All About Bullock Express

Should You Use Pop-Ups On Your Website?

May 11

When done correctly, pop-ups can and do function. What, then, is that happy medium? Do they deter visitors or are they actually clicked? And what's this about Google's pop-up requirements?

REMEMBER NOT TO OVERWHELM YOUR VISITORS

Have you noticed that you can't get to the information on the website you're trying to see without being inundated by items that take up the whole screen or a portion of it? It's rather usual these days for any or all of these to show before you can read the site's primary headline:

  • A notice about "cookies"
  • A GDPR notification or a notice under the California Consumer Privacy Act (new in 2020)
  • A chatbot or a live chat service
  • A pop-up window that says "sign up for our email"
  • The browser notifies you that "we'd want to utilize your location"

That's a lot to take care of, and it has a significant influence on your guests' initial impressions. After that, they may or may not stay, depending on how much they want to view the stuff you have.

Consider the following questions when you develop pop-ups for your website's visitors:

  • Do all of the website pop-ups have to show within the first few seconds of entering the site? Yes, in certain situations. Other items, on the other hand, may wait a bit longer or not be required to be on every page.
  • What is the phone experience like? Even after closing the legal notices, your visitor may not be able to view much due to the lower screen real estate. Make sure your legal notices aren't shown every time a visitor comes in.
  • Do you really need to know where the visitor is right now? You do that on occasion. You may also be acquiring information for subsequent use or for your own data collection. If I don't see a need for you to have my whereabouts right now, I'll refuse and wait until it's absolutely required.

USE MOBILE POP-UPS THAT TAKE OVER THE SCREEN AT ALL COSTS

Everyone currently relies on mobile search results. Google is also helping by providing webpages that are more user-friendly on tiny displays. With the introduction of the Core Web Vitals Update in 2021, they'll be paying even more attention to this. As a result, if you employ pop-ups that display on mobile screens, you should be aware of the following:

  • The pop-up cannot obscure the primary content, either immediately after the user navigates to a page from the search results or while browsing the website.
  • Displaying an independent pop-up that must be dismissed before the user may access the main content.
  • Using a layout in which the "above-the-fold" area of the page (what you see before you have to scroll) seems like a pop-up, with the real content lower on the page, requiring you to scroll through what appears to be an ad.
  • Google refers to them as invasive interstitials. However, the majority of us just refer to them as very bothersome. If you don't follow the standards, your website's mobile SEO rankings may suffer.

POP-UPS SHOULD BE TIMED SO THEY ARE NICE, NOT ANNOYING

Before you allow any form of pop-up to display on your website, think about whether it is relevant to the user. There are several laws that you will almost certainly have to deal with. However, think about the alternative pop-ups that you might utilize. If a visitor has been on your website for 5 seconds, they are usually undecided about whether or not they want to download your free content offer.

Consider displaying a pop-up depending on a set of rules, such as:

  • Only appear on sites where visitors have shown an interest in a certain sort of content offer.
  • After they've scrolled down the home page or stayed on a page long enough to read part of the material, show the pop-up.
  • The pop-up will only appear a few times, not every time you return to the website.
  • If they've previously done the desired action, such as signing up for your blog emails, don't display the pop-up again. This indicates they don't want to be prompted to sign up for the same item over and over again. Once the initial action has been done, you can use HubSpot's Smart CTAs to suggest the next logical step.

POP-UPS SHOULD BE SIMPLE

Our design sensibility frequently urges us to "make things lovely" as marketers. While this is crucial, it's more about providing a pop-up that doesn't need too much thought and provides something useful. Take a look at this example. The first one outperformed the second by 30%. It's straightforward, it provides value, and it took less than two seconds to read and comprehend what you were signing up for.

EVALUATE YOUR BOT / LIVE CHAT EXPERIENCE

Give the visitor a few seconds before the whole thing expands and dinges if you utilize Live Chat or Chat Bots. Most people would want to assess the information they've come for and then, after having had at least a little time to start reading, ask a question or be directed to additional content in 15-25 seconds.

This is particularly crucial if you're using a pop-up to enroll visitors up for email alerts or promotions early in their stay. If you don't spread it out, it will become too overwhelming.

CAREFULLY CHOOSE YOUR POP-UP LOCATION

Place the pop-up at a prominent location on the screen that does not prevent the visitor from obtaining the content they desire.

  • Banner on top
  • Appear at the bottom right corner of the screen, but does not take over the full screen until there is an evident route out