Now some of you may have read my post here on ComLuv “Music On Blogs! Is It Really Necessary?” so continuing on from that post I thought I’d pick on PopUps this time.
As with music automatically starting on blog, my other pet hate is PopUps on blogs and one which seems to be popping up everywhere at the moment is one called Popup Domination and it’s so annoying.
Why PopUps Annoy People
I like to visit a blog and read it’s content and then usually drop a comment before carrying on to some other posts that I think sound quite interesting, but the one thing that puts me off is the usage of these very annoying popups.
Ok it’s not too bad on the home page, but it still annoys me, but to have a popup show up after you click on the blog post, then again when you’ve entered a comment and then again when you click on another blog post. AAARRGGGHHHH
Don’t get me wrong, not all bloggers that are using Popup Domination do this, but some do and those are the ones I can’t stand, suffice to say, I don’t go back to their blogs again.
But it’s not only popup domination that annoys me, it’s also the use of other types of popups, like a new browser window opening as soon as you arrive at the blog, trying to sell you something, or a window that will popup when you leave the site, asking you if you are sure, then after clicking yes, it asks you again, STOP! If we didn’t want to leave the page then we wouldn’t would we.
What Should Bloggers Do With Their PopUps?
I’m going to be polite here, but I personally think that these annoying PopUps should be placed where the sun doesn’t shine, you know where I mean 
Stop your PopUps from annoying your readers, if you have a plugin, try to set it so that it only comes on with the first visit from your visitors, not EVERY TIME. It’s sure fire way of losing people from your blog.
What Should You Do As A Visitor?
If you get a constant flow of PopUps or even a few times, then take the time to comment on the blog, but add something like “You’re lucky I commented with your annoying PopUp on this blog!”
Hopefully that should let them know that people are getting annoyed by them.
Stepping On Toes!
Now I know, I really do, that I have probably upset some people that are using PopUps and I do apologise, but for those using them wisely and taking the time to have them set cookies so that a visitor doesn’t get the PopUp all the time then I salute you, to the other, GET RID OF THEM or at least tweak them!
Twitter: lavenderuses
says:
Hi Karen
I’m with you on popups. I don’t usually revisit a blog if they keep popping back up!!! I know bloggers who use them say they increase their opt-in rate but I sure am not going to use them on my blog.
You are sure to get lots of comments on this one as there seem to be 2 clearly defined schools of thought on this topic. Great that you have posted this. Looking forward to the conversation as it progresses.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia´s recent blog post ..So Little Time- So Much To Do
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
Thanks Patricia, I agree there are those that will defend the popups to the hilt, specially about op-in rates, but they are really annoying, It’s oing to be interesting what the majority think
Karen´s recent blog post ..Thursday Thought Of The Day
Twitter: BasicBlogTips
says:
Cheers Karen! I couldn’t agree with you more. I know that people tend to increase their subscriber counts when they use these things but they can’t imagine how many folks they are turning away!! Thanks for writing this.
Ileane Smith´s recent blog post ..November News on Basic Blog Tips
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
Thanks Ileane, I think most of these blogs prefer the subscribers to the visitors, but I may be wrong
Karen´s recent blog post ..Twiends a Tool to Help Increase Twitter Followers
Twitter: DiTesco
says:
I’m not even debating if it is good or bad, I just hate pop-up whatever, and that includes domination. Although, depending on the website, I might just ignore it and that’s as far as I go. Good points!
DiTesco´s recent blog post ..Promote Hot Products With Google’s Affiliate Network
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
Thanks, domination, reminds me of those days before we had the old popup blocker from Google, those terrible days of windows popping up everywhere ARRRRGGGG
Karen´s recent blog post ..EDF ENERGY and EDF launches Energy TaskForce
Twitter: ways2moremoney
says:
I could not agree with you more. Nothing is more annoying than going to a site, and having to close a pop-up ad before you can read.
hunter´s recent blog post ..Increase Website Conversions to Make More Money
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
And what makes it worse of those stupid ones that ask you if you are sure you want to close it!!!
Karen´s recent blog post ..Are You A FaceBook Fan Of Blazing Minds
Twitter: phonakins
says:
ugh JUST after your last article I came across a blog with auto play music. Now to share THIS article with others.
Fiona´s recent blog post ..6 more things to add to doing xmas the phona-way
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
Thanks for sharing, it’s always much appreciated
Karen´s recent blog post ..So Who Is On This Weeks Twitter FollowFriday Then
I do not have one of those pop overs on my website…But I do have a strip along the bottom. I have found that people do not mind that too much as they need to sign up somewhere….but not when it’s shoved in their face!
Mitz Pantic´s recent blog post ..50 Off Hostgator Website Hosting For One Day – Black Friday Deals
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
It’s the “shoving in the face” that really puts me off, it’s like walking in to a shop and the as soon as your foot crosses the threshold the sales is right up to your face saying “buy this, sign up for that!”
Karen´s recent blog post ..Five Pound Jobs- Fiverr But For The UK!
Twitter: healthvotes
says:
Just get rid of the popups, as simple as that… popups went out of fashion years ago, and honestly, is monetizing a blog that difficult? there are so many ways to make money out of it, there is absolutely no reason to use popup.
I hate anything that interferes with my normal surfing, and something that will override the window close button is the last thing i will want to have. Unless the bloggers realize how to keep their readers happy, they will never be able to make a good blog…
uttoransen´s recent blog post ..9 Office Security Tips
Great points Karen, I really really hate pop ups. At the same time, I have heard and continue to hear success stories with pop ups (like subscription form pop ups that increase subscription rates and etc) and am tempted to give them a try, however, since I personally get annoyed by pop ups on other blogs, I don’t want to annoy my visitors.
satrap´s recent blog post ..53 Ways to Make Money Online
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
I always wonder if the success stories are caused by the reader saying “OK I’ll sign up for the damn thing, just stop popping up!”
