Pop-Up Ads Definition, Examples, And Benefits

Despite the many stereotypes associated with a pop-up ad, this marketing tool does its job perfectly. Virtue Market Research reports that pop-ups can increase website conversions by 40%, and demand for them has increased along with the rise of online shopping. In this article, we will understand what a pop-up is, discuss its pros and cons, and give examples of how it can be used for different purposes. Let’s go!

What is a Pop-Up Ad

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A pop-up ad is a type of online marketing message that appears on a user's screen while they are browsing a website. A pop-up ad’s definition, in other words, could be an interface element displayed on top of the page content. 

These ads are designed to capture the visitor's attention to convey a must-know message or prompt them to take a targeted action, such as subscribing to a newsletter, making a purchase, or completing a survey. Thus, they serve different goals and make it possible to achieve them faster.

Using Pop-Up Ads: Pros and Cons 

Advertisement pop-ups can be a powerful tool in digital marketing. Still, they come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Spoiler: the latter mainly refers to the incorrect use of pop-ups, which can lead to a poor user experience. But first things first.

Pros

1. Increased conversions. According to Entrepreneur, websites with pop-up ads have four times higher conversion rates than those that don't use them. Just look at Claspo’s cases: conversion rates increased by 26.7% for Devart and 110% for Grade. Pretty impressive, right?
2. Targeted messaging. Users respond better to personalization. And pop-ups can be personalized based on user behavior, geolocation, customer journey stage, and previous interaction with your brand on various communication channels. It ensures that the right message reaches the right audience at the right time. 
3. Lead generation. Pop-up ads are a simple but proven way to convert website visitors into leads by motivating them to leave their contact information. This data is transferred to your ESP and CRM, where you segment your leads, send the promised bonus for subscription, and move them further along the funnel via email or SMS campaigns. While success largely depends on your message and the value of your offer, pop-ups can increase the number of subscribers by 86%.
4. Zero-party data collection. When you use pop-ups to collect emails, phone numbers, and other audience data, you get first-hand data that site visitors share voluntarily and consciously. This is especially important given that Google blocks third-party cookies. You must look for other, more transparent ways to receive information and fill out customer profiles, and pop-ups are one such way (and quite effective). 
5. Adaptability. You don't have to contact developers and ask them to adjust your website's code whenever you need to announce another sale or notify visitors about a new arrival. Instead, you go to Claspo and create the pop-up you need in 5 minutes yourself. Want to adjust your email pop-up or stop using a pop-up set up for a sale? Do this in your account without outside help.
6. Versatility. If we return to pop-up ads' meaning, we remember that they can serve different purposes. This means they can help you even if you just need to notify visitors about changing opening hours or check their age before providing access to site content. 
7. Affordable pricing. Compared to other types of ads, pop-up ads are extremely budget-friendly. With Claspo, you can launch your first pop-ups and see the first results using our free lifetime plan. If you need to scale up your strategy with many pop-ups for different goals or audience segments, you can get unlimited widgets for just $30 a month. 

Cons

1. You've probably heard that pop-up ads can be intrusive and annoying, potentially leading to a negative user experience and increased bounce rates (boo!). This may indeed be the case; therefore, we cannot help but mention it among the cons. But! It is in your power to make them work for conversion rates, not bounce rates.
   Claspo will help you. We have preset display rules for an exceptional user experience. In particular, we prevent pop-ups from appearing immediately, displaying simultaneously with other pop-ups, and overlapping. That is, we avoid the main factors of user annoyance.
   The Claspo team, led by our CMO, Taras Talimonchuk, also regularly researches the concerns and best practices of marketers and website owners to devise a formula for the ideal non-intrusive pop-up. Therefore, follow the tips we share with you, and your pop-ups will convert, not annoy.
2. Overusing pop-up ads can lead to user fatigue and banner blindness, causing visitors to become desensitized to your messages and less likely to engage with them. Fortunately, this can be prevented.
   As you understood, your pop-ups will never appear simultaneously, even if you accidentally duplicate their triggers in Claspo. Besides, you can limit their display frequency to once per session or once per whatever period you specify. Another smart move is to stop displaying a pop-up for users who have already subscribed to your newsletter or closed your pop-up one or more times to avoid that fatigue.
   Finally, users won't get tired if you use a personalized approach. Instead of bombarding everyone with the same pop-ups, share the information they need when needed.
3. Remember the zero-party data above? Legal and regulatory considerations, like GDPR, require user consent to collect, process, and store their data. Some people miss this detail when creating their subscription pop-ups, leading to user dissatisfaction and even legal problems.
   Claspo will help you meet GDPR requirements. Our drag-and-drop editor has a separate "Data processing and terms of use" component. As the name suggests, this component contains consent text, a checkbox, and a place for an active link to your terms of use by default. Just add it to your subscription pop-up and make it GDPR-friendly.

