{"id":14814,"date":"2017-09-13T12:03:45","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T09:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cognitiveseo.com\/blog\/?p=14814"},"modified":"2017-09-13T12:05:48","modified_gmt":"2017-09-13T09:05:48","slug":"google-interstitials-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cognitiveseo.com\/blog\/14814\/google-interstitials-penalty\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the Google Interstitials Penalty Impact Your SEO Efforts?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the mobile intrusive interstitial ad penalty from January 10h, 2017, there has been a lot of fuss on pop-up, banner and interstitial ads.\u00a0Google itself announced it will devalue webpages\u00a0 that use intrusive pop-up and interstitial ads in mobile search.<\/p>\n

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Is this the end of those types of ads? Is there a Penalty for them? What does Google have to say?<\/p>\n

Be patient and you\u2019ll find the answers to all of your questions regarding this topic. Today.<\/p>\n

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\"Do<\/p>\n

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In the following minutes, you\u2019ll find the differences between all those types of ads we mentioned before: pop-ups, interstitial ads, and banners. Next, we\u2019ll go on with the statements Google has made on this subject, whether there are penalties, updates and whether the ads affect SEO.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll also see what other experts and specialists in the industry have discovered and experienced during the updates Google made regarding the ads.<\/p>\n

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In the end, we\u2019ll find out if there are Google penalties and if we can prevent them and how.<\/p>\n

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Get your snacks and drink and enjoy reading one of the tastiest topics and flavored blog posts about the impact of pop-ups, banners, and interstitial ads on your SEO.<\/p>\n

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  1. What Are the Differences Between a Pop-Up, an Interstitial and a Banner Ad?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Google Is Looking for a Positive User Experience<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. What Do Experts Say About the Interstitials Impact on SEO?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Are Interstitials Hurting Your SEO?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Do Intrusive Ad Penalties Really Exist?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. How Can You Prevent an Intrusive Ad Penalty?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    1. What Are\u00a0the Differences Between a Pop-Up, an Interstitial and a Banner Ad?<\/h2>\n

    First things first. Let\u2019s start with the banner ad. It is a form of display advertising because of the visual nature of the banner.<\/p>\n

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    \"Intrusive<\/p>\n

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    Usually, it doesn\u2019t interrupt the user, but if it is very big and flashy, it might cause him to lose focus on the content.<\/p>\n

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    Pop-ups, on the other hand, appear over the content but do not interrupt the user immediately. Look at the example in the next picture.<\/p>\n

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    \"Pop-up\"<\/p>\n

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    According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a pop-up refers to something that appears suddenly or unexpectedly. A pop-up ad is another form of online advertising and it is designed to attract customers and generate traffic.<\/p>\n

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    Interstitials have the same purpose as the previous ads, to promote and advertise. But, unlike the pop-up and banner, the interstitial interrupts the user and hampers the normal flow of content.<\/p>\n

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    Just take a look at the next picture to understand how:<\/p>\n

    \"google-app-install-ad-format\"

    Source: marketingland.com<\/p><\/div>\n

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    One of the biggest sites on the web has been using these types of interstitials for quite a while now.<\/p>\n

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    I bet you all know Forbes, right? Well, the website has an interstitial that opens every time you click on a link that points you to its content.<\/p>\n

    \"Forbes<\/p>\n

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    Whenever you click on a link that redirects you to Forbes, there is this page waiting for you before you see the content you want.<\/p>\n

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    They use it to push content and advertise products or services to the forefront of a user\u2019s experience. In term of SEO, it increases the CTR and the time on site. They are really annoying and not at all user-friendly.<\/p>\n

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    There are other types of intrusive advertisements that manipulate the user.<\/p>\n

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    If you take a look at the next screenshot, the whole background is a full page background ad.<\/p>\n

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    \"Clickable<\/p>\n

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    There is a high chance for the user to mistakenly click on it and be whisked off the website and the original content to the advertiser\u2019s site. It is annoying, for sure. These types of ads turn out to be extremely aggressive.<\/p>\n

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    \"Deceptive

    Source:www.gsqi.com<\/p><\/div>\n

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    2. Google Is Looking for a Positive User Experience<\/h2>\n

