Pop-Up Ads: Effective or Just Annoying?

It turns out, pop up ads work. In this story we discuss the ways to maximize your pop-ups!

Effective or Just Annoying?

Pop-Up Ads

Pop-Up Ads

Pop-Up Ads

Pop-Up Ads

Pop-Up Ads

The notorious Pop-Up Ad made its first appearance in 1997 on a site called tripod.com. It was soon employed by thousands of sites. 

In its original iteration, pop-ups opened an ad in an entirely new page, significantly interrupting browsing and forcing users to interact with irrelevant goods and services.

It’s no surprise that soon after the first pop-up ads began appearing, the first browser-based pop-up blockers followed suit. 

That’s because pop-ups are annoying. After all, no one likes to be interrupted. 

So why do we still have pop-ups today? 

There must be some merit to them, if people keep using them.

 Let’s take a closer look

Cons of Pop-Up Ads

1. Poor user experience

Optimal user experience is crucial if you want to increase your rankings in Google search results.

Cons of Pop-Up Ads

2. Pop-up Blockers

 People have become so averse to this kind of advertising that most major web browsers have built-in pop up blockers.

Pros of Pop-Ups

1. Pop-up ads work!

Despite being universally annoying, the data shows that they are very effective at driving conversion rates.

Sumo found that the top pop up ads had an average 9.28 percent conversion rate. That is massive.

Pros of Pop-Ups

2. Visibility

You can't really miss a pop-up because they are right in front of you! 

What makes the Most Effective Pop Up Ads?

1. Context

Offer something useful that goes hand-in-hand with what the user is already looking for. Don’t interrupt their browsing by advertising something completely irrelevant or that is so out of context it appears scammy. 

What makes the Most Effective Pop Up Ads?

2. Have Good Timing

You can time your pop ups to appear whenever you like and under certain triggers. Waiting signifies great user interest in the content. So, a relevant pop up is less likely to be ignored.

You can time your pop ups to appear whenever you like and under certain triggers. 

In conclusion...

user experience is the most important feature of your website.  While pop ups tend to interfere with this, they can be created in such a way that they actually lend to the overall browsing experience by truly offering something of value.