Do Marketers Need to Use Pop-Up Forms? An In-depth Analysis

Inbound marketers care about giving website visitors smooth experiences that will also result in leads. Most of the time, we can do both, but in the case of pop-up forms, conflict arises.

Over the years Pop-up forms have proven to be a very popular and dependable marketing technique for promoting content, trying to drive blog subscriptions, growing email lists, as well as fueling lead generation. Is it still a good idea to use a pop-up form? We’ll go over all that and more down below.

What exactly is a pop-up form?

A pop-up form is a window that pops up on a website while the user is browsing. It can be triggered by a variety of behaviours, including interactions with a website element, scrolling, and inactivity.

Pop-ups have grown so common that Google announced in 2016 that it will begin penalizing websites that use “intrusive interstitials.”

However, not all pop-ups are harmful. They can be an important element of a well-executed inbound strategy.

However, because pop-ups are obtrusive and disruptive, marketers must be mindful of when and how they appear, as well as the sort of content they deliver; that is context.

Pop-up forms can improve the experience of website visitors and increase conversion rates when used in the right context and with added value.

Pop-ups can come in a variety of types and sizes; below are examples of the most frequently used ones you will encounter on a website:

Let’s take a closer look at these pop-up formats:

1. Welcome Mats

Full-screen pop-ups that appear over the website content.

The main benefit of using a welcome mat pop-up form is that it puts the offer in the spotlight. If the offer is very relevant to your content and crucial to your plan, consider doing so.

Otherwise, a welcome mat pop-up may be overly obtrusive because it is not what your audience wants to see when they arrive on the page.

2. Overlay Modals

These are centre-screen pop-ups that display on top of page content.

Overlays, unlike the welcome mat, do not prevent the remainder of the information from being displayed, but the user must click out of the pop-up to continue. While some users find overlay modals to be invasive, if the offer is appealing, they can result in high conversion rates.

3. On-Click Pop-Ups

On-click pop-ups are a sort of overlay modal that appears with a form when a user hits a call-to-action button or another page element.

They’re ideal for when an in-line form would clog the page yet you want to reduce friction to a specific offer. The UX is usually simple, which lowers friction on the conversion route.

4. Gamified Coupons

Gamified coupons are another sort of overlay popup that allows you to play a game for a discount or reward in return for the users’ information.

They are great for fun eCommerce shop branding and frequently take the shape of a prize wheel or scratch-off ticket (since the coupon can then be applied at checkout).

5. Top Banners

These little banners, sometimes known as sticky bars, appear as a bar at the very top of the page, prompting the visitor to take action on anything.

These are typically a more persistent conversion element than other forms of pop-ups and are best used for diverse offers like newsletter subscriptions, discounts, or even general notifications.

6. Slide-In Boxes

Slide-ins are little boxes that appear from the page’s side or bottom, comparable to an overlay popup but with less intrusive behaviour.

These are ideal for displaying deals as the user scrolls through the page’s content.

Pop-Up Triggers

The following are some of the most common pop-up triggers:

• Page entrance: When a visitor initially arrives at a page, a pop-up appears. These can be considered disruptive, although they work well with less obtrusive formats like the top banner.
• Page scroll: When a visitor scrolls to a certain position on the website, a pop-up opens. When you don’t want to integrate CTAs into your content, they are ideal for long-form content.
• Element interaction: When a visitor clicks or hovers over a specified element, a pop-up opens. Because the user takes a particular action with the purpose to convert, these are extremely successful.
• Time on page: A pop-up opens when the visitor has spent a certain amount of time on the page.
  Exit intent pop-ups: show when a visitor scrolls to the top of the page to leave. Consider it a last-ditch effort to pique their interest before they depart.
  Inactivity: A pop-up occurs when a user has not acted on the website in a long time.
• Now that we’ve learned a bit more about pop-up forms, let’s return to the original question: Should marketers use them? Let’s get started.

Do pop-up forms work?

I’ll go right to the point: the answer is yes. Pop-up forms are effective, which is why so many marketers use them.

According to Sumo data, the top performing 10% of pop-up forms convert at a stunning 9.3% in 2019.

