Hi, this is Getsitecontrol Insider!
In this episode, we’ are talking about mobile popups.
Half of the Internet traffic comes from mobile, and if you’re aren’t trying to capture this audience’s attention, you’re missing a lot of conversions!
Stay tuned to find out what the best mobile popup practices are and whether they can affect your website’s SEO.
If you’re using popups on your website, they should be optimized for mobile. That goes without saying.
Yet, on many websites, mobile popups ruin the entire experience. They jump at you at the wrong moment, block the content, or just contain tiny copy impossible to read!
Other times, website owners want to avoid ruining the experience by choosing not to use popups on mobile at all.
Big mistake.
Let’s consider email subscription popups as an example.
Most mobile users might not be ready to make a purchase during their first visit. But if you get them to join your mailing list, you’ll be able to reconnect in their inboxes and convert them later.
Take Casper, a company that sells mattresses with a 100-day risk-free trial period.
If someone is visiting their website from mobile, they are greeted with an email opt-in popup that offers a discount in exchange for a subscription.
Collecting emails on mobile is crucial for them.
Why? Because purchasing a mattress is usually not a quick decision you can make while browsing the website from your phone. But if you don’t capture the addresses of those mobile visitors, chances are, they will leave your website to never come back.
And Casper will miss lots of potential sales.
Now that you know why it’s important to use mobile-friendly popups, let’s finally talk about the elephant in the room.
Rumor has it that Google hates mobile popups
But this is not exactly true.
Here is what happened.
Back in 2018 Google rolled out an ad blocker and started penalizing websites using intrusive interstitials on mobile.
Although interstitials are essentially ‘popups’, the update was actually targeting annoying ads.
Specifically, those popping up and taking the entire screen space, playing sound, or appearing as soon as you land on the page – even before you get to see the content. Now, that’s annoying!
If you’re still doubtful, Google clarified that they were targeting “promotional content displayed on the web as the result of a commercial transaction with a third party” – which is essentially what ads are.
So, relax, your average email subscription popup doesn’t fit the description of an intrusive interstitial. No need to worry about hurting your website’s SEO!
However, we all have learned something from this ad-blocking update.
The way we try to engage with the mobile audience is now more important than ever, because their experience becomes a shaping factor for websites’ health.
So, how do you actually create a mobile popup?
Most website popup builders offer you a way to optimize popups for mobile.
For instance, with Getsitecontrol, you have two options:
You can either create a single popup for both desktop and mobile audiences, and the mobile version will just adapt its size and layout to smaller screens.
Or you can create a mobile-only popup, which means that visitors on desktop will never see it.
Creating a mobile-only popup is a good idea when:
● The desktop version of the popup includes too much copy or too many fields
● Targeting rules you chose for desktop, don’t apply to mobile (for instance, exit-intent)
● You want to display a different CTA to the mobile audience
● You’re promoting mobile-related content, such as a mobile app
● Or you’re using a separate subdomain for the mobile website
Now, when you’re designing a mobile popup, you want it to create a minimum distraction and provide maximum value.
Here is how you can achieve it:
· First, mobile popups should not appear as something “in your face!” Display them after visitors spend a few seconds on a page, when they scroll down you r content, or upon click.
· Minimize the number of fields visitors need to fill out (ideally, you want just one!)
· Pay attention to popup sizing and aim at keeping it around 30% of the screen space
· And emphasize the incentive to subscribe. For example, offer a discount in exchange for an email, just like Casper does.
To create a mobile-only popup, you don’t need to have any technical skills or hire a developer.
We’ve linked to a detailed tutorial in the description to this episode, but essentially, all you need to do is design a popup and then set up audience targeting to make sure it’s only displayed on mobile devices.
People visiting your website from mobile are most likely on the move. And if you fail to capture their attention during the first visit, chances are you’re leaving money on the table.
It’s in your best interest to keep them engaged with your business.
And with mobile popups you can achieve that without being annoying.
Want to try it for yourself? Then go ahead and give Getsitecontrol a spin.
This is it for the episode,
Until next time!