Pop-ups are fairly controversial in the marketing world as they can be extremely annoying when done badly. However, contrary to popular opinion, they do work. Case studies have shown 1 000% increases in email subscribers over a month of using pop-ups. This is one of the reasons that makes them awesome for your brand.

Not convinced? Here are more statistics about pop-ups: 

The pop-up stats

Pop-ups have an extremely big advantage when it comes to conversion rates. A conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your website that complete a desired goal; for example, signing up for a newsletter. 

The conversion rate of pop-ups can be between 3%-9%. This doesn’t sound like a lot but that is significantly higher than almost any other online conversion, which ranges between 1% to 3%. 

Let’s put those conversion rates into a real life scenario: if you have 1 000 visitors per month and a pop-up conversion rate of 5%, that’s 50 new subscribers for the month, which means that you’ll have around 600 new subscribers by the end of the year. 

Pop-ups that contain some kind of call to action are 30% more effective than any other type of pop-up.

Different types of pop-ups 

Surprisingly, there are actually different types of pop-ups. Here are three of the most common types:
  • Traditional: This is the one we’re used to seeing. It pops up while someone is on the website’s homepage and can be triggered within the first five seconds of a visitor landing on the page. 
  • Exit: This pop-up only shows up when someone goes to click away from the site. When they click the button to leave, it triggers the exit pop-up to show up.
  • Time spent on site: This is a pop-up that shows up after a person begins scrolling, visits more than one page or spends a specific amount of time on the website.
There are also notification requests and live chat requests. These are not pop-ups in the traditional sense that they try to sell you something, however, they have the same purpose. The message pops up and gets the visitor to take action.
  • Notification request: This is found in the navigation heading of a website. It prompts you to opt in or out for push notifications. Although the visitor does not have to provide an email address, by opting in, they are allowing the site to send you alert notifications for updates, news and new content.
  • Live chats: This function typically appears in the sidebar of a site, which redirects the visitor’s attention and allows them to ask questions and voice concerns in real time instead of waiting for an email response.

Why pop-ups work 

Pop-ups are shown to everyone
Not everyone looks at the banner ads if they are not visually appealing. Pop-ups, on the other hand, have to be seen to be closed and therefore have a 100% view rate. 

Pop-ups deliver a message when site visitors are engaged
Well implemented and planned pop-ups deliver a prompt exactly when your visitors are most likely to click through. This is the point where your visitors are the most engaged in your website This, however, does not include exit pop-ups. 

Pop-ups offer value 
Well used, relevant pop-ups provide value to your customers. For example, when a new visitor lands on the homepage of a retail store and a pop-up with a first time buyer discount appears. This provides value for the customer as it incentives them to buy from the website and saves them money. 

Pop-ups can’t be ignored
Unlike a sidebar subscription prompt, a pop-up will always be seen. This is because visitors can’t help but read your message when it pops up in their face. Even if they close it, they will have still seen and read the advert. 

What other benefits for marketing do you think pop-ups have? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. 

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Do you want to know how disruptive marketing can benefit your brand? Find out how in our article, Hey marketers — it’s time to get disruptive. 
*Image courtesy of Vecteezy