I really wanted to write this post after reading a thread on a forum about exit pop ups and Interstitial Overlays. It got me thinking how I could increase my conversion rate and make my visitors happy at the same time.
In the making of this post I did a lot of research and learned some surprising things that I plan to use soon.
Important Notice: Learn my method to profit daily online –
I learned that Google is okay with a certain type of ‘Pop-up’. I also found several free tools you can use to implement user friendly opt-in boxes and messages. Lets dig right in…
Imagine, you’re 25 and overweight. You scour the web for weight loss solutions and trends, then you come across a video sales letter for the ‘XO Fat-SO Weight Loss program’.
You sit and watch for a bit until you decide to leave; you try to exit out but then it happens! A pop up appears ordering you to WAIT. It also promises you the same program but for half the price.
You try to leave again, but then another pop up appears threatening you with a life of solitude and cellulite if you don’t act now!
You’re like:
Yea, it sucks…
How many times have you tried to leave a page but you weren’t permitted. Or how many times have you wanted to scroll down but you weren’t allowed. Instead, you had some stupid message saying click ‘OK’ for the new offer or click ‘CANCEL‘. You click ‘cancel’ and you’re right back were you started!
Do you want your visitors to go through to the same crap you went through? The answer is obviously ‘NO’!
At the same time, you want to increase conversions, provide a great user experience and comply with SEO friendly practices. What do you do?
Note: believe it or not, the creator of the pop-up ad Ethan Zuckerman actually apologized for inventing it. You can read more about it here.
What Google Says About Pop Ups And Interstitial Overlays
What I have below is Google’s official policy on all types of pop ups regarding AdWords pay per click ads.
How does this relate to you?
Remember, Google rewards advertisers with cheaper clicks if they have high quality scores.
You get high quality scores by providing relevant content and a good user experience. Even if you don’t pay for visitors, I’m sure you can see how this applies to SEO and free traffic…
At first glance, Google doesn’t seem clear on this point; but if you read it carefully then you understand what Google wants. They want the user to be unencumbered in his or her navigation.
Any pop up that impedes navigation is a problem, but interstitial graphics are okay.
An ‘interstitial‘ graphic is just a fancy way to say ‘Overlay’. It doesn’t open in a new tab or window and It doesn’t stop the user from leaving or scrolling.
Simply put, Interstitial Overlays:
- provides another option on the SAME page that the user is on.
- doesn’t prevent the visitor from exiting your page or post.
You can use this messaging opportunity anyway you want. You can have an opt-in box come up or simply display a message. Google is cool with that!
Let me give you a simple analogy…
You try to leave your girlfriend’s home but she slams the door. She says “You can stay here or we can talk in the other room.” This is akin to an exit pop-up.
However, an interstitial overlay is like you trying to leave your girlfriend’s home but she then says “You can go if you want or you can get me into bed.”
Clearly interstitial overlays are the superior way to engage your traffic and at the same time create a great user experience.
7 Reasons Why You Should Use Interstitial Overlays
Yea, I’m convinced that overlay ads are the way to go if you want to:
- refocus your visitor’s attention on what he or she wants.
- test new offers and deals on the fly.
- make it easy on the potential customer by providing only one offer.
- cut away at the noise and present your potential customer with ‘either – or’ offers.
- swoop in before your visitor ducks out.
- use one of the most important tools other successful content marketers use.
- deliver actionable content right to your visitor’s eyeballs.
Actually, I read this really great post by Jeremy Wallace from Get Rooster. You can find more details behind the reasons I give here.
Free Overlay WordPress Plugins You Can Use
You’ll find that some of these plugins have the word ‘pop-up‘ in them. Why you ask? Well, the plugin creators know they have a better chance of being found on Google with ‘that’ keyword; or they just don’t know the difference. Anyways, these are all good plugins you can install right now:
- ITRO Popup Plugin – create overlay messages using the WordPress visual editor fast and easily. It allows you customize height and width. You can also integrate video, images and header tags.
- Dreamgrow Scroll Triggered Box – make opt-in boxes and messages quickly for your visitors. This plugins coolest feature is how it activates! Whenever a visitor scrolls down the overlay comes up.
- Icegram – allows you to create both opt-in boxes and simple messages. The cool thing about this little tool are all the features and options you have. You can schedule certain messages to appear on certain dates, have messages come up like chat boxes and much more. You can also use the WordPress visual editor to put together overlays in a flash.
All 3 options are good, and highly recommended by other bloggers. Take your pick and start delivering laser targeted messages to your visitors.
- I use the standard Aweber inline overlay because I have lots of experience with it and I like how it works.
Note: If you need more plugin options then I recommend you visit this post written by Kevin Muldoon, He’s a professional blogger with tons of social media experience.
Also, Nikhil Ganotra wrote about 6 solid opt-in box options you can install to your WordPress. You can read that post here.
Tomato – Tomahto, What Are Interstitial Overlays Anyways?
Unfortunately, the terms pop up and interstitial Overlay are used interchangeably but you know better, right?
Just in case you forgot, pop ups open in new tabs but overlays open up on the same page. Plus, overlays don’t prevent your visitor from leaving if he or she desires.
Now it’s up to you to put this information into action. Remember to test and track which overlay ads perform best.
If I missed something or if you know of a good resource then please let me know in the comments section.