Karen´s recent blog post ..EDF ENERGY and EDF launches Energy TaskForce
Twitter: healthvotes
says:
And once subscribed unhappily, when they will get an email or a newsletter from you, they would not even bother to unsubscribe, they will just hit the spam button on the email. No point forcing visitors to sigh up subscription form, let them happily do it so that they wait expectantly for your emails.
uttoransen´s recent blog post ..How To Lose Weight Using Diet and Exercise
Twitter: OriginalWacky
says:
If I really really do want to see more of a site that has popups, then I’ll use a junk email for it, and never worry about the spam etc. Just log in every once in a while and delete everything there. But it’s far more likely that I will stop going to a site that has them, they really bother me.
Recently some of the blogs I follow have started to advertise and such, and the popups have made me unsubscribe. Since I’m generally looking at blogs that are not geared towards any kind of selling, it just makes it all the more frustrating, because I just want to see whatever I clicked on, not be bashed over the head with popups.
Michy´s recent blog post ..Time For A Giveaway!
Twitter: rwperkinsjr
says:
I am guilty, I admit it. I am a PopUp Domination user. I am one of the users that has tweaked it though and I totally agree with Karen here.
I acquired PopUp Domination to offer my visitors the option of signing up for my newsletter and gaining access to my MRR downloads area. It is programed to popup on the front page only and the cookie is set for every 7 days. It also waits for you to be on the site for a minute or more before it accosts you.
Unfortunately the conversions are high using popups so people will continue to use them. I choose PopUp Domination because of the flexibility in setting the schedule and also setting what pages the popup appears. Since I do not sell products on my blog I am not going to brow beat every visitor on every page.
I think that if you overwhelm your visitors with popups they will do exactly like Karen says here, they will go away and never come back. I agree with you too on those “Are you sure?!” messages and surf stopping dialog boxes too, I hate those with a passion.
Richard´s recent blog post ..Why I Am Going To Stop Using Traffic Exchanges
Twitter: rwperkinsjr
says:
BTW I love the picture in the header of this post, that is really cute.
Richard´s recent blog post ..Mr Obama- Sir Can I Ask You A Few Questions
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
Thanks, couldn’t resist using that image
Karen´s recent blog post ..How To Select All Your Facebook Friends in one go
Twitter: BrittPhillips
says:
Pop ups on a blog are very annoying. They slow down the page load and are one of the quickest ways to get me to immediately leave!
Britt Phillips´s recent blog post ..Complete 53 Volume Subliminal Library Special Offer
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
And if you’re one of the unlucky ones to have a slow connection, they really don’t help at all
Karen´s recent blog post ..Does a Conversion Mean Everything
Twitter: gilbertocintron
says:
I hear you Karen. Those freaking one time overs that they offer three times in a row.”Have we got a special offer for you for just $199.00…” Wait, we thought that offer was really fair, ok $199.00 may be to much what about $159.00…” Ok, you forced my hand, act now and for just $9.99…” Man I hate con artist. But worst then con artist are stupid con artist. Stop the pop ups, we only want to read your blogs. If we like what you say, we may be inclined to spend some of our cash with you.
Great post Karen.
Gilberto Cintron
Gilberto Cintron´s recent blog post ..A winner never quits and a quitter never wins
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
Very nicely put, are you reading this everyone
Karen´s recent blog post ..Does a Conversion Mean Everything
Twitter: erenmckay
says:
Pop ups are annoying and create a not so great experience for the user. It’s like being interrupted in the middle of our thought process. I don’t link to pages that have pop ups simply because I don’t want to annoy my visitors either. It’s tempting but the cons outweigh the pros – totally agree with you there.
Eren Mckay´s recent blog post ..Duck Baby Shower Invitations
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
Thanks for your input Eren, it certainly seems that it’s more against popups than those for them
Karen´s recent blog post ..Movies I’m Looking Forward To in 2011
Twitter: TishaBerg
says:
Hi Karen!
Nice post. I have always generally been annoyed by pop-ups (and automatic music – UGGGGH, NO excuse!!).
I finally got swayed by the hype and installed a pop-up on one of my blogs and I have to say that I was impressed with the increase in subscribers. I’ve compromised a bit by delaying the thing from coming on until the reader has been on my blog for at least 2 minutes and it ONLY appears on the first time they visit.
But I decided not to use the pop-up at all on my other blog because I agree with the consensus that it’s much more annoying than not.
Tisha´s recent blog post ..Can You Really Think Too Much Why Yes…Yes You Can
I totally agree. Nothing is more bothersome to me than a bunch of Popups. I also do not like it when you cannot leave the site without getting nailed again.
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
Oh yeah, those “popunders” are also a complete pain in the… you know where
Karen´s recent blog post ..Movies I’m Looking Forward To in 2011
I admit I’m torn on this. I don’t like them particularly, but everyone says they increase both opt-in rates and sales: both good things!
One more thing to consider. With Google’s new instant preview (the magnifying glasses next to the search results), if you have a pop-up with a short delay, your site will show up as a big, black box!
Jodi Kaplan´s recent blog post ..Is This Worth the Money
Twitter: BlazingMinds
says:
I never thought of how a site would look with the new Google preview, maybe that’s another consideration or those annoying us with them
Karen´s recent blog post ..How To Select All Your Facebook Friends in one go