Pop-up ads are one of the things that everyone hates at a universal level. Have you ever heard anyone say “Oh! I just love Pop-up Ads” or “ I wish there were more of these”? Nope. And you won’t even believe the extent of how hated they are, even their inventor, Ethan Zuckerman, apologized for creating them publically.
So why are we still using them?
Originally they were made to pop in a separate windowed display, though those ads are not used anywhere anymore, pop-up ads are still everywhere on the internet. One of the most uses out of them are on-site popup ads.
Though a lot of companies have tried to rename and sell it to users in a different name, a pop-up ad will always be a pop-up, appears while the user is browsing the site, disrupts the user experience and in general bugs people.
But regardless of all this, with the use of the right strategy, you can utilise popup ads to benefit your business a lot. That’s why they still widely used in almost every website you visit these days. The real problem with the ads isn’t the ads themselves but the way they are used. You just have to figure out the right way to provide value.
Let’s have a look at why these kind of ads are actually effective and why most people dislike them and how to properly use them so they work efficiently.
The Value Of Pop-Up
The simple reason people hate these pop-ups is that they interrupt the experience a user is having while they go through a website. The popup appears and forces the user to look at it and then take an action whether to get rid of it or go with it.
But believe it or not, this is exactly why they sometimes work really well.
One of the biggest challenges marketers face these days when it comes to online advertising is finding out ways how you to get the user to notice these ads. You have to keep in mind that sometimes because these ads interrupt the experience, people might leave your site out of frustration.
One benefit of having popup ads is they will always get the views, you won’t have to worry about people not seeing your ads, just like YouTube or TV ads. Even when users are trying to get rid of a pop-up ad they’ll still see what it’s about, at least most of the time.
The actual problem with these popups is not that they appear at the wrong time, but that they have been exploited by scammers so much, like virus downloads, scams etc, that when people see them, they are directly associated with them.
And these ads are the ones that get over 70% disapproval rates, even google will penalize advertisers if they use a pop-up. But what users might say is different from the results advertisers get from these popup ads. A lot of companies are there who have used this method to multiply their email signups by almost 14 times. And that is exactly why they are not going anywhere, sure people don’t like to see them but they still respond to them.
Create Ads That People Will Actually Love
The only way for your ad to perform better is if they provide any value to the user. The user experience disrupts whenever the ad appears, so you’ll have to provide enough value to users so they’ll get over the fact that these ads annoy them.
Think of your ad like a salesman that’s trying to sell its product to people who are relaxing and don’t want any disturbance. If the salesperson is aggressive, you won’t even listen to what he’s trying to pitch, but if the salesperson is calm and follows a positive approach, then it’s possible that you might even consider buying the product.
How can you use this strategy in your ads?
Let’s have a look at some ideas:
Discounts
Most of the people who’ll come to your site are there to discover something. You could say that they are window-shopping the content on your site. Luckily if you add in some discount on the pop-up ad that you want to use, they’ll sure think about buying it. You could think of offering this discount on your ad like offering discount coupons for a sale in a shop.
Exclusive access
If you own an e-commerce website, its easy to just offer these discounts in the pop-up ad itself. If you don’t however, you’ll have to find other ways to offer value to users. If you have a good content marketing strategy, you can use this content in the popup ads that can showcase the exclusive content. This works better if the people visiting your site are your regular users.
Conclusion
In the end, it doesn’t matter whether you love or hate these pop-up ads, they aren’t going anywhere. But the main focus should be on using the right strategy instead of just shoving these ads in front of every user that visits your site.
With time you can create the right pop-up ads that every user will love and that is how you win.
