Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Do You Like Live Chat Pop-Ups... Please comment!
-
My client sells 4-wheelers, motorcycles, UTV's, Boats, Jet Skis, etc.
They have a live chat box that pops up on average 1.66 times per session and is automatic (does not require the user to click any button)
Based on our analytics I am recommending we disable this feature but I want to hear from other professional data-driven marketers.
I'm just looking for professional opinions on this strategy.
Here are your options:
- Love Live Chat Pop Ups
- Hate Live Chat Pop Ups
- Don't Care/Undecided
- Let the Data Decide
Thank you in advance!
-
In my personal life? Hate Live Chat Pop Ups
If i'm on a site browsing or planning out a purchase, the last thing I need is a chat box to pop up multiple times during my visit trying to get me to convert better or speak with a specialist. If I wanted to speak with Cutomer Service, I will click your wonderful Contact Us button. If I wanted to speak live with a person, you have your phone number right there on the page. If i'm trying to do some pre-purchase research or plan out spending, and you pop up a live chat box every time I come to the site and possibly 2 or 3 times a visit on occasion... I will close that box, get frustrated the next time i pops up, and eventually choose to go back to the site less because its the one with that annoying Chat Pop Up.
Now, I completely understand the business reason behind them and how they can help improve customer relations and increase conversions. I'm all for including them on client sites (where sensible) and ensuring they aren't intrusive. I'm just personally not the customer that will convert off of that. You need to find the right balance. If they come up too often, you'll be pushing people away. But if they come up too infrequently, you may have jut lost a customer who needed a bit of help and a small push to finish converting.
-
I use live chat boxes frequently when I am shopping. They often allow me to get an immediate answer from the company.
I don't like the ones that pop-up in my face. Instead I prefer an obvious link or a logo that I can click to trigger the chat box. When I use the chat box there is a very high probability that I will make a purchase and a much lower probability that I will return the purchased item.
I do not use live chat boxes on my own websites. Why? The same reason we don't have a phone number and our email address is hard to find.... because we are mainly a content shop and almost every question a buyer will have is answered on the website. Instead of a link to a live chat we have links to an extensive content library. The goal is to serve thousands of people per day with the content rather than serving them one-on-one with calls, chats, emails.
Lots of people do not like this business model, but it is a legitimate business model. And, once you have purchased from us you get our phone number email address and we will respond generously to your questions... but those are usually links or guidance to pages on our website that have an article, video or photographs that answer the most common customer questions.
-
I'd recommend hanging on to live chat at least until you're able to run that cross-check. You might find some really good data supporting its effectiveness.
-
We do have the sales data but I have not yet cross referenced the chat lead phone numbers and names vs the sales records. Unfortunately it's a manual process currently but we do have plan to fix that.
-
Yep, I totally get that. The annoyance factor is why I proposed having it only show up based on certain engagement thresholds.
Do you do any data collection on the close rate for people who started a conversation on live chat and then went to purchase?
-
Hi Logan,
Thanks for your response. In this case anyone who chats is essentially a conversion b/c we gain their contact information and our purchase process happens offline in the dealerships.
My hypothesis for the test is that the live chat pop up is actually annoying some users and thus hurting our overall conversion rate which includes other conversion actions that have a higher value to the business such as phone calls and test drives.
Does that make sense?
-
Hi James,
My choice: Love Live Chat Pop Ups
Reason: Compare your conversion rates for users that chat and users that don't. We have one eComm client who saw 3-4 times the conversion rate for users whose session included a live chat vs. those who didn't chat.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing either. You say you're recommending disabling it and that it automatically pops up 1.66 times per session - you can curb that a bit and only show it based on site engagement. For example, you could show it only after a user has been on a product detail page for X amount of seconds. Or after Z amount of products viewed.
-
Hi James,
- Love Live Chat Pop Ups
I'm also using on my eCommerce site and it is very helpful for many users.
Thanks
-
- Love Live Chat Pop Ups
Like it as a consumer with the right timing.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Requiring customer agree to shipping terms at checkout
I work for an ecommerce company that has many of its shipments go by LTL freight. Our customer service team has issues with a few customers per month that aren't equipped to receive freight shipments which leads to returns and other issues. In an effort to better inform our customers, the customer service team is requesting that we add a checkbox to the checkout that requires customers to agree to our shipping and returns policy, including a link to the policy page. I am wondering how concerned people here would be that requiring the customer to check a box agreeing to those terms would lead to more customers abandoning during the checkout process. Or do you think it's not a concern? Thanks for your thoughts.
