Google will soon start punishing mobile sites that show hard-to-dismiss popups

30 replies
Was just reading this article at TechCrunch about a new Google announcement.


There are two main changes here:
  • Google is removing the "mobile-friendly" label that highlighted pages that were easy to read on mobile from its mobile search results pages
  • Starting on January 10, 2017, the company will start punishing mobile pages that show intrusive interstitials when a user first opens a page and they will rank lower in its search results.

It should also be noted that "Google won't punish all sites that use interstitials, only the ones that make content less accessible."

In my opinion, it's a move that makes sense, makes UX finally work. I get very frustrated with popups (even though I know they work blah blah) and just end up leaving the website altogether.

What are your thoughts?

p.s. love the TechCrunch URL - "good riddance", ah!
#google #hardtodismiss #mobile #popups #punishing #show #sites #start
  • Profile picture of the author jaintechnosoft
    It is good that such sites are been penalised as they hinder the user experience to a great extent.
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  • Profile picture of the author George Schwab
    RE: "the company will start punishing mobile pages that show intrusive interstitials"

    it looks more like the "punisher company" is hassling mobile pages

    time for mobile pages to punish intrusive punisher companies,
    just to make one thing clear: punishing other people's content
    is prohibited, and will have legal consequences

    perhaps what TechCrunch actually means is "de-value their ability to rank in G"
    instead of "the company will punish anyone", that would be downright unacceptable
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    • Profile picture of the author BradVert2013
      Originally Posted by George Schwab View Post

      punishing other people's content
      is prohibited, and will have legal consequences
      What law is Google breaking?

      easy, keep their spiders busy in a loop, until their servers exhaust themselves
      I don't think you realize how many, and how big, Google servers are. Also, their spiders are extremely sophisticated, run by complex algorithms and artificial intelligence.
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      • Profile picture of the author George Schwab
        Originally Posted by BradVert2013 View Post

        What law is Google breaking?

        I don't think you realize how many, and how big, Google servers are. Also, their spiders are extremely sophisticated, run by complex algorithms and artificial intelligence.
        The law that says "if you think your customers wake up in the mornings to please you while you piss them off - you will suffer"

        look, while having breakfast I come here to the WF, then first something at the bottom ops up, then on the next page a big black one pops up, then the flash cookie thing pops also.

        I dont care - but Google says they cannot do that anymore. Right - and who are they to say that? We the users are in control - Always!

        Re: "I don't think you realize how many, and how big, Google servers are."

        I think you don't realize how things like "mass protests" are being structured, even if only one person is pissed. Give you a hint in what direction you would have to investigate: There are forums where "these kind of people" meet, they develop little "gadgets" you can add to any popular download package and distribute to all the free download sites. If you chose your titles well, you will get thousands of downloads per day.

        Now these people are all your associates that do the job for you, they all suddenly keep some pre-specified website busy whenever they are online.
        And tomorrow it will be a completely different set of 'associates'.
        And it never ends. You cannot block the army of disgruntled customers
        and their 'daily new friends'.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Originally Posted by George Schwab View Post

    perhaps what TechCrunch actually means is "de-value their ability to rank in G" instead of "the company will punish anyone", that would be downright unacceptable
    George, to most of the marketers who use these intrusive popups, those two phrases are interchangeable.

    I do have a question, though. How exactly would companies "punish" Google for lowering their rank?
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    • Profile picture of the author George Schwab
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      George, to most of the marketers who use these intrusive popups, those two phrases are interchangeable.

      I do have a question, though. How exactly would companies "punish" Google for lowering their rank?
      easy, keep their spiders busy in a loop, until their servers exhaust themselves
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  • Profile picture of the author Cesar Sampaio
    It's all about the user's experience. Shady tactics like this can give you a few bucks but in the end if Google doesn't shot you down users will.
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  • Profile picture of the author james flynn
    I think it's a great strategy by Google to uplift the users experience. Pop ups destroy your surfing experience and sometimes makes access to quality content pretty difficult.

    James
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  • Profile picture of the author Devilfish168
    huh

    it means Google ban pop up??? If I get it right?

    isn't will affect a lot sites? I see reputable big corporation sites beside IM , etc all using pop up to collect leads.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Devilfish168 View Post

      huh

      it means Google ban pop up??? If I get it right?

      isn't will affect a lot sites? I see reputable big corporation sites beside IM , etc all using pop up to collect leads.
      The key word is "intrusive". For example, I often find popups that work fine on my desktop, but when I visit the same site on a 7" tablet, the "X" to close the popup is outside the display and it won't even scroll. The only options are subscribe or close the page. I close the page.

