Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#31

Post by kevando » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:06 PM UTC

Google will soon start encouraging you to continue using their apps. FTFY

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#32

Post by guptaneil » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:06 PM UTC

gjolund wrote: post #11

I'd really like to see a universal app / site rating service that judges apps / sites on their stability, privacy, security, legitimacy of requested permission, and general UX. It could then provide alternatives to the app / site, and possibly even an anonymous whistleblower service for employees .

This. A Yelp for websites that encourages sites to be good web citizens.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#33

Post by jnevill » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:08 PM UTC

Mahn wrote: post #14

thebokehwokeh2 wrote: post #3

They're looking at you http://www.ultimate-guitar.com

As a beginner guitarist, this is site is the worst. It's a shame that honest sites like olga.net don't exist anymore.

Oh man I miss olga. I had completely forgotten about it. These "newer" sites are the pits and every single one of them does this BS app install crap. Thank goodness for the "View as desktop" button in mobile browsers.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#34

Post by 0x0 » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:08 PM UTC

justincormack wrote: post #10

Does this apply to "please subscribe to our stupid newsletter" that obscures many sites now?

For those I just enter webmaster@ or even the author's email if that's listed :P

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#35

Post by lunz » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:09 PM UTC

Hopefully Google can distinguish them from the "By browsing this site, you accept the use of Cookies [X]"-popups that EU websites have to implement now.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#36

Post by usefulcat » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:09 PM UTC

LukeB_UK wrote: post #25

volaski wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm more annoyed with these sites than the app install sites. "Install our app" is annoying but still trying their best to send us where we will have better have better experience (at least that's what they think). These "subscribe to our newsletter" sites do it for their own good and couldn't care less about visitors. They do it so they can spam them with their emails

> "Install our app" is annoying but still trying their best to send us where we will have better have better experience Not always, apps give them the ability to have push notifications plus the fact that having the app icon in your app tray is a constant reminder of their service.

Not to mention that an app potentially has access to a lot more information about you from the device.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#37

Post by jacquesm » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:10 PM UTC

Does that mean they'll block youtube? Try playing a video on a phone that does not have the youtube app installed, it's just about impossible to get it right, it's a roulette that's rigged with more than half the links going to the youtube app page on google play. Highly annoying since there is no reason why the youtube page of some video should even have that app installation link at all.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#38

Post by jacquesm » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:10 PM UTC

lunz wrote: post #35

Hopefully Google can distinguish them from the "By browsing this site, you accept the use of Cookies [X]"-popups that EU websites have to implement now.

Hopefully they can't. Maybe that way we can finally get rid of those pop-ups because there will be a very large amount of noise.

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#39

Post by knodi123 » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:11 PM UTC

ianphughes wrote: post #8

I still do not understand the popularity of this approach. It seems to crazy increase bounce rates. You would think that negative user behavior would already make these undesirable without Google being explicit?

Seems like it would, but the people who bounce probably aren't your most profitable users anyway.

I was shocked to learn how effective interstitial popup subscription requests are: http://optinmonster.com/3-reasons-lightbox-popups-capture-mo...

Re: Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites that Use Annoying App Install Ads

#40

Post by nathancahill » Tue, Sep 01, 2015, 9:11 PM UTC

madsushi wrote: post #17

Seems a bit hypocritical, considering they were using app install interstitial pages as recently as July: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/google-...

Still exists for Gmail (on iOS at least).