In August 2016, Google announced its plans to start devaluing web pages in mobile search that use intrusive interstitials, effective January 10, 2017. Moving forward, Google advises that interstitials on mobile pages should occupy only a "reasonable" amount of screen space.
Example of Intrusive Interstitials
Google considers interstitials intrusive if they significantly cover the content users are trying to access.
Preparing for the Update
Google provided ample time for site owners to prepare for this update. If you haven’t yet made any changes, here’s expert advice to ensure your web pages aren’t penalized.
How to Avoid Google’s Mobile Interstitials Penalty
Advice from Google:
"To improve the mobile search experience, after January 10, 2017, pages where content is not easily accessible to a user on the transition from the mobile search results may not rank as highly."
Takeaway: Ensure that the content on your indexed mobile search pages is readily accessible when users click through from Google.
Be Honest With Yourself: Do Your Pop-Ups Serve a Purpose?
Ben Silverman from Brafton Marketing:
"The easiest way to avoid the mobile interstitial and pop-up penalty is to think like Google, whose main objective is to make the internet more accessible, browsable, intuitive and honest, especially for mobile browsers. This means there are some exceptions to Google’s pop-up policy: If yours serves a real, honest purpose, chances are you’ll be okay."
Takeaway: Pop-ups needed for legal compliance, like age verification, or small banners that don’t impede the main content, are acceptable.
Hiding Content With Ads is Now Against Google Guidelines
The Verge:
"For the most part, Google is targeting overlays that gray out the content beneath them to prevent you from reading a website, either for a few seconds or until you find and very carefully tap a little X to dismiss them."
Takeaway: Ads that hide the main content are no longer acceptable. Content should be accessible without barriers at all times.
Ad Publishers Need to Adapt and Look Into New Strategies
Marcus Andrews from HubSpot:
"…if they haven’t done so already, marketers solve for mobile SEO first. The pain that comes with changing a revenue model is inevitable, but shorter-term – and businesses that rely on advertiser dollars, should figure out ways to make money that don’t totally disrupt the mobile user experience."
Takeaway: Although removing revenue-generating interstitials might be tough initially, failing to adapt could result in losing organic search traffic. Explore non-intrusive revenue models.
Develop a Content Marketing Strategy for Generating Revenue
Sitepoint:
"The consistent creation and distribution of relevant content attracts users without beating them with a hard-sell stick. Use content—including blog posts, round-ups, guides, videos, infographics, and more—to educate audiences and guide them through the buying process."
Takeaway: Develop a content marketing strategy to engage users and promote products and services rather than relying on intrusive ads.
Mobile-Friendly Label is Being Removed for All Sites, But Being Mobile-Friendly Still Matters
Syed Balkhi from OptinMonster:
"The first part of the announcement that a lot of journalists skipped over is that the ‘mobile-friendly’ label that Google is currently displaying in search results will be removed for everyone on January 10, 2017… Since over 85% of all pages in mobile search results now meet the criteria, they will be removing the label for everyone."
Takeaway: While the "mobile-friendly" label is being removed, maintaining a mobile-friendly website is still crucial.
Intrusive Interstitials Not Allowed on Mobile, But Desktop is Still OK
Icegram:
"Use display targeting rules in your popup/interstitial program, and show them only on desktop/larger screens. Don’t use popups and interstitials on mobile. Instead, use smaller messages like banners, inlines, or slide-ins."
Takeaway: Restrict intrusive pop-ups to desktop-only pages. Use less obtrusive message formats on mobile.
Check Your WordPress Plugins
Sarah Gooding from WP Tavern:
"WordPress users who use plugins to display pop-up messages, whether it’s for coupons, membership offers, promotions, or another form of advertising, will want to carefully review Google’s size guidelines or consider a different approach for reaching visitors."
Takeaway: Review your WordPress plugin settings to ensure interstitial sizes are compliant with Google’s guidelines. They should be small and non-intrusive.
Interstitials Triggered by Exit Intent Are Still Allowed
Google’s John Mueller:
"At the moment those wouldn’t count. What we’re looking for is really interstitials that show up on the interaction between the search click and going through the page and seeing the content. So that’s kind of the place we’re looking for those interstitials. What you do afterwards, like if someone clicks on stuff within your website or closes the tab or something like that then that’s kind of between you and the user."
Takeaway: Interstitials triggered by exit intent are permissible. Google targets those that appear when a user lands on the page.
Page-to-Page Interstitials Will Not Be Penalized
Google’s John Mueller:
"Yes."
Takeaway: Google won’t penalize interstitials between internal pages, only those encountered from search results.
Conclusion
Google’s aim with this update is to enhance the user experience by making content more accessible and reducing interruptions from pop-ups. Though the update may require adjustments from site owners, it has the potential to improve user engagement metrics such as time on site, pageviews per visit, and bounce rates. Adapting to these changes is essential for maintaining or improving search rankings and user satisfaction.
