Google’s John Mueller answers the question of whether rankings can be affected by banner popups in a Google SEO Office Hours video. John answers this question, then shares technical background on why banners can be negatively impacted and other issues related to Core Web Vitals.
The answer to the question doesn’t just involve banners. The answer is more technical, as ranking factors related to Core Web Vitals are also affected by things like pop-up banners, which in turn have an impact on rankings.
core network vitality
In his answer, John Mueller mentioned two factors related to the Core Web Vitals metric.
Therefore, it is important to define these factors quickly so that his answer makes sense.
- Cumulative Layout Offset
- largest content paint
Cumulative Layout Offset (CLS)
Cumulative Layout Shift is a core Web Vitals metric that measures how much a web page moves while it loads. Factors that can affect this metric are images and fonts. Images that take a long time to load make the text on the page move around.
Fonts that take a long time to load can also cause page content to change as the font style is rendered.
largest content paint
Maximum Content Draw (also known as LCP) is a measure of how long it takes for a website to load the largest chunk of content (image or text content) from the moment the website starts to lead.
page layout algorithm
Finally, in 2012 Google introduced an algorithm called page layout algorithmalso known as Top heavy algorithm.
The purpose of this UX ranking correlator is to lower the ranking of pages with obtrusive pop-ups.
Does Popup Banner affect ranking?
The person asking this question wants to know if popups can still have an impact on rankings a decade after the introduction of page layout algorithms.
Question asked:
“Will my rankings be affected by the banner popping up on my page?”
John Mueller replied:
“Yes, they could be too.
There are a lot of things that come into play when it comes to banners.
On the one hand, we have this aspect of intrusive interstitials in the Page Experience report.
If this banner appeared as an intrusive interstitial, it could negatively impact the website there.
Another thing is that with banners in general, you have side effects of accumulated layout changes, such as how the page is rendered on load.
Or about…I forget what the metrics are when we show the page…I think the LCP also comes from the Core Web Vitals aspect of the about page.
So these are the different elements that can come into play here.
That doesn’t mean it has to be that way.
But depending on the type of banner you pop up, it can happen. “
Multiple ranking factors affected by pop-up banners
The situation today is much more complicated than intrusive interstitials with negative ranking effects.
Since these banners can have an impact on CLS and LCP (Core Web Vitals ranking factors), less intrusive pop-up banners can still have a negative ranking impact.
Citation
Are rankings affected by pop-up banners?
Watch the 39:31 minute mark
