Get More Traffic With Browser Push Notifications [LNIM179]

Looking for a new traffic channel that most of your competitors are ignoring? Browser push notifications let you send clickable alerts directly to your visitors' browsers, bringing them back to your site whenever you publish new content. In this episode, Mark shares his experience implementing push notifications and gives you practical tips for making them work.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• What browser push notifications are and how they drive repeat traffic
• Why Mark decided to try push notifications despite personally disliking them
• Five best practices for push notification campaigns that do not annoy your audience
• How to use push notifications to promote new podcast episodes and content

Episode Summary

Mark admits upfront that he personally tends to decline push notification prompts because he does not like interruptions. But he decided to test them on latenightim.com anyway, and the results surprised him. A significant number of visitors are opting in to receive notifications.

The concept is straightforward. When someone visits your site, they see a prompt asking if they want to receive notifications. If they accept, you can send them messages that pop up directly in their browser. When they click the notification, it takes them straight to whatever page you specify, such as a new blog post or podcast episode.

Mark finds this especially valuable for reaching people who listen to the podcast regularly but are not subscribed through a podcasting app. Push notifications give these listeners a direct alert when a new episode is available.

Implementation is straightforward. There are WordPress plugins and third-party services that handle the technical setup. The harder part is doing it well. Mark offers five best practices:

1. Test everything. Do not assume you know what your audience will do. Run experiments with different messages, timing, and offers to find what works.

2. Write compelling copy. Keep notifications short and to the point. Your purpose is to get a click, which means you need to communicate value clearly and quickly. Scarcity and urgency work well here.

3. Be mindful of time zones. Schedule notifications so they arrive at appropriate times for your audience. Nobody wants a browser notification at 3 AM.

4. Control your frequency. Sending too many notifications will cause subscribers to opt out. Find the right balance between staying top of mind and being annoying.

5. Segment your audience. Only send notifications that are relevant to specific groups. Not every notification needs to go to every subscriber.

Key Takeaways

• Browser push notifications provide a direct traffic channel that bypasses social media algorithms
• Many visitors will opt in to notifications even if you think they would not
• Push notifications are especially useful for alerting non-podcast-app listeners to new episodes
• Short, value-focused copy with clear calls to action drives the best click-through rates
• Timing, frequency, and segmentation are critical for preventing subscriber opt-outs
• Always test your assumptions about what works rather than guessing

What's Changed Since This Episode

Mark recorded this episode in August 2019, and browser push notifications have evolved significantly. Browser vendors have tightened notification permissions. Chrome, Firefox, and Safari have all made it harder for sites to prompt users for notification permission, requiring user-initiated interaction before showing the permission dialog in many cases. This means you need to use a two-step opt-in process where you first ask the user if they want notifications via a custom prompt, then trigger the browser's native permission dialog.

Apple added web push notification support to Safari on iOS in 2023, which was a major milestone. Previously, push notifications only worked on desktop browsers and Android. This expansion means push notifications can now reach a much larger audience including iPhone and iPad users.

The push notification service landscape has consolidated. Subscribers.com, which Mark mentions in the episode, has been joined by services like OneSignal, PushEngage, and Webpushr as popular options for WordPress users. Most offer free tiers that are sufficient for smaller sites.

Competition for attention has intensified. Users receive notifications from many more sources than they did in 2019, which means the quality of your notification content and the relevance of your timing matter more than ever. Segmentation and personalization are no longer nice-to-haves but essential for maintaining subscriber engagement.

Resources Mentioned

• Subscribers.com — push notification service
• Apple Podcasts — subscribe to LNIM
• Spotify — subscribe to LNIM
• LNIM Podcast

Related Episodes

If you found this episode helpful, you might also enjoy:

• LNIM180 — Get More Email Subscribers With Exit Intent Popups
• LNIM181 — Email Deliverability: How To Protect Your List
• LNIM178 — Google Search Traffic Trends And Tips

Listen and Subscribe

Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/. Have a question for Mark? Call the digital recorder at 214-444-8655 or drop a comment below.