Ads have become a normal part of the internet, and they are so pervasive that most people end up blocking them out. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that a lot of sites tend to place ads in such a way that they become intrusive. This can detract from the user experience and force these users to have to wait for the ads to load before they can remove them.
In some cases, these ads even obstruct the content that the website is trying to show. Google might be trying to crack down on this because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up reducing the quality of content online that can be searched for through their search engine. It is doing so by providing notices to sites that advise them to avoid using interstitials that are intrusive, framing this as a site improvement measure.
In spite of the fact that this is the case, intrusive interstitials are not included in the guidelines that Google makes sites that want to be listed follow. It’s still an important step, though, since users are quickly getting tired of ads that prevent them from engaging with content that matters to them. This might make them less likely to engage with ads as well, so this crackdown is actually in Google’s best interests with all things having been considered and taken into account.
As per Casey Markee, Google is telling site owners and publishers that using such interstitials might result in lower rankings, so this will likely make a lot of site owners change their tune. Many are crying foul since this is not something that Google has added to its list of manual actions, and the tech juggernaut might have made a mistake by announcing this through a notice rather than in a more subtle way. Website owners might not have to scramble to adjust their ad placements, and it will be users that will benefit the most from this in the end.
Read next: Local Businesses Are Now Spending Over $92 Billion on Digital Ads
In some cases, these ads even obstruct the content that the website is trying to show. Google might be trying to crack down on this because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up reducing the quality of content online that can be searched for through their search engine. It is doing so by providing notices to sites that advise them to avoid using interstitials that are intrusive, framing this as a site improvement measure.
In spite of the fact that this is the case, intrusive interstitials are not included in the guidelines that Google makes sites that want to be listed follow. It’s still an important step, though, since users are quickly getting tired of ads that prevent them from engaging with content that matters to them. This might make them less likely to engage with ads as well, so this crackdown is actually in Google’s best interests with all things having been considered and taken into account.
As per Casey Markee, Google is telling site owners and publishers that using such interstitials might result in lower rankings, so this will likely make a lot of site owners change their tune. Many are crying foul since this is not something that Google has added to its list of manual actions, and the tech juggernaut might have made a mistake by announcing this through a notice rather than in a more subtle way. Website owners might not have to scramble to adjust their ad placements, and it will be users that will benefit the most from this in the end.
Read next: Local Businesses Are Now Spending Over $92 Billion on Digital Ads
