don’t offer a free demo within two seconds; give them time to see what you services are all about. If they’re still on the page after 30 seconds, it’s safe to assume they are interested enough to consider a demo.

Other Considerations

Not every popup has to be a giant box in the middle of the screen, nor does it need to be a full-page overlay. Picreel offers customer less-obtrusive popups that can be displayed as banners and sidebars that allow visitors to continue reading while acting as a polite reminder that the offer is there when they’re ready.

You can also reduce visitor annoyance by limiting the number and frequency of popups you show to your audience. Remember, keep it relevant. Don’t show the same popup to the same visitor on every page of your site. Also, consider using the targeting options that limit the frequency to only show popups to new visitors (not returning), or to only show the popup once per day, week, etc.

Need help creating CRO popup campaigns that really work – without annoying your site visitors? We’re here to help! Contact us at 888-891-5782 to learn more about Picreel or start your forever-free plan and see how Picreel popup builder can turn your visitors into buyers and subscribers.