Increasing the conversions of your Google Ads traffic requires constant work. There are many tips and tricks on achieving this - from landing page optimization to tweaking your marketing message, to optimizing your ads for user intent and increasing your marketing budget. However, this article focuses on a very specific topic: exit intent popups and how they can be used to increase the conversions of your Google Ads traffic.'

Let's dive into what these popups are, why they are efficient, and how you can leverage them for conversion optimization.'

What Is an Exit Intent Popup?

An exit intent popup is a predefined message that only appears on a web user's screen when the user shows intent to leave the website (e.g. when the user moves the mouse in order to leave the website). 

There are several kinds of exit intent popups, but they all share two main characteristics: 

• The popup appears over the on-screen content.
• The message on the popup is designed to motivate the web visitor to stay on the page or perform an action.

It is important to note that these popups do not appear after a visitor presses the exit button. The latter kind of popups are more intrusive, defy user intent and are not recommended with Google Ads, as they can get your account suspended. We don't advise you to be too intrusive with your visitors - optimize the customer journey, but don't disturb it.  

Are Exit Intent Popups Efficient?'

According to Conversion Sciences, 10 to 15% of visitors can be 'saved' by using exit intent popups - if the popup is creative and persuasive, that is. 

exit intent popups work if used wisely. They should be used to optimize your page for user intent and not for intrusively stopping the visitors from leaving your website. These popups work with engaged users, not uninterested ones. They should therefore be used to build on existing user engagement. 

How can you use exit intent popups? You can use these popups to further engage your users and convince them to:

• become email subscribers
• not abandon their shopping carts
• give you their feedback
• read more of your content
• seal the deal and convince them to make a purchase 

As already pointed out, exit intent popups should be used with caution. If you choose to use a popup on a landing page, make sure you are using it to optimize for user intent and to increase your Google Ads conversions. You shouldn't use them to disrupt the activity of unengaged users who simply wish to leave your site.'

8 Exit Intent Popups to Increase Your Google Ads Conversions'

Good popups aren't intrusive. You should consider integrating popups in your buyers' journeys  ' especially when you are using them to support your Google Ads campaigns. 

Don't use popups just because you think it's a good idea to use them on their own. Instead, integrate them into your overall optimization strategy. That being said, let's have a look at 9 ways of implementing exit intent popups that can increase your Google Ads conversions. 

Exit intent overlays

Exit intent overlays work by monitoring mouse movements and the speed of movement. They usually appear when a visitor rapidly moves their mouse towards the upper right corner of the page, where the exit button is. 

To clarify, they don't appear after a user clicks on the 'exit' button; instead, they appear after the user has already spent some time on the website and shows the intent of clicking the 'exit' button. These popups are great when you want to keep engaging your visitors who are already familiar with your website or your offer. 

Time-delayed overlays

As the name suggests, time-delayed overlays work with a timeframe that is set by the marketer. You can set the overlay to appear when a visitor has been on a certain page for a few seconds or minutes. Ideally, you should give your visitor enough time to go through your content and understand what you are offering. 

Scroll overlays

Scroll overlays appear on the lower part of the page, usually on the right-hand side. Similar to time-based popups, they can be set to appear after a certain percentage of the page has been scrolled through. Just make sure you give your visitors enough time to go through your content. Scroll overlays should only appear if the visitors have been scrolling through your content long enough to read it. 

Click overlays

This kind of overlay appears when a visitor clicks on a specific part of your website or landing page. These overlays are among the least intrusive, as the users need to show intent by making a click - only then will the popup be shown. 

Click overlays are useful if you want to show your visitors more information or lead them to a form without them leaving the page that they are visiting. This is a very user-friendly way to increase conversion of your Google Ads traffic. 

Hover overlays

As the name suggests, hover overlays appear once a visitor hovers over a certain part of the website. These popups are usually used to offer visitors more information on a certain topic. This may help keep the users engaged, eventually leading to a conversion.  

Gate overlays

These overlays are also known as entry overlays. Using them is a bit risky, as they are a bit more intrusive than other kinds of popups. Gate overlays work by blurring out the background and forcing the visitor to perform an action before seeing the rest of the content. 

Gate overlays provide access to 'gated' content. This is often content that is available for subscribers or members only. If they are used for landing pages for Google Ads, gate overlays should only appear once the visitors have seen enough of the content to understand what your business/offer is about. 

Giveaway overlays

These popups are often used by e-commerce stores, which can organize giveaways to engage their customers. They can help turn abandoned cart visitors into shoppers, but also into email subscribers that will hopefully by later. 

But giveaway overlays can be used by any business that offers valuable content - whitepapers, courses, templates. Any item that offers the visitor value can be used to create a giveaway with the help of this exit intent popup. 

Urgency overlays

Urgency overlays are usually used for e-commerce and lead-generation goals. These are based on creating a sense of urgency in the visitor. They use the old marketing tactic that appeals to people's fear of missing out. 

In order for this kind of popup to be effective, the offer needs to be irresistible. Give your visitors great value or a great deal in order to increase conversions of your Google Ads traffic. 

Using exit intent popups can increase your Google Ads conversions. But once you decide to implement them, support your implementation strategy with data. Understand the user's journey and the user intent. Optimize for conversions, not for vanity metrics. For example, ClickGUARD's advanced click forensics can give you insight into your visitors' post-click actions. This data can be used for landing page optimization. 

Increasing your Google Ads conversion is a long-term goal that depends on multiple sides of your marketing efforts. exit intent popups are just one of the many tools you can use for conversion optimization.