Why Aren’t Visitors Converting? You May Be Doing This Wrong

If it seems like you’re doing everything right, but visitors still aren’t converting into leads and customers, there clearly must be something that you’re overlooking. Although there are plenty of variables and dynamics that can have an impact on visitor perception and conversions, if you break it down into categories and address each individually, you should be on the right path. With that said, once a site has fulfilled the basic prerequisites of having an aesthetically pleasing and authoritative design, the other main factors that directly affect conversion rates include but are not limited to:

1. The quality of the promotion itself – An unappealing product, service, opt-in, subscription, etc.
2. Ineffective Content – If the sales copy and/or articles on your site/blog aren’t top-notch, this could be a red flag that’s scaring visitors away.
3. Poor quality traffic – Untargeted, random visitors are never going to convert optimally.
4. Over-aggressive Marketing – Too many pop-ups or other components urging the visitor to take action can be a bad thing. Visitors don’t like to be forced into decisions.

While the 4 factors above encompass most conversion problems that can be easily identified and fixed, there are many other subtle steps that are commonly done wrong. A prime example would be exit intent pop-ups.

You’ve probably encountered these before without realizing how useful they could be on your own website(s). Exit intent pop-ups generally appear when a visitor is about to leave the site. They usually contain a message asking the visitor if they’re sure they want to leave the current page, although they can be further customized and optimized to provide better results.

Since exit intents are part of a less obvious aspect of conversion optimization, and since most marketers and site owners will tend to focus on the 4 factors above first, there’s a good chance that your poor conversions are related to your disregard or misuse of this crucial marketing method.

Using Exit Intent Pop-ups Properly to Improve Conversions

Although many visitors find exit intent pop-ups to be annoying aggravations, and the majority won’t be persuaded by these last-ditch efforts, some of them will be. However, that seemingly small boost has resulted in conversion increases of up to 600% according to OptinMonster.

Of course, a simple message that basically says, “please don’t go” isn’t going to generate such results, but therein lies the reason why many marketers are using these powerful pop-ups the wrong way.

To truly reap the rewards of an exit intent strategy, you’ll have to experiment with different approaches other than just begging the visitor to stay. For some starter inspiration, you can check out this overview of the common ways exit intents are used to increase conversions:

• Offer an Incentive – Many sites offer a free case Study, eBook, or other informational product to the visitor on their way out. Some online stores and service providers will use the exit intent to offer a free trial, a special discount, access to a webinar, or a free consultation. Think of the best perk you can reasonably offer and make that your incentive. Since only a small percentage of exiting visitors will take your offer, you won’t be overwhelmed by freebies, but retaining those otherwise lost visitors can help with lead generation stats tremendously.

• Make Support Available – You can also make a live chat window appear when a visitor attempts to exit your site. Some visitors leave a page because they can’t find a solution/answer to a problem/question they have. Thus, you may be able to keep those visitors on the site by emphasizing the fact that live support is ready to respond to their queries.
• Prompt an Opt-in – You can also use the exit intent pop-up to invite visitors to download a free digital product in exchange for joining your email list. This trick is known to provide a tangible boost in email sign ups.

While there are many ways exit intent pop-ups can improve conversions, the above methods are the most commonly used and consistently reliable.

Incentive Ideas for Exit Intent Pop-ups

So now that you’re ready to provide an incentive in your exit intent pop-ups, you’re probably wondering what you’ll offer. For inspiration, here’s a list of common approaches that tend to work well:

• Enticing and Exclusive Content – eBooks that contain large lists of tips or suggestions work well to convince the visitor to provide an email address on the way out.
• Discount Coupons Delivered via Email – A message like “Get a 10% off coupon by subscribing” next to a simple email opt-in form is a good way to get visitors to give their email addresses on the way out. Alternatively, some eCommerce shops go ahead and display the coupon code without requiring an email address.
• Trial Membership – Offering a free trial membership to the site is one way to bring back visitors who may be leaving due to short-term budget constraints.
• Using Urgency as an Incentive – Many sites use exit intent pop-ups to display a countdown clock during special sales and promotions. This can help spark rushed purchasing decisions in visitors who would otherwise lean towards acting on a later date.

Overall, the goal of the incentive is to provide something that most sensible visitors wouldn’t turn down. As a result, you’ll reap three primary benefits:

1. A) The visitor stays on the page longer, even if only to examine the pop-up offer. Longer page visit times will improve the page’s authority in search engines.
2. B) Being on the site longer means they’re more likely to convert, especially if the exit intent kept them around with a discount coupon.
3. C) You’ll gain email addresses and subscribers that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

The best standard to hold your incentive against is to ask yourself “would I personally give my email address or stay on the site if I saw this pop-up?”

Consider Exit Intent Formatting and Font

You can write the best script on the planet, but if you dress it up in a bland grey box, it definitely won’t convert to its full potential. Thus, background graphics, formatting, and font are all critical aspects that marketers need to keep in mind when developing and designing effective exit intent pop-ups. Large font and short phrases tend to be most effective. Likewise, high definition imagery in the background also has a positive effect on conversions.

Refining and Making Adjustments for an Optimal Conversion Rate

In closing, once you’ve set up the initial exit intent pop-up, keep in mind that’s only the beginning of the process. To actually achieve optimal results, you’ll probably need to make a few adjustments, and since you’ll be designing new exit intent pop-ups for specific sales and promotions, it helps to become proficient in this area of marketing. Aside from trial & error and sheer experience, conducting tons of research and reading relevant guides are side activities that every progressive marketer should engage in routinely. Using the tips discussed in this article, you should be able to radically increase your conversion rate.