Website Pop-ups That Still Convert in 2022

When it comes to websites, your customer’s attention span is about as long as it takes to read this introduction. Eight seconds. You have approximately that long to get — and keep — your user’s attention.

How do you accomplish this? Believe it or not, there is one attention-grabbing technique that still works even in 2022: the website pop-up. While the website marketing game has certainly changed over the years, there are several types of pop-ups that still lead to conversions. If you really only have 8 seconds to grab your users’ attention, here are 4 ways to make the most of that time.

Top 4 Pop-Ups that Convert 👇

#1 Email Subscription Pop-Ups

Building your email list won’t happen overnight, but you increase your chances of getting new sign-ups by implementing an email pop-up. While the average email pop-up without any incentive only garners about a 5% conversion rate, you can increase that by at least 2% by simply adding an incentive (think discount or e-book).

If you really want to ramp up your conversions, create a conversational pop-up. This invites the user to answer a simple question at the click of a button before you invite them to enter their email address.

#2 Cart Abandonment or Countdown Pop-Ups

Do you run an e-commerce business? Now is a great time to introduce a few pop-up techniques. Cart abandonment pop-ups drive customers to finalize a purchase before leaving your website. Add a countdown timer and incentive (discount or free shipping) and your pop-up is set to garner a significant return.

#3 Seasonal Offers

Every business encounters a time of year when promotions just make sense. Whether it falls in line with a season or a holiday doesn’t matter. What matters is that you utilize pop-ups to advertise your promotion. Your email marketing and social media won’t reach your entire audience. When visitors land on your website organically, what better way to share your big sale than with an unobtrusive pop-up?

#4 Gamified Pop-Ups

Gamification is the practice of using elements of gameplay in other areas of your business. These include marketing, customer engagement, and even employee engagement. One example is an apartment complex using gamification to encourage tenants to pay rent on time and earn points for later discounts. Gamification in pop-ups looks like playing a quick online game (spin the wheel, click on a gift to unwrap it, etc.) in order to unlock rewards that can be used immediately. Gamification is also a great way to grow that email list.

#5 Bonus: Informational Pop-Ups

Even before COVID, businesses increasingly used pop-ups to keep customers up to date on business changes. Since the pandemic, the informational pop-up has become not only helpful but necessary. While this type of pop-up isn’t designed specifically for conversions, it helps keep website visitors in tune with changes to your business hours, safety protocols, and what to expect when they arrive at your business.

How to Create More Spectacular Website Pop-Ups

“Annoying” is the most popular word used to describe ill-used website pop-ups. Google labels them “intrusive interstitials” and penalizes your website if you overuse them.

However, while untimely, irrelevant pop-ups push users away from your website, timely, purposeful pop-ups lead to powerful conversion rates.

How powerful? Just a few years ago, the top 10% performing pop-ups had a conversion rate of 9.3%. Not a bad day in the world of pop-ups. Today, however, OptiMonk statistics show that the top 10% of pop-ups utilizing their software garner a huge 42.35% conversion rate. The average conversion rate of their pop-ups is 11.09%.

Our attention spans online are getting shorter, but we’re also learning to respond more positively to properly implemented website pop-ups.

Now that you know which pop-ups still work, how do you fine-tune your strategy for maximum conversions? It comes down to placement, timing, snappy copy, and relevance.

✏️ Copy and Design

Unlike other digital marketing techniques, pop-ups aren’t necessarily more effective when you include images. Instead, clear, concise copy and design make the most effective pop-ups. Conversation also prompts readers to more willingly respond. Instead of “Join our Mailing List!” try, “Was this article helpful? If you want, we can send more helpful articles straight to your inbox!”

When it comes to designing the pop-up, simpler is better. Website visitors don’t want to get distracted by cluttered, confusing ads. Instead, something that is easy to scan and easy to use generates more response. The more involved the pop-up, the less likely your visitors will respond to it.

📏Placement on the Page

Pop-up placement is a significant factor when it comes to conversions. Full page pop-ups, for example, can work on desktop but are completely ineffective on mobile devices. Customers lose patience when ads prevent them from scrolling through a site. Instead, keep mobile pop-ups unintrusive and easy to close. Your visitors’ user experience is far more important than your pop-up.

Keeping pop-ups unintrusive is key. Some of the less intrusive pop-ups include:

• Overlay Modals: center screen pop-ups that appear over the content (but don’t block it completely). Users must take action or close the pop-up in order to continue browsing.
• Slide-in Boxes: Ads that slide into the screen (usually on the side of the page) as a user scrolls or clicks on specific products.
• Top Banner (or Sticky Bar): These pop-ups appear at the top of the screen and stay visible even as the user scrolls. They typically include sales, seasonal advertisements, or promotions.

⏰ Timing

Using proper timing is a very easy way to get more conversions from your pop-ups. First, make sure the pop-up doesn’t appear too quickly after a visitor enters your website. Pop-ups should never happen at random.

For promotions, wait around 5 to 8 seconds before initiating the pop-up. Give your visitors a chance to see the webpage, read it, and navigate. No one likes to feel bombarded before they have a chance to explore.

💯 Purpose

Finally, invite your visitors to click on your pop-up by offering relevant information. What is the purpose of that specific pop-up? Make sure that the purpose is clear to the user. If they are reading a blog about website conversions, don’t use a pop-up offering an e-book on social media marketing. Users are more likely to interact with a pop-up that is relevant to their needs at the moment.

Relevance also applies to timing. For example, does your pop-up offer a discount on men’s clothing? Make sure that pop-up appears when your user navigates to the men’s clothing section of your website. If it shows up when they are looking at baby clothes, they likely won’t take action. Give the purpose of your pop-up, and make sure that purpose is relevant to your users.

🔥Improve Your Pop-Up Game

It’s time to improve your conversions and use pop-ups effectively in 2022! Which pop-ups make the most sense for your website? Comment below! I would love to know how you plan to utilize this marketing strategy for your business.