Pop-ups are everywhere today, and with good reason - they’re an incredible way to capture leads, seduce shoppers and turn browsers into buyers.
No matter what purpose you want to achieve with pop-ups, the best way to use them is to make them highly engaging and relevant.
However, that’s easier said than done.
With dozens of ways to optimize pop-ups for higher sales, many merchants don’t know where to start.
So, in this post, we’ll cut through the noise and share three tips that’ll kick your conversion rates up a notch.
If you’re ready to learn more about pop-ups, how you can use them to your advantage - keep reading.
What is a Good Conversion Rate for Pop-ups?
Although statistics say that the average conversion rate for pop-ups is 3.09%, most online marketers don’t settle for average. They’re constantly trying to grow their sales even more.
Looking at you high-achiever.
However, don’t knock the average. It’s a good benchmark. For most eCommerce merchants, a great pop-up conversion rate is any rate that exceeds the average of around 3%.
Of course, on the high-performance end, the best pop-ups boast conversion rates of up to 10%.
But such dizzying figures depend on the number of visitors, the type of pop-ups you use, and so on.
So, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. With the goal of achieving a conversion rate above 3%, here are three simple ways to optimize your pop-ups.
1. Skip Random Discount Codes
There is no point in using pop-ups to offer random discounts to your visitors without providing them with a specific context.
Although giving discounts is a good strategy to attract and maintain visitors to your website, if offers are not used properly, your visitors may see no value in them.
You need to understand where the visitor is currently at in the customer journey and make your offer as specific as possible.
In real terms, this means offering visitors something that is directly related to the problem they currently have.
For example, if you own a menswear store, it would be a good idea to add a pop-up that offers a 15% discount on cufflinks whenever someone visits the "Formal Shirts" page on your e-commerce website.
That is the most logical place to intrigue them.
Or, if you are writing an article about computers on your website, don’t offer discounts on the repair services you provide, but offer them, for example, a special detailed guide on "How to improve your hardware performance?".
In short, it’s important to offer something relevant to your visitors that will be of immediate benefit to them.
Follow your customer journeys carefully, and add pop-ups at the right moment with the right offer but more on that in the next paragraph.
2. Perfect Your Pop-up Timing
Timing is essential for good conversion rates. So, if you want to optimize your pop-ups, you need to know the best time to show your amazing offers.
Seriously, the last thing you want is to interrupt your visitors and cause them to bounce. Looking for perfect timing can be hard, but finding it definitely pays off.
To find the right timing for your pop-ups, pay attention to the following items:
Track and measure time a visitor spends on average on a certain page - the longer your visitor stays on a page, the greater the chances of converting are, so make sure not to set the window to appear immediately after the visitor enters the website.
Track your visitor's scrolling behavior - it indicates how deeply he dived into your content, so you need to find out after what percentage of the page his interest peaked
Track visitor’s conversion funnel journey - depending on the page they’re on, you need to show a specific pop-up to engage him and lead him towards the end of his journey.
To help you track your visitors' engagement and find the perfect timing, you can use certain tools such as Google Analytics.
By checking your visitors' behavior, you can find out what is the right time to surprise them with your offer and set the appropriate delay.
According to statistics, the right time for a pop-up window to appear is about 50-60% of the average time on a page.
When it comes to scrolling settings, you also need to check after what percentage of the page scrolled down is your visitor engaged with your website's content the most.
Many visitors scroll down the page before it even finishes loading, so just below the fold seems like a perfect measurement to follow.
That is where your visitors' engagement peaks, and here's how Chartbeat explains it:
You can set the scroll trigger and make your pop-ups appear after a certain percentage.
Another option that you can use to increase conversions is to show your pop-ups to visitors after they have visited a particular number of web pages.
Whenever a visitor loads a particular page, the right pop-up will appear and encourage him to proceed to the final stage.
In addition to tracking the engagement of visitors to your website, it's wise to use different types of pop-ups for different purposes.
Some of the ways you can segment your audience and thus increase conversion rates are:
If they are first-time visitors who came to your website, try conveying a general marketing message with a slight sense of urgency.
Source: fonQ
If they are trying to leave your page, use exit-intent pop-ups to stop them and remind them that they haven't finished the purchase and still have products in their carts and encourage them to go back.
Source: Scarlettos
If they have already bought a certain product, you can use cross-sell/upsell pop-ups and recommend products to increase revenue even more.
Source: Speedo
If they are already existing customers that came through email, you can make them feel special by offering a special discount available only for subscribers and build customer loyalty and trust.
Source: Gangstagroup
There are many more examples of how you can optimize your pop-ups and perfect your timing by tracking visitors' behavior and with a little creativity.
Use as many of them as possible, and don't be afraid to experiment and create the best version of a pop-up window for your web page.
Speaking of ‘best versions of pop-ups’, let’s talk a little bit about pop-up testing now.
3. Don't Fall in Love With Your Pop-up Design
Ok. Dramatic heading. But seriously, so many merchants stick blindly to the original version of a pop-up because they think it looks nice.
Don’t do that. Instead, never stop dating new pop-ups.
Keep experimenting and designing new pop-ups for different purposes, but also reinvent them and test them as much as you can.
When it comes to online marketing, data is everything. Resist the tendency to rely on your hunches.
Deploy frequent A/B testing, so you can compare different versions of your pop-ups and find the best one to use on your e-commerce website.
For example, you can A/B test your:
CTAs
Lead magnets
Size of the discount
Template designs
Images
Header
Copy
Format
You can also test triggers, different types of pop-ups, rewards/offers, social proof, and more to maximize customer retention.
A/B testing is important because it takes the guesswork out of pop-ups. It helps you improve engagement rates, reduce cart abandonment rates, bounce rates, and more.
You can never know exactly what the problem is until you try all the options, so pay attention to the smallest details and increase conversions easily but efficiently.
Go Forth & Optimize Your Pop-up Design
There are many ways to optimize pop-ups on your e-commerce website, but we have selected some of the easiest and most efficient ones.
By avoiding random discount codes and irrelevant offers, perfecting your timing, and experimenting with your pop-ups and A/B testing them, you can achieve great results.
If you need a tool that will help you create amazing pop-ups but also provide you with numerous options, from triggering and targeting options to A/B testing options, try Poptin.
Tracking and analyzing your visitors' engagement can bring you many benefits, so pay attention to how your visitors behave, what their moves are and why and how often they make them, and similar.
Try these three ways to optimize your pop-ups for conversions, and watch your business prosper!
AUTHOR BIO:
Milica Bokšan is a social media manager and content writer focusing on marketing, e-commerce, and SaaS topics. Outside of work, she enjoys being in nature, reading books, and creating small art pieces. You can reach her at boksanmilicaa@gmail.com