    It all started in 2012, when Google began to devalue websites with too much ad space above the “fold\u201d.<\/p>\n

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    Then, in 2015, Google announced<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>it would be downgrading sites that show annoying full-page ads prompting users to install mobile apps. The Google\u2019s App Interstitial Giant Ad Penalty went live in November 2015<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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    Until now, Google has continued to keep an eye on the different intrusive advertising formats on the web that have a negative impact on the overall experience on the website.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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    January 19, 2017 is an important date to remember. Starting on that day, Google has penalized websites that have content which is not accessible to the user in the transition from Google mobile search results. This update is meant to help users easily access content on mobile.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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    Google gives a statement on the Webmaster Central Blog regarding this update:<\/p>\n

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    As we said, this new signal is just one of hundreds of signals that are used in ranking and the intent of the search query is still a very strong signal, so a page may still rank highly if it has great, relevant content.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Intrusive mobile interstitials are frowned upon by Google. After this update, a diagram was posted on the blog pointing out to those on the blacklist to be targeted in the future.<\/p>\n

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    \"google-interstitial-examples\"

    Source: webmasters.googleblog.com<\/p><\/div>\n

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    Google also provided a few examples of interstitials<\/a><\/strong> that would not be affected by the new signal, if they are used responsibly and don’t make content less accessible.<\/p>\n

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    \"Interstitials

    Source: webmasters.googleblog.com<\/p><\/div>\n

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    In the Rater Guidelines<\/a><\/strong>, Google has an entire subchapter about Distracting\/ Disruptive\/ Misleading Titles, Ads, and Supplementary Content.<\/p>\n

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    Google penalizes websites that do not match users’ expectations after they click on a link, only to find something else on that page.<\/p>\n

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    There are 2 situations when ads are considered disruptive:<\/p>\n

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    1. Ads that actively float over the main content as you scroll down the page and which are difficult to close. It can be very hard to use the main content when it is actively covered by moving, difficult\u00ad to\u00ad close ads and these are considered to be disruptive. – Google<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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    2. An interstitial page which redirects the user away from the main content without offering a path back to the main content is considered to be disruptive. – Google<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Besides those, there are many other reasons why ads are distracting and misleading and you can learn more in the Rater Guidelines.<\/p>\n

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    As mentioned<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>on the Google Webmaster Central Blog, at first Google analyzed interstitials that ask users to instal an app on smartphones. As they started to dig deeper into this issue, they thought that it was mandatory to explore the interstitials in general.<\/p>\n

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    Now, the check for app install interstitials is incorporated into the new signal in Search.<\/p>\n

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    Just a few weeks ago Google took the first decisive step. It\u00a0has started sending emails<\/a><\/strong> to a thousand online publishers warning them that they are showing “highly annoying, misleading or harmful” ads, according to a source from Ad Age.<\/p>\n

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    Google is part of the Justice League-type group within the Coalition for Better Ads<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0born with the purpose of offering and improving consumer’s experience with online advertising.<\/p>\n

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    In March, the coalition asked 25,000 people in the U.S. and Europe<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to rate 104 different ad experiences on desktop and mobile. A shockingly high percentage (97%) of desktop violations included popup ads. Just over a half (54%) of mobile sites were flagged for the same thing. According to Google, 21% of mobile websites were in violation for having a high ad density, which means that more than 30% of a page comprises ads.<\/p>\n

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    Since we were talking about Forbes, you should know that they are amongst other big publication to receive an email from Google as it violates the Better Ads Standard. Other big publications in the same situation include Betty Crocker, the New York Daily News, the Los Angeles Times, The Independent, TV Guide, the Chicago Tribune, LifeHacker, ZDNet, PCMag, the Orlando Sun-Sentinel, the Washington Times, Eurogamer and the Chicago Sun-Times.<\/p>\n

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    Google argues that Chrome’s removal of bad ads will serve as a filter, not an “ad blocker.”<\/p>\n

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    3. What Do Experts Say About the Interstitials Impact on SEO?<\/h2>\n

    In 2016, there were a lot of unconfirmed updates that experts detected. Also, there’s a great debate around the dates when they happened. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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    Moz has recorded only 4 updates so far, as mentioned <\/a><\/strong>below:<\/p>\n