Mark your calendars mobile marketers, January 10th, 2017 is set to be another major deadline after Google’s most recent announcement regarding pesky pop-up ads and interstitials (elements that interfere with a site’s content) on mobile search results. You know what I’m talking about, those annoying pop-ups that make it nearly impossible to successfully find out just how many famous people were actually in the Harry Potter movies without wanting to throw you phone against a wall. These pop-up ads make us want to laugh, cry, groan, and worst of all, click away from a website.
Why is Google Making These Changes?
This latest round of changes is prompted by Google’s desire to make the mobile search experience a better one for its users—i.e. one that doesn’t annoy them or require them to visit multiple sites in order to get the content that they want. This is evident in past changes which were aimed at encouraging mobile-friendly websites and sites with encryption, and discouraging app download pop-ups.
What Changes is Google Making?
On January 10th of next year, Google will start penalizing mobile websites that abuse pop-up ads by negatively impacting their quality score and showing them below compliant mobile websites on search engine results pages (SERPs). This will directly impact mobile site’s impressions, CTRs, and cost per click.
What Types of Pop-Ups is Google Targeting?
As most marketers know, there is a difference between legitimate pop-ups and those that are just down-right annoying (usually paid). Google sees this division as well, and has specified which pop-ups and overlays are acceptable, and which negatively impact the viewer’s experience and thereby a site’s rankings—among other things.
Google will allow the following to appear on mobile search engine results without being penalized as long as they are used responsibly:
- Those pop-ups or interstitials that are prompted due to a legal requirement (age verification, cookie usage, etc.)
- Login dialogs prompted for content that is not publicly indexable (email, etc.)
- Banners utilizing a reasonable (small) amount of screen space and that are easily dismissible
Google will penalize mobile sites with less accessible content, including:
- Those sites with popups that cover the primary content on a page, either right away or after a reader has scrolled down the page a certain distance
- Those sites with intrusive standalone interstitials or overlays that the user has to exit out of before accessing the content
- Those sites with a layout where the top portion of the page appears like a standalone interstitial or overlay, causing the main content to be positioned underneath the fold
While Google has definitely led mobile advertisers on a rollercoaster ride throughout the years with their many search algorithm changes, it’s safe to say that these changes have improved the experience of users across all device types. Providing customer-facing content that gives search users what they want, how they want it, and when they want it (NOW!) is a theme that has consistently launched mobile marketers to the top of SERPs. To learn more about Google’s latest announcement, or to improve your own mobile site, call Green Group Studio today and ask to speak with one of our SEO professionals!
(Images courtesy of Google)
