Contents hide
1 Why You Should Use Pop-Ups
2 How to Design a Popup That Converts
3 Does Google penalize sites with pop-ups?
3.1 Examples of acceptable pop-up windows
3.2 Examples of invalid pop-ups
4 How to Use Pop-Ups Without Ruining SEO
4.1 OptinMonster for Advanced Popup Options
5 Summing up
5.1 Related publications:
Why You Should Use Pop-Ups
Pop-ups are a great tool for capturing readers’ attention singapore b2b leads
and directing it to specific areas or content on your site. They can persuade a customer to purchase a product, pay for a service, sign up for a newsletter, renew a subscription, and more. A study conducted by SumoMe found that pop-ups in general have a conversion rate of 3.09%. This figure can reach 9.28 when it comes to the most effective pop-ups.
You can also use pop-ups to direct visitors to any call-to-action button, make announcements, and provide information.
How to Design a Popup That Converts
In the study above, you may have noticed that not all popups are equally effective at converting. The conversion rate increases significantly for the popups with the best performance. So, let’s take the time to understand what goes into creating a great popup. Here are 8 aspects of a good popup:
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A catchy and relevant headline that immediately conveys the essence of the pop-up (Subscribe! Black Friday Sale! etc.).
A clear description that doesn't leave the reader guessing is important. You need to tell what your pop-up is for, not only because it could be considered deceptive advertising (which the FTC doesn't allow), but also because it looks like spam —people want to know what they're clicking on. Would you click on a pop-up that just says FREE with no other details? Probably not.
Visual appeal is also key. Use colors, images, and fonts that stand out, but don’t overdo it. Crazy graphics or outdated styles can make your optin look spammy, so consider current design trends and the look and feel of your own site when creating your popup.
The popup should be relevant to the context of the web page it appears on. You should first use the page to create value, and then use that value to create interest in the popup. For example, on a blog page, you might ask readers to subscribe to the blog , or on your store page, you might ask readers to sign up for offers .
Along with relevance, your popup should be placed in a place that makes sense. Most readers aren’t going to subscribe to your blog before they’ve read something, so it’s best to add an opt-in when they’re halfway through the page or a popup when they’ve finished reading the article. Think logically when choosing how and where to place your popups.
Offer something of value to your readers. Make it worthwhile for them to click on the popup. Discounts, access to more valuable content, free membership, links for further reading can all make it worthwhile for visitors to click on the popup.
The popup should be a direct link to the desired content. The reader shouldn’t have to click a button too many times or perform multiple actions after clicking the popup. If you’re offering a newsletter subscription, the reader should be able to enter their details and be taken to a helpful, newsletter-related page that confirms their subscription or even shares other content they might like. If you’re offering a coupon, the click should apply (or copy) the code and take the user to your store.
Creating an element of curiosity can also get the reader to click on the pop-up. But as mentioned, the action must lead to something worthwhile. So while a secret discount or “secret” tips for success are great click bait, make sure you deliver on your promise.
Beyond these factors, you should also pay attention to statistics when choosing how to use popups. While we can share tips to help you create a popup, we can’t tell you what will work best for your site in your specific industry niche. Use the reporting or analytics for your optin plugin or software to track which popups are converting and make improvements based on that.
Does Google Penalize Sites with Pop-Ups?
The quick answer: Maybe – it depends on whether your pop-up is considered intrusive. Even if you manage to fully optimize your pop-ups, that doesn’t mean you can fill your web pages with them. At least not if you want Google to find you . Some visitors will simply close the window and leave your site if they encounter a pop-up. To keep visitors on your pages longer and to ensure that Google includes you in search results, you need to ensure that your pop-ups are not intrusive to the user. As of January 10, 2017, Google began penalizing pop-ups (interstitials) on mobile web pages that are intrusive to the reader. Google wants to make sure that the content it provides to users is easily accessible no matter what device they are browsing on. The search methods of Google and other search engines are constantly evolving.
Today, mobile traffic exceeds desktop traffic. In line with this growth in mobile traffic, Google includes ranking factors that emphasize the mobile user experience. Mobile devices use several different search methods, such as local search and voice search. Search engines are greatly influenced by these mobile user search habits. In fact, Google has moved to mobile-first indexing, and for any search, Google bots now crawl web pages on mobile devices before desktop content. To make content more accessible on mobile, Google has released mobile guidelines that explain which pop-ups are acceptable on mobile and which are not. The basic rule is that pop-ups and any other kind of interstitial that is intrusive to readers is a big NO. This rule only applies to mobile web pages.
Examples of acceptable pop-ups