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Kyle_M0 -
Redirect Management on Headless Wordpress w/ React Front End
Hello everyone, As Headless Wordpress becomes more and more popular, it becomes more complicated to manage and track 301 redirects. I'm reaching out for advice on this. Our main issue right now, is that after migrating from Drupal to a Headless Wordpress/React platform we lost the ability to track, manage, and view traffic analytics for users hitting those redirects. This was something we were able to do in Drupal. Example: If we have a redirect in place we could see how many times in the past x number of days that redirect was hit by users attempting to access the old URL. Unfortunately, Yoast Premium, has been helpful with other SEO needs, but this is one that it is not able to manage. Anyone have any ideas, experience, or thoughts on this issue? Thanks for your time
Conversion Rate Optimization | | culturefoundry1 -
Partial Website Translation - Strategy Debate
Hi We have a travel site with over 3000 pages in English. Of these around 200 relate to products and the rest are content articles, most of which with very low traffic. Certain products and pages appeal directly to users in different languages (around 20-30 out of 200 for each language). We are debating how to go about translating these pages... If we did "oursite.com/es/product", "oursite.com/de/product", etc then users entering the site on these translated pages from Google would be limited to seeing a very cut down site, bearing in mind most speak English and would also be able to interact with our English language content we are probably losing out. Also, if we detected user language on entry, we would show effectively hide most of our product and content from users. Any suggestions or ideas about how to go about this without losing engagement/conversions/creating a mess?
Conversion Rate Optimization | | ben100010 -
Multi Step Form or Standard Form for Data Capture
We are redesigning our web site real estate (www.nyc-officespace-leader.com). A key component of the site is the property search form. Currently visitors completes 5 fields and properties that meet the criteria are displayed to the visitor. I have noticed that my leading competitors (www.42floors.com, www.squarefoot.com) use multi step forms that ask single questions of the visitors. In effect they are reducing complexity by asking a single question per form. However the visitor must complete additional forms. Before results are served, both competing sites require the visitor to release contact info. 42floors has a clever inducement for the visitor to release their info: "Their are 127 listings that haven't been posted yet, but are visible to members." Once the visitor releases info they get to view the listings. While this is somewhat coercive, I suspect it is effective in obtaining customer date. While I understand it may result in some visitors bouncing off the site, the form completions are extremely valuable. Currently we provide listings without requiring registration but obtain very little data about visitors. In New York City, there are so many commercial real estate sites that visitors have a tendency to bounce from one to another without leaving info or calling. Multi step forms would allow me to add questions that are highly pertinent. Like when do they need possession, how long a lease term. By being asked very specific, relevant questions I wonder if that would not in fact increase the likely hood of the visitor to release info Any advice?? I am attaching several of the forms in question. In the event that we proceed with a multi part form, their are certain services like Leadformly that integrate with Wordpress. I see the eliminate the need for a Capcha and have other advantages. Is it beneficial to use such a package? iQUNh 19ugT he23uak
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Kingalan10 -
Will Landing Page Design with Large Areas of White Background Enjoy a Higher Conversion Rate?
My designer has created a landing page with a dark background. Text is white and other colors. Does a dark background impact the conversion rate? Is it better to have a white background? I am concerned that a dark background may distract visitors. The landing page is: http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/MidtownLawOfficeSublet3300SFBelowMarket We plan on using this landing page for LinkedIn advertising. Thanks!!
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Kingalan10 -
Overlay / modal for product pages - bad or good for SEO?
Hi all, I am considering using full overlays/modals for an e-commerce site for all our product pages (category/listing pages will be "normal", the product page will come over the listing page as an overlay/modal when you click on the product). Those “product overlays” will also be accessible directly with own URL (if need to be linked to for ex.). All the literature I find out there treats overlays and modals as “marketing” ones (ads, sign-ups, etc.) and is generally critical to overlays when it comes to SEO, while also saying that an overlay that has to do with good UX should not hurt the SEO of our site. What do you think? Will all product pages as overlays be considered as good UX by the search engines and therefore not be negatively impacted, SEO speaking? Or should we stay clear of overlays and create “normal” product pages? Thanks in advance! Arnaud NB: The reason we want to create those overlays are for design and UX purposes, and try to increase our conversion rate.
Conversion Rate Optimization | | Arnaud_Fo0 -
Use "Brand Name" or things like "Free Shipping" in Ecommerce Product Title Tags?
Given the current industry best practices and changes to Google algorithms, should I be using "Product name...Brand Name" or something like "Product Name...Free Shipping (or similar)" in my ecommerce title tags? Thanks!
Conversion Rate Optimization | | jeffbstratton0 -
Please Settle a Bounce Rate Debate
Here's the Question: If a person clicks a PPC ad and hits the landing page, and the landing page has a form to fill out embedded in it without having to click, does that count as a bounce if the person leaves the page immediately after filling out and submitting the form or does the submission negate the bounce tally? Hope this makes sense and thanks in advance.
Conversion Rate Optimization | | jesse-landry0