Should Marketers Use Pop-Up Forms? A Comprehensive Analysis

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As inbound marketing specialists, we focus on creating frictionless experiences for our website visitors that, at the same time, generate leads.
Most of the time we can do both, but in the case of pop-up forms, conflicts often arise.

illustration of marketer implementing pop-up forms on a website
In recent years, pop-up forms have re-emerged as a popular marketing canada phone number material tactic for promoting content, generating blog signups, growing email lists, and nurturing lead generation. The question is: do pop-up forms actually work? Below, we’ll discuss this and much more.

What is a pop-up form?

A pop-up form is a window that appears while a user is browsing a website. It can be triggered by a number of actions, including interactions with an element on the page, scrolling, and inactivity. Pop-ups have become so prevalent that, in 2016, Google stepped in to announce that it would begin penalizing websites that use what they call “intrusive interstitial elements.”

But the thing is: not all pop-ups are bad. When executed well, they can be part of a healthy inbound strategy. However, because of the intrusive and disruptive nature of pop-ups, marketers need to be careful about when and how they appear, as well as the type of content they present. In other words, they need to check the context.

When combined with the right context and added value, pop-up forms can improve the experience of website visitors and increase conversion rates.


Types of pop-ups

Pop-ups come in many shapes and sizes. Here's a chart showing the ones that most frequently appear on web pages:

types of pop-up: welcome mat, modal overlay, top banner, slide-in box

1. Welcome mats

These are full-screen pop-ups that slide over the content of the page. The biggest advantage of using this type of pop-up is that they display the offer front and center. Consider using it if what you offer is highly relevant to your content and important to your strategy.

Otherwise, a welcome popup can be too intrusive, as it is often not what users expect to find when they land on the page.

2. Overlapping modules

The closest thing to a traditional pop-up is a pop-up window located in the center of the screen that appears above the content of the page.

do pop-up forms work: overlay modal example
Unlike the previous type, the overlay does not prevent the rest of the content from being displayed. However, the user will have to click outside of the popup to continue with what they are doing.
While some users find overlay modules intrusive, if the offer is compelling, they often have high conversion rates.


3. Windows that pop up when you click

This is a specific type of pop-up that appears with a form when a user clicks on a call to action or other element on the page.

They are perfect for those times when an online form is cluttering the page but you want to reduce friction with a particular offer. In these pop-ups, the UX (User Experience) tends to be simple, which makes the conversion path less frictional.

4. Gamified coupons

Another type of overlapping modality is gamified coupons, which allow users to play a game to obtain a discount or a prize in exchange for providing some information.

They are usually in the form of a prize wheel or scratch-off ticket and are best suited for fun e-commerce store brands as the coupon can be applied at checkout.