Google is popping off against one of the most annoying practices among digital publishers: interstitial messages that obscure the content consumers seek via mobile search.
Deeming most interstitials "intrusive," the world's largest search engine said Tuesday that publishers displaying interstitials on mobile sites after Jan. 10 may pay a price in their ranking among search results.
There are exceptions "if used responsibly," Google said in a blog post: Interstitials to verify people's ages, dialogues to sign into a paywall and banners that use "a reasonable amount of screen space" won't be penalized.
Marketers and agency executives, who share Google's goal of a vibrant mobile internet, said the change is a good thing.
"Google's goal has always been to take their users from A to B as quickly as possible, in a way that best satisfies a user's search intent – basically, 'here is your answer,'" said Mike Dobbs, VP of SEO at 360i. "Which is why sometimes they even grab the answer out of webpages and present it within their own search results. With this in mind, if a layer of content that is not really necessary -- like an ad interstitial -- and is added on-top of the true content a user is seeking, Google feels it creates a poor user experience for their audience."
But even those who agree with the sentiment worry about Google's power to shape the web to its liking, and point out potential conflicts and contradictions.
"Many publishers and marketers using interstitials already feel Google meddles with their consumer relationships and of course, don't like that Google is in a position to be judge, jury and executioner," said Kevin Lee, executive chairman and co-founder of Didit, a full-service digital agency that specializes in search.