One of the major issues that bloggers or website owners face is retaining visitors. There are a host of plugins to do so, but somewhere down the line, I was not satisfied. Since I work mostly on WordPress, I tried SumoMe sometime back. It helps in converting visitors to subscribers, but I found it costly.
After searching and testing few other plugins, like OptinMonster, Thrive Leads and Bloom, I finally bumped into GetSiteControl. After using GetSiteControl, I was convinced my time in searching for plugins did not go in vain. It was worth it!
GetSiteControl is a web-based tool that increases your website engagement manifold times. The free plan has almost all the essential features. The best part is, this tool can be used with content publishing / e-commerce platforms like, WordPress, Joomla, Tumblr, Shopify, and all other blogging platforms that have the option to add custom codes. Or, you can also add a simple javascript from GetSiteControl to any website at the footer.
Before getting into the details of the tool, let me help you with the most fundamental question:
Why Website Conversion Optimization is needed?
Website conversion remains the most effective marketing strategy in the ever-changing digital landscape. There are many benefits to a well-laid strategy when it comes to marketing:
So we now know why website owners and bloggers are investing so much time in optimization. Thus, time to check out the features that has made GetSiteControl one of the most sought after tool.
GetSiteControl: The Smart Widgets
GetSiteControl allows you to edit, add and access all the widgets from a single control panel. Although it has a freemium model, almost all the essential features are included in the Free Plan. GetSiteControl's highlights are its widgets. Here is the list of widgets that will take your website engagement to an elevated stature.
1. Subscribe Widget
Unlike other opt-in forms of WordPress, the Subscribe widget can be easily customized. It has an impressive interface and is the best facet of GetSiteControl. The Subscribe widget stores the list of subscribers on its server which you can download anytime. You can download in the Excel format while you are in a free plan. You can integrate this widget with tools like MailChimp, Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor, Mad Mimi, AWeber and Active Campaign.
2. Promo Widget
True to its name, the Promo Widget comes handy when you need a Call-to-action pop-up that will take your customers to your respective sales page. Like the subscribe widget, this one is also very easy to customize. You can have control over everything- starting with the text in the pop-up to the button texts, the colors, and concepts. Within a minute, or maybe less than that, you can create a promotional pop-up.
3. Follow Widget
Who doesn't want to have genuine people following them on social networking platforms? The Follow Widget makes it easy for your customers to get to your social media pages directly and start following your website or blog or your personal social media pages. You can have links to Facebook, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Google+, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
4. Share Widget
Another important widget I must say. The internet business is striving on social sharing. So a widget that makes it easy for your customers to find you on their favorite social networking platforms is a must have! The Share widget also gives your customers to follow you via email. Now that's what I call one step up. The major networking platforms include Whatsapp, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
5. Contact Widget
Make it easy for your customers to reach out to you with the Contact widget. You can easily add a contact form anywhere on your website. The widget has all the necessary options that you might need, like radio buttons, drop-down lists, and checkboxes.
6. Chat Widget
You can seamlessly integrate chat feature within your blog with the Chat widget. This will pave the way for real-time and direct interaction with your visitors.
7. Survey Tool Widget
The free version of GetSiteControl lets you create a simple linear survey with the Survey Tool Widget. If you are on a paid plan, you can do more with this widget, like logical surveys with branching. You can quickly create surveys for your readers.
You can also create an exit survey widget. It will help you understand why your visitors are leaving.
GetSiteControl Features Highlight
These were the smart widgets that set this tool apart. Apart from the widgets, GetSiteControl has few other striking features that make this tool worth a try.
Exit popupsAs a site owner you don't want people to open your site and just leave without viewing what you have got to offer. Sometimes people exit by accidentally clicking on the exit button. However, worry not. You can reduce the number of bounce rates by asking your customers if they want to leave your website. This can be done by using a customized popup message that appears the moment a visitor clicks on the exit button. If the customers are sure they want to leave, they can choose to do so. If not, they can continue with their viewing uninterrupted.
TargetingYou can set your widgets as per your audience segmentation. Not all widgets are tailored to suit every purpose. Targeting your audience by setting certain demographics and using widgets to lure them into signing up or subscribing or sharing is possible with GetSiteControl.
CustomizationThe last thing you want is have widgets that make your website look awkward. Neither would you want to go through the trouble of changing the design and color scheme of your website to suit the widgets that you wish to use. Thus, Getsitecontrol gives you the power to customize your widgets according to your website needs. You can also control whether they appear as bars, pop-ups, panels or buttons on your site.
Custom imagesYou can make your site more user-friendly by adding your personalized images. You can upload your images or use those that are in the extensive image library that comes with the widgets. You can make them have the feel of your brand. They will, therefore, blend with your website and make it seem like a part of the website's programming. Isn't that cool?!
