{"id":112543,"date":"2017-09-14T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/?p=110880"},"modified":"2019-09-12T12:36:46","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T16:36:46","slug":"how-salt-strong-avoids-the-mobile-penalty-by-using-optinmonster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/how-salt-strong-avoids-the-mobile-penalty-by-using-optinmonster\/","title":{"rendered":"How Salt Strong Increased Conversions 185% While Avoiding Google’s Mobile Penalty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you worried that Google\u2019s new mobile penalty will cause your site to lose rank if you use popups? If Google penalizes your site because your optins keep users from navigating your site, that means lost sales for you. We\u2019re not worried here at OptinMonster, though. Our optins designed for mobile devices meet Google\u2019s requirements.<\/p>\n

In this case study, we\u2019ll show you how Salt Strong is gaining in search engine rankings even while increasing conversions 185% using OptinMonster.<\/p>\n

Meet Salt Strong<\/h3>\n

Salt Strong<\/a> exists to help saltwater anglers catch more fish and create memories that matter through fishing. They do this through online fishing courses, tutorials, and America’s most helpful and largest online saltwater fishing community.<\/p>\n

\"SaltStrong<\/p>\n

With over 100,000+ clicks per month from Google organic traffic alone, Salt Strong didn\u2019t have a traffic problem. Rather, they had a lead conversion problem. They needed to better capitalize on this huge amount of traffic to capture more leads so they could make more sales.<\/p>\n

Joe Simonds, co-founder of Salt Strong, was already using popups to collect leads on his site, gaining about 400-500 leads per week. He suspected he could improve conversions by improving those popups.<\/p>\n

But when Joe heard about Google\u2019s mobile interstitial penalty<\/a>, which penalizes sites with popups that keep a reader from easily browsing the site, he was worried.<\/p>\n

Their old popups covered the entire site when viewed on a phone. When a popup covers the entire page on a mobile device, the reader can\u2019t continue to scroll the site. They have to first dismiss the optin. That is exactly the sort of behavior Google is trying to avoid.<\/p>\n

To avoid losing their monthly traffic from Google search, they make the hard decision to turn off the popups completely and search for a more compliant solution.<\/p>\n

How Salt Strong Uses OptinMonster<\/h3>\n

After reading that OptinMonster optins pass Google\u2019s mobile penalty test<\/a>, Joe decided to give us a try.<\/p>\n

He started by adding smaller, slide-in popups on desktop devices on every page of the site.<\/p>\n

\"Salt<\/p>\n

Within the first 30 days, leads doubled. More importantly, organic views on the site continued to climb<\/strong> even with the OptinMonster popups active.<\/p>\n

Salt Strong continues to improve these rates by creating new split tests each week.<\/p>\n

Along the way, they discovered using OptinMonster\u2019s Yes\/No feature can dramatically boost conversions. A two step optin<\/a> displays a Yes, and a No button. Clicking on the Yes button can cause your optin form to appear or direct to another URL. The No button can be used to close the optin, or redirect to another URL.<\/p>\n

The Yes\/No feature converts well<\/a> because it gives control back to the reader. They get to choose whether they want the optin or not. Once they\u2019ve clicked Yes, they\u2019ve already committed themselves mentally to that decision and are more likely to follow through by completing the optin.<\/p>\n

Salt Strong does a particularly great job with the copy in their Yes\/No buttons by injecting some fun.<\/p>\n

They even hear from fishermen who say, \u201cI just couldn’t bring myself to click \u201cNo, I hate fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seems to be working. This optin converts almost 10%<\/strong> of readers.<\/p>\n

Creative copywriting like this can serve as a huge boost to your conversions. By clearly reinforcing the goals of their ideal customer, Salt Strong encourages readers to click YES, I love Fishing.<\/p>\n

Another reason this optin converts well is because it offers social proof. If 100,000 other fisherman have subscribed, then it\u2019s probably something worth subscribing to. Even if your numbers are much smaller, mentioning them in your optin can help convince a skeptical reader to subscribe.<\/p>\n

Avoiding Google\u2019s Mobile Penalty With OptinMonster<\/h3>\n

There are several ways to avoid Google\u2019s mobile penalty. Salt Strong chooses to use a floating bar popup that appears at the top of the site. The optin is not intrusive and allows the reader to continue navigating the site easily.<\/p>\n

Remember, Google\u2019s goal is to make sure the visitor sees the content that they were promised in search results right away without scrolling or anything blocking their view. Floating bar optins, as well as our mobile specific optins<\/a> and MonsterLinks<\/a>, do that.<\/p>\n

\"SaltStrong<\/p>\n

This optin converts around 3.8% of mobile readers<\/strong>, while still letting them to browse the site freely.<\/p>\n

Results<\/h3>\n

Salt Strong was able to achieve their goals of increasing leads while maintaining and even growing their organic traffic from mobile devices, all while providing a great user experience.<\/p>\n