You know them, you love them, and yes, you hate them.
pop-up window!They are a content marketer’s best friend with an average conversion rate 11.09%.
But since Google announced they would demean sites with intrusive pop-up ads, using pop-ups is also risky 2018.
Therefore, this article aims to clarify some of the uncertainty surrounding pop-ups and Search Engine Optimization.
Here are seven tips for using popups without hurting your SEO.
1. Know which interstitials don’t work
Google’s mobile interstitial penalty specifically targets Intrusive interstitial ads.
Note that “interstitial” is a broad term that applies broadly to most pop-ups, overlays, and modals, but not all interstitials are considered equally intrusive.
As a general rule of thumb, if your interstitial ads are spammy, difficult to eliminate, or degrade the user experience, your mobile web pages may lose value.
Moreover, because Google’s index is now mobile-firstwhich could hurt your position in the SERPs more than you realize.
Here are all examples of interstitial ads that make your content difficult to access:
- Content that the user is forced to close to continue reading overlays the popup.
- Standalone interstitials must be closed before users can access your content.
- A deceptive page layout that looks like an interstitial ad above the fold.
You should also avoid ads that Google is known to dislike and has penalized in the past, including:
- Classic interstitials and splashes interrupt users before they navigate the page and/or reach your homepage.
- A new window popup that opens as soon as a user clicks on your page.
- Welcome pads, new window pop-ups and other intrusive ads.
- Overlay patterns that are difficult to turn off and/or easy to redirect visitors who accidentally click on them.
- Intrusive lightbox ads and popups.
In addition, Google’s John Mueller confirmed Interstitials triggered by exit intents are still allowed.
However, be careful not to rely too heavily on these. Annoying your visitors is never a good idea.
2. Continue to use non-intrusive interstitials
Google does not penalize non-intrusive interstitial ads.
This includes anything you are legally required to display to limit content or inform your users, such as age-verification interstitials and cookie usage notices.
Other pop-ups that take up a reasonable portion of the screen (15% or less is recommended), such as banners, slideshows, inlines, and tabs, are fine as long as they are easy to close.
If you’re not sure if your interstitials are intrusive, I recommend avoiding fullscreen overlays, welcome mats, and ad modals.
Whenever possible, try to switch to top banners and slide-in boxes that allow users to continue viewing your content without disrupting the user experience too much.
3. Switch to Timed Popup
If you absolutely must keep using popups and overlays, you can try redesigning them to be as non-intrusive as possible.
One of the most important things you can change is the timing of your interstitials.
For example, instead of showing a popup as soon as a user lands on your page, time your popup when the user completes your blog post.
You can also limit how long a popup is displayed—a popup that closes automatically after three seconds of user inactivity is better than one that never closes by itself.
Of course, the challenge with this type of interstitial is that timed popups are only as effective as your content.
If your content isn’t enough to entice users to stay on site, click on your page, and read your content, consider investing in your content marketing before you start advertising.
4. Watch out for ‘grey areas’ interstitials
You might be surprised by some of the interstitial ads that are affected by Google’s Interstitial Ad Penalty.
E.g, Mueller confirmed Language selection popups on international sites may depreciate because “yes, these are popups/interstitials too.”
If you use these or other “grey area” interstitials, such as sticky sidebars, related posts, share buttons, live chat boxes, and coupon popups, carefully monitor your page performance.
While I don’t think these will negatively impact SEO, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
5. Use permissive (but intrusive) pop-ups sparingly
Some ads are definitely intrusive, but not penalized.
These “grey area” popups are allowed, but be aware that Google may crack down on them in the future (they’re definitely going in this direction):
- Page-by-page interstitials: According to Mueller, Google’s Interstitial Penalty only degrades interstitials that pop up when moving from the SERP to a website page, but interstitials between website pages are still okay. However, we know that Google values a good user experience, and page-by-page interstitials are definitely not a good user experience.
- Interstitial ad triggered by exit intent: Mueller also confirmed the pop-up Exit intent triggers without penalty through the new update. Just put a no-index tag in your code to avoid falling on the wrong side of an interstitial penalty.
If you decide to use these interstitials, be aware: Although they are not targeted in the new algorithm update, they may be penalized at some point in the (near) future.
The only three constants in this world are death, taxes, and changes Google makes for a better user experience.
6. You can still use intrusive ads on the desktop
Some sites have found a Band-Aid solution to the interstitial penalty by hiding pop-ups on mobile devices and continuing to use them exclusively for desktop visitors.
Many pop-up plugins include smart targeting options that allow you to show your ads only on certain platforms.
some website platforms like Vickers Also allows you to hide potentially intrusive pop-ups on all mobile devices.
However, once again, popups that are intrusive and impair your user experience may be penalized in future updates.
I suggest you find a more permanent solution than temporarily hiding the mobile popup.
7. Limit pop-ups to sources other than Google organic search
Another “grey area” you can take advantage of is placing popups only in front of visitors who move between site pages or find your site through sources other than Google’s organic search results.
According to Muellerthese will not be affected by the new algorithm update:
“What we’re looking for is a true interstitial that shows up in the interaction between a search click and going through the page and viewing the content. So, that’s where we’re looking for these interstitials.
What you do afterwards, like if someone clicks on something in your site or closes a tab or something like that, then that’s between you and the user. “
Of course, if Organic search brings you a lot of traffic And it’s generating leads, don’t feel too pressured to switch.
please remember, new gap penalty Just one of hundreds of signals, an interstitial or two won’t sink a website full of useful content.
final thoughts
So, here we are, years later, the site is still in use popup on mobile And it ranks well!
Even if this is news to you, you can breathe a sigh of relief – you may not have been deeply affected by this update.
However, if you think Google’s mobile interstitial ad penalties may have affected your site, check out this article How to restore.
More resources:
Featured Image: McClittle Stock/Shutterstock