      I suggest you actually go read the article before jumping to conclusions...
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  • Profile picture of the author BradVert2013
    I think this is great news! I often surf the web on my phone or tablet, so these intrusive pop-ups are very annoying. No, I'm not going to click on the ad or sign up for your newsletter/promo/offer/whatever. I simply hit the back button and move on to another website.

    Thank you, Google!
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Meaney
    If you're having SEO problems I feel bad for you son.

    I got 99 problems but Google ain't one.


    I foresee a future where one day most marketers won't care about Google, because they'll realise we don't need it.

    Don't try to appease the Google gods because they are fickle.. and will change the rules of the game on a whim.. and it's your business that suffers.

    Life is easier when you pretend Google doesn't exist.
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  • Sites with intrusive popups most likely have a higher bounce rate (the number of visits in which a person leaves your website from the landing page without browsing any further) than those that do not, so their rankings are already being negatively effected.
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  • Profile picture of the author EPoltrack77
    I still get much better conversions and cost savings through tablet and pc
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    Working to achieve higher results...
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  • Profile picture of the author aizaku
    good thread,

    I hope that optin monster and sumome are listening and that they make the default setting for their interstitial pops inline with this news.

    best of luck,
    Ike Paz
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Lewis
    Good. Popups not only make sites less accessible, they also at times jam up the computer of the visitor. They have become a bane and there needs to be a countermeasure or push back.
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  • I don't really think this is a good idea.

    Popups are a very effective tool for marketers and they can be gotten rid of in seconds by anyone browsing the page. The super annoying popups that are hard to get rid of should probably be done away with however

    I also can't help but wonder if this person doesn't work for Google considering that this post if their first and only post
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    "The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do"
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  • Profile picture of the author Hemantkumar
    Yeah I have also heard this news...!!
    So it's really important news to notice for the bloggers who use unstoppable mobile popup adds.
    BTW thanks for this info here
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  • Profile picture of the author Luke Dennison
    Would be good if they showed a "good" example so we have an idea if we're safe or not.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Luke Dennison View Post

      Would be good if they showed a "good" example so we have an idea if we're safe or not.
      Go to the original article to see examples of acceptable popups. Unless that's too much work...
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  • I like this idea. I absolutely hate those full screen popups that slap you in the face and won't go away. When I'm browsing on a phone, I'm on the go and in a hurry. If I see one of those ads come up I will exit the site immediately and never return, even if the site has useful information. I think it's a good idea to discourage advertising that is so blatantly hindering to user experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author protiq
    Day by day I am getting mentally sick for this popups. The whole day I search huge information for my business but the popups is a great obstacle to getting my result. Popups make us slow. Now, this is really interesting news of punishing mobile sites. I like to thank, especially to Google.
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  • It is a good step taken by Google to stop various type of Pop-up ads. First they stop ads related to tech support calls and now they stop popups.
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  • Profile picture of the author ankita1234
    Nice step towards the User Interactions. Sometimes it happens that the user saw the ad and close the window. It not only increase the bounce rate but also decrease the google rank.
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  • Profile picture of the author conradomahy524
    Absolutely good riddance! I can't begin to tell people how much I hate these types of popups...especially when it comes to personally surfing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    Life is easier when you pretend Google doesn't exist.
    Well, they got Gmail right anyway...

    I foresee a future where one day most marketers won't care about Google, because they'll realise we don't need it.
    Some of us realized that quite some time ago.

    It's a very freeing experience, kind of like getting free of a nagging spouse.
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    Get Off The Warrior Forum Now & Don't Come Back If You Want To Succeed!
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  • Profile picture of the author ebiz01
    Finally! It was about time.
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    Maricela Dayao Online Entrepreneur Encouraging You To Live Your Passions
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  • Profile picture of the author Mohan Nv
    It is good
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexis Gil
    It depends on from what side to look at this. I think that for marketers it will not be good.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Alexis Gil View Post

      It depends on from what side to look at this. I think that for marketers it will not be good.
      I think it will be good for many marketers, most of whom will do the right thing for the wrong reason. Instead of reining in popups that spoil the user experience because it costs them money, they will move to more user-friendly versions out of fear Papa Google will spank them.

      Either way, the user gets a better experience, and happy users are profitable users. At least more so than the ones wwho get angry and bounce.
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