Sometimes they just pop up and get in the way of the website contents. Sometimes they pop up and jump around, making it very difficult to kill them and get to the content.
No matter how they appear, pop-ups on mobile devices are among the most pervasive of the irritants that sully the utility of the portable internet.
Now, Google plans to strike a blow against mobile pop-ups, aka intrusive interstitials, downgrading search-results ranking for most websites that use them.
Such uninvited occupants of a mobile screen can frustrate users because they are unable to easily access the content that they were expecting when they tapped on the search result, Google said in a company blog post.
Pages that show intrusive interstitials provide a poorer experience to users than other pages where content is immediately accessible.
Pop-ups that would draw penalties include those that block website contents or have to be dismissed to view contents, according to Google.
Some pop-ups won t draw sanction, including those enabling users to meet legal requirements or age specifications, along with paywall notifications and banners that take up a reasonable amount of screen real estate and can be nixed easily.
Still, the presence or absence of pop-ups is one of hundreds of criteria from which search rankings are determined, Google said. The intent of the search query is still a very strong signal, so a page (with a pop-up) may still rank highly if it has great, relevant content, Google said.
The change goes into effect Jan. 10.
Photo: The opening page of the REI website, with a pop-up
The post Google puts annoying pop-ups in crosshairs appeared first on SiliconBeat.
