6 Tips To Keep Pop-Ups From Harming Your SEO

Although annoying popup ads can be irritating, they do work. These are the steps to safely continue using popup ads in light of Google’s interstitial penalty, Core Web Vitals update, and how to use them.

They are your friends, your family, and you even love them.

Popups! Popups are the best friend of content marketers with a conversion rate of 11.09.

Popups can be dangerous, as Google has announced that they will devalue websites using intrusive pop-pop-up ads in 2018.

This article will address some of the confusion surrounding popups, and SEO.

These are seven ways to use popups without affecting your SEO.

1. Learn Which Interstitials are No-Goes

Google’s mobile interstitial penalty targets intrusive Interstitials.

It is important to note that “interstitial” can be used for all popups and overlays. However, not all interstitials should be considered intrusive.

Your mobile page could be considered devalued if you have interstitials that are difficult to dismiss or spammy.

This is because Google’s indexing now uses mobile-first. This could cause your SERP position to be less favorable than you think.

These are just a few interstitials that make your content less accessible.

• Popups with content-covering popups that users have to close in order to read the rest of the article.
• Before users can access your content, they must remove any standalone interstitials.
• Page layouts that look like interstitials but are actually above the fold.

Avoid ads that Google has previously penalized or disliked, such as:

• Interstitial ads or splash ads interrupt users while navigating between pages and before reaching your homepage.
• Popup windows that open when a user clicks your page.
• Welcoming mats, new window popups and other intrusive ads.
• Overlay models are hard to close or redirect visitors who click them accidentally.
• Popups and intrusive lightbox ads.

Google’s John Mueller also confirmed that interstitials triggered via exit intent are still permitted.

These should not be relied upon too much. It is not a good idea to upset your visitors.

2. Continue Using Non-Intrusive Interstitials

Google doesn’t penalize non-intrusive interstitials.

These are any information you are legally required to show to restrict content or keep users informed, such age verification interstices and cookie use notifications.

Other popups such as tabs, banner ads, and slide-ins that take up a small portion of your screen (5% is recommended) can also be acceptable, provided they are easy to remove.

If you’re unsure whether your interstitials can be considered intrusive, I suggest avoiding full-screen overlays, welcome mats, and ad modals.

If possible, switch to slide-in boxes and top banners whenever possible. This lets users view your content without interruption and doesn’t interfere with UX.

3. Change to Timed Pop-ups

You can redesign popups or overlays if you must continue using them.

The timing of your interstitials is one of the most important things you can alter.

Instead of showing a popup every time a user visits your page, schedule your popup to display when they have finished reading your blog post.

Popups can be limited in length. A popup that closes automatically after three seconds of inaction by the user is better than one which never closes.

Unlock (not available) with Keyword Hero. See all organic keywords in GA and their performance metrics. Get a free trial. You can cancel at any time. Expert support. 4-minute setup.

This type of interstitial has the problem that popups can only be as effective as your content.

If your content isn’t compelling enough for users to click through your pages and read your content, you should invest in content marketing before you begin plugging it with ads.

4. Watch Out For “Gray Area” Interstitials

You might be surprised at some interstitials impacted by Google’s interstitial penalties.

Mueller, for example, confirmed that language-selection popups on international websites might be devalued because “yes, these are popups/interstitials also.

Monitor page performance if you use these or any other “gray” interstitials (e.g., sticky sidebars and related posts, share buttons, live chat boxes, and coupon popups).

These will not harm SEO, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

5. Use Pop-ups Permitted, But Not Invasive

Some ads can be disruptive, but they aren’t punished.

These “gray-area” popups are allowed, but Google may crackdown on them in the future (they are certainly moving in this direction).

• Interstitials from page to page: Mueller states that Google’s interstitial penalty devalues interstitials when they appear in the SERP. However, interstitials between pages are fine. We know Google values UX and that interstitials between pages are not good UX.
• Exit intent triggered interstitials: Mueller confirmed that popups triggered via exit intent aren’t penalized by this update. Add a no-index tag to your code to avoid being on the wrong side for the interstitial penalty.

Be aware that these interstitials could be penalized soon if they are used.

Death, taxes, and Google’s efforts to improve UX are the only constants in this universe.

6. You can still use intrusive-ads on your desktop

Some websites have come up with a temporary solution to the interstitial penalties. They hide popups from mobile devices and use them only for desktop visitors.

Innovative targeting options are available in many popup plugins that enable you to display ads only on specific platforms.Some website platforms

These won’t be affected by the new algorithm, according to Mueller.

Interstitials appear during the interaction between clicking the search button and scrolling through the page to see the content. That’s where we look for interstitials.

You decide what to do next.

You shouldn’t feel pressured to change if search drives a lot of your traffic.

Keep in mind that the new Interstitial Penalty is only one signal. An interstitial ad won’t affect a website with a lot of helpful content.