If something is too good to be true, it probably is. You might have heard this phrase growing up a lot and it may have influenced the occasional decision. But, is it right? Not when it comes to push notifications.
There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding push notifications, which range from a negative SEO impact to a bad user experience (UX) and user interface (UI). Now, it’s time to debunk these misconstructions and shine a light on the truth about this dynamic communication channel with the help of Notix.
Are you under the impression that push notifications affect your web performance negatively? If so, this article is for you. Let’s debunk the biggest push notification myths and paint an accurate picture of the impact that this type of alerts can have on your site.
Myth #1: Push Notifications Destroy Your SEO
The first and biggest misconception about push notifications is that they somehow damage your search engine optimization or SEO efforts.
Not only are they not bad for SEO, but push notifications can boost this area of your marketing.
There are many on-page factors that affect SEO. As we discovered here at Notix, push notifications actually influence some of these positively and help you get a better ranking on search engine results pages or SERPs.
Here are two distinct examples of how push notifications improve SEO.
Changes in Website Analytics
Your website analytics give you a better idea of how your target audience perceives your website. While push notifications don’t impact superficial metrics, they do have an effect on deep factors that Google heavily takes into consideration in its algorithm. These include:
- Repeat visit rate
- Average session duration
- Page views
- Increased dwell time
- Bounce rate
Also read : How to Measure The Value of Content On Your Website With Google Analytics
When a site has a high repeat visit rate, average session duration, number of page views, and dwell time, it performs better on Google. The same thing can be said for lower bounce rates.
Relevant push notifications can help engage users and bring them back through tailored notifications, regardless of what site they are on. This type of messages can also extend the average session duration, boost the number of pages viewed, and increase dwell time while reducing bounce rate.
Boost in Web Traffic and Metrics
Push notifications bring users back to your site, increasing the total number of sessions on your site. The result: more returning users.
Authoritative websites usually produce such good content that it keeps users coming back for more. Therefore, Google gives priority to websites that have returning users because it’s a sign of great quality. In other words, more returning users = better chances of collecting more subscribers.
Additionally, push notifications allow for audience segmentation during the subscription process. This allows you to provide tailored information based on each segment’s demographic data. And, better user segmentation leads to better targeting.
While all the above lead to elevated engagement levels because the different audiences are more likely to interact with content tailored to their distinct preferences.
Myth #2: Push Notifications Disrupt the User Experience
Push notifications appear on top of the page content. But the small window located in one of the corners doesn’t cause a distraction or otherwise disrupt the user experience.
Here are a few reasons why the Notix push notifications don’t affect the UX negatively.
Also read: Major Ranking Signals Fading Away – Future of SEO Lies in Improving User Experience
Minimalist Opt-In Prompts and Notifications
Both the Notix opt-in prompts and notifications themselves have a minimalist design. They look like a natural part of the content and don’t take up any space on the website. Which leaves you with plenty of website space to use otherwise.
Frequencies Adjusted to Each Audience
Push notifications can become a nuance if they are sent too often. The good news is that you can adjust the ad frequency of these on your page based on your distinct audiences.
Also, with Notix you can also identify the best time to send your push notifications.
Light Feature That Doesn’t Impact Page Speed
In addition to having an easy installation process, push notifications constitute a light feature that doesn’t compromise page speed.
Combination of Push Notifications and Other Formats
Repetitive messages in the same format can hinder the UX. Fortunately, push notifications are compatible with all other types of formats. So, you can vary your content delivery and monetization systems to keep things fresh.
And, since push don’t take up any space on the website, they won’t make your site slower or affect how you use other formats on it. These alerts only appear in the notification center of the device, once the user subscribes to them. While the subscription simply enables the browser to send these short messages.
Great tool to Reduce Customer Churn
Not only do Push Notifications impact users in a negative way, but they also help to keep them on the site longer. But also to keep them engaged. And with Notix you can choose from many strategies to reduce your churn rate with push notifications.
Myth #3: Push Notifications Ruin Your User Interface
Your website’s UI is composed of a wide range of elements and many believe that adding push notifications can wreak havoc in this area. But, push notifications are totally customizable, so they can blend seamlessly with your design and, if anything, coexist with your UI perfectly.
Let’s take a look at how push notifications can actually improve your UI.
Deliver Useful Information
Push notifications can be used to deliver tailored content at key moments. When this is achieved successfully, users tend to be delighted with the timely delivery of useful information.
Google’s Best Practices for Push Notifications
Chrome was the first browser to leverage push notifications to this extent, so Google has unique insights in terms of this ad type and website performance. Because of this, the tech giant wants to create an ecosystem that is safe and efficient for all stakeholders.
Google has provided a set of tips to help you implement push notifications successfully along with innovative services like Notix. Here are a few of the key guidelines the tech company highlights:
- Boost value proposition by requesting opt-ins after an important step, like a purchase
- Create notification prompts with a semi-transparent background to be more user-friendly
- Reduce opt-in prompt to one or two maximum per session
- Invest in a double-permission system that verifies the first opt-in
- Put a “push notification” toggle option in the website settings panel
- Place an on-page button that allows users to opt-in at any time
To Sum It Up…
While Google has remained silent on the impact of push notifications, it makes sense that these alerts don’t have a negative effect. After all, push notifications are possible, at least in part, because of Google’s Chrome browser. So, the tech giant wouldn’t add a feature that hurts SEO.
Like any bad marketing practice, spamming users with push notifications will lead to high unsubscription rates and little to no results. But, if you take the time to tailor your strategy to your audience and site goals, you’ll be able to delight your visitors through push notifications.
This can bring a wide range of benefits including better SEO performance, more traffic, and a higher number of conversions.
