Most people hate pop-ups. According to a reportOpens a new window by Video Design, about 73% of internet users disapprove of pop-ups. However, not all pop-ups are created equal, especially in the case of exit intent pop-ups. Exit intent pop-ups are proven to improve website conversions. Here we discuss some of the best practices to create effective exit intent pop-ups.
There are several reasons your website visitor may want to move away from your page without taking the desired action. They may not find the necessary value or find another website more attractive, to mention a few. However, carefully and cleverly designed exit intent pop-ups can inspire them to stick around longer and even become valuable leads. They can also act as powerful marketing tools. According to SumoOpens a new window , the top highest-performing pop-ups had an average conversion rate of 9.28%.
So, how do you craft effective exit intent pop-ups? Here are six pop up best practices you should follow to ensure you have better conversions.
Learn more: How Marketers Can Use the Power of Exit-Intent Pop-Ups to Get More Newsletter SubscribersOpens a new window
1. Write a Clear and Concise Copy
The pop-up copy plays an essential role in keeping the visitor hooked to your website and its offer(s). The copy should be informative and concise as exit-intent pop-ups do not provide much writing space. But most importantly, it should deliver a clear message of the value your offer provides.
Ugi DjuricOpens a new window , CEO, Contenthorse, says, “It should be brief, but highly effective. Although all of these parts are very important, there is a special, fundamental weight on the copy. Its role is to indicate how great the value awaits whoever becomes your subscriber.â€
Here are a few things to keep in mind when writing the copy:
- Write an attractive headline that grabs the reader’s attention as this is the first thing they will notice
- Mention the value or benefits your audience will receive from your offer, products, or services clearly
- Avoid a generic CTA copy. Instead, use a compelling copy that prompts the reader to take action. For example, instead of using a generic CTA, Hidrate Spark uses the copy, “Get My 10% Nowâ€.
CTA that showcases benefit
Source: Hidrate SparkOpens a new window
2. Choose a Simple Yet Beautiful Design
The design of an exit-intent pop-up plays a huge role in your audience’s decision to stay on the page and take action or close the window. A clean and minimalist design can do more than a pop-up that has too many elements. A cluttered pop-up may put off a website visitor due to a heavy cognitive loadOpens a new window . Keep in mind the following few things to improve the design of the pop-ups.
- Have a clean and minimal design with sufficient negative space as this is easier for the brain to process.
- Be consistent with your overall web page design and brand colors.
- Add arrows as they help the visitor comprehend information better than textual directions alone.
Djuric says, “Exit-intent pop-ups must be more effective than the page itself the visitor is currently on. Include a logotype, use the eye-catching color scheme, simple and readable fonts, and CTA button in contrasting bright color. “
3. Make an Attractive Offer
An exit-intent pop up should give your audience a reason to stay on your page. An attractive offer such as a product discount or a free demonstration goes a long way in reducing bounce rates and the audience staying longer on your web page. Before making an offer, you should research your target audience as to where their interest lies. Would they be interested in a discount, downloadable content such as a whitepaper or a survey report, a free subscription, or a free demonstration or trial? Depending on that, you can make the appropriate offer on the pop-up.
Learn more: 3 Mobile Marketing Campaigns That Won Us Over in the First Half of 2020
Djuric says, “Include what your marvelous offer is about. When it comes to the newsletter, you can specify what all your subscribers can come across in your messages. These can be full guides, interesting news, special discounts, informative videos, important links, and similar.â€
4. Make the Pop-up Mobile-Friendly
It is common knowledge that largely mobile web traffic today is exceeding the web traffic through laptops and desktops. According to researchOpens a new window by Statista, mobile devices in Q2 2020 accounted for more than 50% of web traffic. The trend has been steadily increasing for the past five years.
Mobile website traffic
Source: StatistaOpens a new window
Exit-intent pop-ups do not work for mobile devices, as they work on moving the cursor away from the web page. Since mobile devices do not use cursors, there is no way to indicate an exit intent. However, you can implement pop-ups for mobile devices smartly. For example, you can use scrollable or time-based pop-ups. However, when using pop-ups for mobile devices, ensure that you follow Google’s guidelines as not following them can penalize your web page. Google’s mobile pop up penalty came into effect on January 10th, 2017. It penalizes intrusive pop-ups and interstitials. However, exit intent pop-upsOpens a new window are not affected by this penalty.
5. Include a Clear CTA
You can have the best of the copy and design on your exit intent pop-up. However, it won’t mean anything unless you have a clear and compelling CTA. Always keep a simple, non-conflicting, and action-oriented CTA for your offer.
Djuric says, “Add a clear and simple CTA button like Subscribe now or Sign me up! so that they can fully understand what they need to do.â€
Further, you can make the CTA more compelling by choosing a strategic color. CTAs with certain colors are known to lead to better conversions. For example, DmixOpens a new window showed that it improved their conversion rates by 34% by changing the CTA color from green to red. HubspotOpens a new window , too changed its CTA color from green to red and saw an increase of 21% in its conversion rate. Keep the following few things in mind when creating a CTA.
- Keep the text short and simple
- Keep the text large and legible enough to be easily noticeable
- Experiment with button shapes and colors
- Have only one clear CTA
6. Always Perform A/B Testing
Whether it is your pop-up design, copy, or CTA – A/B testing is a must to identify what leads to better conversion. A/B testing also helps in determining what works and what does not.
To perform A/B testing, create two versions of your exit-intent pop-up. The variations may be in terms of copy, CTA color, shape, headline, or other design elements. You can then run the test using tools such as Optimizely, Google Optimize, or Unbounce to see which version has a higher conversion rate.
Learn more: Top 10 Landing Page Creation Tools for 2020
However, when running an A/B test, keep a few points in mind:
- Make changes in only one element at a time. Doing this will make it easier to identify what elements need to be changed and what can be retained.
- Avoid making any changes to the elements during your test-period. If you make changes or introduce new elements during the test, the results will not provide a clear picture if the element you tested was responsible for the results. Hence, always make any change after the test is complete.
Wrapping Up
Exit intent pop-ups are powerful tools that can help you convert visitors into prospects, leads, and possibly customers. You can also smartly use them to introduce a new product, promote another content, create new subscribers, and reduce shopping cart abandonment. However, you need to follow a few best practices to make them exciting to the visitor instead of annoyance. The practices described above will help you craft better exit intent pop-ups that lead to better conversions.
What practices do you think can improve the conversion rate of exit intent pop-ups? Do share with us on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .