With more and more people using their smartphones and tablets to not only browse the internet, but also do online shopping and run important business and life activities, it’s a good idea to make your website mobile-friendly. And that includes using mobile popups.
However, Google recently announced some changes around mobile search results in 2017. One of those changes being the mobile friendly tag, which could be taken off of any sites that use “intrusive interstitials.”
This has some people concerned about whether or not they should continue to use mobile popups, but fear not! You can still use mobile popups, you just have to do so in a way that complies with Google’s new requirements.
Why You Should Use Mobile Popups
Popups are a great way to increase lead generations from your website. Of course, they have to be done in a smart and targeted way for them to be successful, but they’re useful nonetheless.
And they work.
Really well.
More than 30% of website visitors are mobile users, and the average smartphone conversion rates were up 64% in 2016 compared to desktop conversion rates. This is a clear sign that more and more people are using their mobile devices to access the internet, and as such, if you want to continue to increase your conversion rates you really should take advantage of mobile popups.
You can check how many people access your website with a mobile device by using a WordPress analytics plugin MonsterInsights or on Google Analytics. This information will also help you decide what kind of popup would work best, and then help you track its success.
It’s important to note that while Google is cracking down on mobile popups, not all popups or interstitials are restricted. They just need to follow Google’s new requirements, otherwise you could be penalized for misuse of popups by lowering the rank of the corresponding webpage.
Keys to Successful Mobile Popups
There are a number of elements that should be applied when creating a mobile popup so that it catches your audience’s attention and convinces them to take action.
Visually Eye-Catching
As always, the number one key to a successful popup is to create one that is visually eye-catching. It should be well branded to your business, using the same color scheme as the rest of your website and feature your logo.
Images are also really important. They should be relevant to your website and what you’re offering, but also high quality. Anything that’s blurry, pixelated, or screams amateur, will only make your website look unprofessional and should be avoided.
Helpful
Your popup should offer some sort of benefit to your audience. It can either be a free ebook, case study or something else that your target audience would enjoy. People are more likely to click on a popup if they get something out of it.
Clear and Simple Message
You want your popup to grab your visitor’s attention and explain what you’re offering in a matter of seconds. It doesn’t take long to lose someone’s attention, especially when they’re browsing on a mobile device.
Typically, when someone chooses to browse using their mobile device it’s to look up something specific. They might not have a lot of patience for much else.
So, take some time to think up a really great headline that’s going to grab your visitor’s attention and keep your copy to a minimum. Just give them the information they need and leave out the fluff.
Mobile-Focused
Nothing is more frustrating than trying to fill out a form on your mobile device if it isn’t mobile-friendly. Sometimes the popup is too big for your mobile screen. Other times it’s too hard to find the button to sign up, or even click off of it. Most people will actually give up in these cases and just leave your website altogether.
If you want to avoid scaring people off, make your popup easy to fill out and exit.
Mobile-focused navigation options are a great way to provide an easy, streamlined experience. You also need to make sure the popup is small enough to fit on the mobile screen. There are a number of different softwares and plugins that will do this for you. One example worth exploring is http://optinmonster.com/ which provides you with a number of different and effective ways to present popups to your audience, without causing any annoyance.
Screen Space
Google has said that they want people to be able to have mobile popups, you just have to do it according to their new requirements.
Screen space is a huge component of that. To help keep your popup the right size for any number of different sized mobile screens, consider using an adaptive template. They should take up a reasonable amount of space, but not more than 1/4th of the screen.
There are a few different popups that are still acceptable, including:
– Exit popups
– Age verification, and anything else legally required
– Small app banners
– On-page banners and ads
– Push notifications
Popups should also have a visible and usable close button.
A really great alternative to a mobile popup would be to add a slim floating bar to drive conversions. A popular choice is Hello Bar, which is a small bar that will stick to either the top or bottom of the screen as the visitor scrolls.
Test Performance
Like most things for your website, you should test your mobile popup. Mobile users could be using any kind of smartphone or tablet, which all vary in size. Take the time to test out your website on several different devices to ensure it works equally well on each.
Get Started
Creating mobile popups is just as important as ever, if not more so. Even with Google’s new requirements, it shouldn’t be something you shy away from.
Don’t have a website for your business? Get started today with this step by step guide and add both desktop and mobile-friendly popups to start converting visitors into customers.
