Decide which pages deserve a pop-up
Not every page needs one. Start with pages that get steady traffic and have a clear related offer. Blog posts that rank well, comparison pages and resource pages are good places. Skip checkout, login and any page where the visitor is mid-task.
Choose three pages for the first test. Fewer pages give cleaner results.
Know the four main triggers
Each trigger has a different job.
- Exit intent: the visitor moves toward the browser bar or back button. Best for people who read and did not act.
- Scroll depth: the pop-up appears at 50 or 70 per cent of the page. Best for long articles, because the reader has shown interest.
- Time on page: shows after a set number of seconds. Weakest, but easy to run.
- Click trigger: the visitor clicks a link or a button that opens the form. Best for high-value offers, because the visitor asked for it.
Pop-ups on phones need extra care. Exit intent does not exist there, and a full screen overlay can break the page for search engines, so keep mobile versions small and easy to close.
Match trigger to page
A practical starting set:
- Long blog posts: scroll depth at 60 per cent.
- Comparison and pricing pages: exit intent.
- Short pages and landing pages: click trigger or no pop-up.
- Pages with a slow reader, such as a calculator: time on page of 45 to 60 seconds.
These are starting points. Your readers may behave differently, which is the reason for the next step.
Test one variable at a time
Use a pop-up tool such as Justuno or the pop-up features in your form tool, and split visitors evenly between versions. Change only the trigger, with the same offer and design. For example, version A at 40 per cent scroll and version B at 70 per cent.
Run the test until each version has at least 100 sign-ups, or for four weeks, whichever comes first. Stopping after a good day is how people fool themselves. For the general testing method, see A/B test form fields and placement.
Measure more than the sign-up rate
A pop-up that shows earlier will always get more sign-ups. Check what it costs you. Watch the bounce rate on the page, the average time on page, and the number of people who go on to read another page. If sign-ups rise by 20 per cent and bounce rate climbs by 10 points, the net result may be negative.
Look at lead quality as well. A pop-up that collects more emails from people who never open your messages is not a win. Compare how many sign-ups from each version become qualified leads, as explained in Track submission rate by source.
Set rules for frequency
Show a pop-up once per visit and not again for at least 7 days after someone closes it. Never show it to people who already subscribed or who came from your own email list. Make the close button big and obvious. Respect cookie consent choices.
Common mistakes
- Showing a pop-up in the first five seconds.
- Using the same trigger on every page.
- Testing the headline and the timing in the same experiment.
- Judging on sign-up rate and ignoring bounce rate.
- Hiding the close button.
How you know it works
Sign-up rate rises, bounce rate and time on page stay flat, and the new leads convert into conversations at about the same rate as before. If you also stop hearing complaints from colleagues who browse your site, the timing is about right. Review it again each quarter, because pages and audiences change.
