Should I Use a Squeeze Page on My Website?

I commented recently on two separate blog posts which touched on a common theme: "Should I use a squeeze form/popup on my website?" (Using the squeeze form before any additional information is shown.)

This question gets asked for two reasons, generally. One, the site owner/designer is concerned that their visitors will be put off by the form/popup and will leave the site. This is certainly a concern, as I know many people who will do just that. And the proliferation of pop-up/ad/image blocker plug-ins for web browsers shows that this is not an isolated sentiment.

The second reason is that the site owner himself dislikes forms or popups. This, of course, often translates into "since I hate those, most other people do, too." However, that is not necessarily the case, nor is it true that even those who are against such devices will be against them if used properly and responsibly.

As I noted on Doug Hudiburg's repost of a Warrior Forum post on the use of squeeze pages, it's necessary to test and track the use of any marketing device to determine how well it works, comparing it to the same offer wihout the device. In his example, the use of a squeeze page before showing a sales page resulted in similar initial sales figures, but the squeeze page allowed additional sales that would not have been possible otherwise.

Marlon Sanders asked about using pop-ups on his product pages and whether or not he should provide affiliate links that would eliminate the pop-ups. There were a lot of comments against pop-ups, most of which I saw as falling in line with the reasons I listed above. While I think it would be wise for Marlon to provide both types of affiliate links, when looking at this issue on your own site the question should be "Will using a squeeze form or pop-up on my site increase my sales, my opt-ins, or (fill in your most desired action here)?"

Then, of course, the only way to answer the question is to test the device yourself. Google Analytics, VisiOlo, and other solutions allow you to track clicks, actions and goals. My favorite is VisiOlo, first because of its ease of use and second because it's more suited for information marketers. (Right now there's special pricing in effect.) No matter which you choose, choose something! You must test, otherwise you're wasting your marketing efforts.