Popups and popunders are small windows generated by a website when it is opened or closed. Popups “pop up” on top of the website you are visiting. Popunders are less intrusive than popups as they open behind the website you’re visiting.

One of the words to describe this marketing channel is probably “annoying” but another accurate description is “effective”. You may be annoyed to see them, but the fact is that they are very effective in getting an advertiser’s message across to users.

Pop ups/unders are a great way to get some additional revenue out of your website(s) but at the same time you have to be careful not to overload the user with ads. According to research, pop up/under ads generate 1.5 to 2 times as much money compared with standard banners.

Here are some tips to manage your pop up/under ads:

1. Frequency capping: never use more than one pop up/under per page of your website, and limit the appearance of the same ad to once a day. Each user should maximum see two different pop up/under ads per day while browsing your site.

2. Monitor impact on site performance: Watch the impact pop-ups have on your site’s performance especially the amount of weekly visitors, bounce rate and average amount of time spend on your site before vs. after running pops.

3. Analyze impact on your other ads: analyze the eCPM you are making with all your other ads before vs. after running pop up/under ads. The ultimate goal is to increase your total revenues, not to have cannabilization amongst your ads.

4. Use cookies: pop campaigns work great with big brand names as the conversion can happen on the cookie. Make sure with your advertiser 1) that they allow pop up/under traffic and 2) that you have a minimum cookie duration of 30 days but preferably even longer.

5. Balance: Find a good equilibrium between maximizing your revenues and the user’s experience. This is up to the website owner to decide.