Auto-responderYou don't need to sit and worry about how much time it will take you to send out those emails and newsletters to your subscribers. The widgets will save you time. You can get your content sent to the list of people you want to, automatically. This takes away a lot of stress and allows you to concentrate on the activities that are more productive.
Real-time statisticsYou want to know which of your pages have more visitors, and which didn't fare as per your expectations. Now that's normal and essential. You also want this entire statistic to be real time so that the changes you make have the requisite impact on your user tractions. Each widget provides you with statistics in easy to read graphs, click maps, and downloadable reports. This helps in taking further actions real-time.
Mobile responsive widgetsAll your widgets are mobile responsive. Having said that, you can now be stress-free. After all, almost half the internet users have already made a drastic shift to mobile devices. Thus, doing anything that does not sync with the present trends is no less than inviting a massacre. The designs and user experience remains unaffected, irrespective of the device your customers are using.
Other features:
- GetSiteControl is compatible with any blogging platform that lets you add custom codes.
- You can add all the widgets in any of the nine different locations on your website.
- Customizable texts, fonts, colors, images and buttons of all the widgets.
- Widget color synchronizes with the theme color automatically.
- Data integration into major email managers forms the Subscribe and contact widgets.
- Autoresponder feature and double opt-in for the Subscribe Widget.
- Thank You message for all visitors or directly divert to a thank you page.
- Direct downloading of subscribers from the dashboard.
- A/B testing of widgets to understand what works best.
- Integration of Google Analytics. This shows data as events.
Widget Customization and Installation
GetSiteControl is a web-based tool. To customize a widget or set it up, all you need to do is sign up or sign in to GetSiteControl. The next step is to choose the widget you need to set up or edit.
GetSiteControl dashboard lets you create various instances of the same widget for A/B testing. However, you can use this feature only if you are a paid user.
The customization is very similar for all the widgets. Hence, if you know how to customize any one of the widgets, you are good to go with all the others. I will show you with screenshots how to customize the Promo Widget only.
The steps are as follows: Appearance, Content, Behaviour, and Targeting. If you are creating a Subscribe widget or a Contact Widget, you will get another option to customize: Integration.
Appearance: You can choose to display your widget in any of the nine locations. For instance, below I want my widget at the right corner of my site. Here, you can pick any color for your text, the widget, the button and button text. The fonts can be edited.
Usually, GetSiteControl widgets will take your blog color by default. You can change it as per your needs.
Content: This section lets you edit the content. You can put an attractive text and a call-to-action text. If you are creating a subscribe and contact widget, you will need to enter separate fields like name, email address, etc (as per your requirements). For Promo widget, it's hassle free.
Behaviour: This section determines how your widget will appear, and when. You can either have your widget displayed as soon as the visitor starts viewing your website or time it after few seconds, or may be when your visitor has scrolled down for a certain time. You can also create an exit pop-up here.
You can also decide how many times you want this widget to show up. In case of promotional widgets, showing it more than once helps.
Targeting: You have all the liberty to select the pages or categories where you want your widget to display. If you are a paid user of GetSiteControl, you have the extra liberty to show or hide the widget from users that match certain criteria.
Last is Integration. This option comes into account only when you are creating a contact or subscribe widget. The lists are automatically pulled in email service providers to continue with email campaigns. If you are a paid user, you can enable autoresponder feature. GetSiteControl provides integrations with
- MailChimp
- EasySendy Pro
- AWeber
- Constant Contact
- Mad Mimi
- Active Campaigns
- Campaign Monitor, and many more.
To create a Subscribe or Contact Widget, you will first need to connect any of these integrations. So make sure it is done before you start creating the widget.
GetSiteControl Installation
It is very easy to install GetSiteControl. If you are a WordPress user, then you will need to download the GetSiteControl plugin and install it. No settings are required.
You can easily copy and paste the HTML code that GetSiteControl provides your site to make it work.
GetSiteControl Pricing
There are three plans to choose from: Free, Pro, and Premium.
Mostly the free version has all the needed features. However, if you upgrade your plan you can get access to important features like A/B testing, more control on your widgets, etc.
If you go for an annual billing cycle, you can expect a cool discount of 20 percent. The monthly plan starts at $90/month and goes up to $190/month.
I think the only reason one would need to shift to the Premium plan is 'Remove Branding' feature. Otherwise, most people like me are happy with the Pro plan!
GetSiteControl has its own share of Cons too!
If you have more than one website, GetSiteControl may get costly. There is no special discount for users who have more than one website. That's a little unfair.
GetSiteControl is a feature-rich tool.
All-in-all, this tool has all the features that can help you increase your traffic quickly. Since most of its features are free, I'd say this is the best tool to try. Also, now you can add animated GIFs to your widgets too! So, looking to increase website engagement? Try GetSiteControl NOW.