Klaviyo used their algorithms to examine over 80,000 firms in 2021 and discovered that overlay mode pop-up forms convert at 3.2% while slide-out pop-ups convert at 2.2%.

Hubspot surveyed 100 consumers to learn about their behaviours to understand why some pop-up forms work better than others.

A clear indication of what they will receive for completing a form is what pulls 50% of responders to it. That is the offer.

The length of the form, as well as an interesting description, will also have an impact on the conversion rate. 50% of respondents said the duration of a pop-up form might prompt them to abandon it.

The longer the form, the more likely they will disconnect. 20% said they will skip a form if they believe they are being asked intrusive questions.

Although this varies in every form, it is easier for users to provide a name and an email address than it is to provide a phone number and a home location.

Understanding which questions to ask is vital to the success of the pop-up form.

Additional advice on creating excellent pop-up forms is provided below.

4 Tips/Ways to Create High-Converting Pop-Up Forms

1. Include something useful and relevant.

The problem with most pop-ups is that they obstruct rather than enhance the visitor’s experience on a website.

This is most likely due to the offer in the pop-up being either ineffective or irrelevant to the visitor.

Follow these steps to increase interaction with your pop-up:

• Recognize your persona and what they expect from this website.
• Determine which offerings will best meet their requirements.
• Check that the offer corresponds to the page’s content.

For example, if I were to write a blog article on social networking, I would offer a free ebook on the same subject, as seen below.

Image Source

In this case, the post is all about building a brand’s audience on TikTok. The pop-up offer perfectly coincides by providing readers with a free TikTok development checklist.

While an offer on social media data may be viable, the conversion rate is likely to be substantially lower because it does not directly address their present requirements.

2. Take into account how users interact with your sites.

Another major error marketers make with pop-ups is having them appear at the incorrect moment, which increases frustration.

Consider the timing and trigger of your pop-ups. Consider how users engage with different sorts of pages on your site.

For example, when someone interacts with a blog post, they scroll down the page while reading the text. If you want to grab your visitors while they’re most interested, set your pop-up to appear after they’ve scrolled halfway down the page.

Similarly, customers who linger on your product or price pages for more than 30 seconds may be highly engaged since they are reading through and considering their alternatives.

In this case, you can use a time-based pop-up that shows after a particular amount of seconds on the page.

Look at Google Analytics data, such as bounce rate and average time on page, to better understand how your visitors interact with different pages of your site.

Better still, record people on your site using a tool like HotJar or Crazy Egg to create heat maps of where they click and scroll. This will provide you with a better understanding of how visitors interact with your material.

Consider the tool you’re using to create your form as well. Typeform, for example, will assist you in creating branded and customizable forms that reflect your brand identity and will enhance conversions.

3. Use clear, relevant, and human language.

The layout of most pop-up forms is quite simple. You’ll see a headline, the body content, and perhaps a picture. In other words, you don’t have much space to work with.

This entails that the copy on your pop-up form must be flawless. To do this, ensure that your text is specific, effective, and human:

• Specific: Explain precisely what a visitor will receive if they click on your pop-up. Tell them it’s a 10-page guide with practical advice, not just a handbook. Instead of encouraging them to join your email list, ask if they want to be kept up to speed on industry news and trends.
• Actionable: Make it clear to visitors what you want them to accomplish. Instead of “Click Here,” try “Download our Free Guide” or “Get my Free Guide.” Create a captivating call to action that will persuade your visitors to act.
• Human: Reassure visitors that behind the pop-up form is a genuine person. To make your forms more user-friendly, use colloquial language. Try “Mind if we email you twice a week?” instead of “Join our email list.”

4. Don’t ruin the mobile experience.

It is vital to consider mobile while designing your pop-up forms. With the majority of people presently accessing the internet via their cell phones, this might be an expensive blunder.

To provide a user-friendly mobile experience and avoid Google penalties, omit your pop-up forms for mobile or use pop-ups that do not take up the whole screen of the page on mobile devices.

Most pop-up solutions already have this feature, but if yours does not, you may need to find a different solution.