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Pop-Up Advertisement Examples

We have collected basic examples to introduce you to pop-ups and inspire you to create your first one. But this is a drop in the ocean. If you want to see all the variety of pop-ups by appearance, purpose, and triggers, then visit our guide with 49 types of pop-ups and real examples. Let’s begin the journey!

1. Subscription Pop-up

This type of pop-up advertising collects user contact information, such as email or mobile phone numbers, to generate leads. It can also contain extra fields for the date of birth and name or clarify prospects' preferences for subsequent segmentation.

Often, these pop-ups offer site visitors an incentive to sign up. This incentive could be anything from getting the latest updates to receiving a discount, like in the example below. To get more inspiring email pop-up examples, check our ultimate guide.

With Claspo, you can:

• Add any custom input fields,
• Stop showing the pop-up for those who have subscribed,
• Transfer collected data to ESP for CRM to launch automatic campaigns

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2. Welcome Pop-up

Welcome pop-up ads welcome users to a website, often located on the home page. Their goal is to grab the user's attention and convey important information immediately. But which one? The choice is yours. Adobe offers a quick tour of its products, helping users quickly find what they need and buy faster. Great move! You can also redirect the user to your bestsellers or even show them on your pop-up.

Alternatively, you can offer users a discount or any other bonus on their first purchase to melt their hearts from the first minute.

With Claspo, you can:

• Add a promo code that can be copied and pasted at checkout,
• Target your welcome pop-up only to first-time site visitors,
• Set how long visitors must spend on the site before the pop-up greets them.

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3. Pop-up to Promote Deals

Another classic use of advertisement pop-ups is to notify website visitors about ongoing discounts and special offers. Often, such a pop-up consists of a catchy message that includes the size of the discount or a new favorable price and a CTA button that transfers visitors to your product range.

Below, you see an example of a pop-up ad. But it serves more as a warning about what not to do. Although the pop-up is pretty cute, it overlaps with other ads, which ruins the user's experience and can lead them away from the site. Fortunately, you can avoid such chaos if you choose Claspo with our automatic overlapping protection. If you want to see more really good examples of pop-us with deals, check this article.

With Claspo, you can:

• Add images and even videos of your discounted products,
• Show a pop-up only to those users who came to the site from a specific traffic source, communication channel, or campaign,
• Display multiple images/multiple special offers as a slider.

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4. Exit-Intent Pop-up 

The main feature of this pop-up advertising is its moment of appearance. It displays when a visitor moves the cursor away from your website to leave it. These pop-ups are often used to prevent cart abandonment since your last-second message can make shoppers change their minds.

According to our research, exit-intent pop-ups can increase website conversions by 5%-50%. How much depends on your chosen strategy to keep visitors on the site. In the example below, the retailer has selected a discount. However, you can find other successful solutions in this article.

With Claspo, you can:

• Turn any pop-up ad into an exit intent in one click,
• A/B test which final offer does the best job in bringing shoppers back to purchases,
• Add a countdown timer to emphasize that the profitable offer will not last forever.

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5. Video Pop-ups

Video advertisement pop-up lets your audience view your YouTube videos without leaving the site. It is a video marketing tool that brings excellent business results, from increasing time spent on the site to improving ROI. Promising, right? More great news: we have collected 15 examples of video pop-ups that can definitely become game-changers. Choose your favorite!

With Claspo, you can:

• Insert a YouTube video into any pop-up, including those mentioned above,
• Add a custom cover and play button if the default ones don't suit you,
• Choose whether your video will start playing with sound or auto-muted.

What Is a Pop-Up Ad that Makes Customers Buy from You?

So, what are pop-ups? They are conversion-driving weapons! We hope this article has shown you what they can do for your business and clarified that stereotypical pop-up issues can be easily prevented with a competent approach and… Claspo!  Start with our free lifetime plan, create your advertisement pop-up, and see the first results without spending a penny!