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Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

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Re: Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

#141

Post by Donzo »

evolve2k wrote: post #32

A client has just asked me to add a pop-up "whatch this vid, join our newsletter", when the user scrolls to about half way down the homepage for their SAAS startup. Further the pop up is not to reappear for 90 days. They got the approach from attending an online marketing workshop that suggested this increases their list. Felt like a bit of an anti-pattern to me. Anyone have advice as to if this is effective or if it…

This will. The penalty is not specifically targeting ads. It's targeting sites that serve full-page interstitials to mobile users.

Re: Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

#142

Post by IgorPartola »

_delirium wrote: post #50
Animats wrote: post #47

What's really stupid are sites from which you can buy things, but then pop up an ad for something else. Fandango, which sells movie tickets, does this. As you're trying to get to the "buy ticket" page, they shove movie trailers for other movies in your face. I mentioned a site earlier today which sold plumbing supplies.[1] They pop up a "gimme your email" box which 1) cannot be dismissed , and 2) isn't even theirs, i…

Pop-ups asking me to please take a survey about the user experience of the website, too. Well, I was trying to actually buy something on your website, before your goddamn survey pop-up got in the way.

Especially when they pop up as soon as you land on the site. That is just so so stupid.

Re: Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

#143

Post by nkkollaw »

Animats wrote: post #47

What's really stupid are sites from which you can buy things, but then pop up an ad for something else. Fandango, which sells movie tickets, does this. As you're trying to get to the "buy ticket" page, they shove movie trailers for other movies in your face. I mentioned a site earlier today which sold plumbing supplies.[1] They pop up a "gimme your email" box which 1) cannot be dismissed , and 2) isn't even theirs, i…

How do they not realize? Don't they do A/B testing..?

Re: Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

#145

Post by tyingq »

st3v3r wrote: post #144

Again, why? Why are you so against people getting paid for their work?

There are many publications that are paid for their work without the benefit of free search engine traffic.

I might have a different opinion if there were a workable micropayment system where I could pay for the article. I searched for something, saw an article in the search results. I want to read the article...Not buy a full subscription to some newspaper or magazine.

It is bait and switch...Some results lead to what was promised in the snippet on the search results. Others lead to an ad for a subscription.

Re: Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

#146

Post by __jal »

Animats wrote: post #47

What's really stupid are sites from which you can buy things, but then pop up an ad for something else. Fandango, which sells movie tickets, does this. As you're trying to get to the "buy ticket" page, they shove movie trailers for other movies in your face. I mentioned a site earlier today which sold plumbing supplies.[1] They pop up a "gimme your email" box which 1) cannot be dismissed , and 2) isn't even theirs, i…

I make a point of providing what could be considered pointed feedback on their spam-feeding mechanisms formatted as obviously fake-but-valid-looking email addresses. If shortsighted jerks want email addresses, I'll give them some.

What I actually want for this sort of problem is a browser extension that allows me to annotate domains in some way, and then treats links differently based on that. This is a half-baked idea; I have no time to make this, so I haven't been thinking about it much. (Please steal the idea!) But perhaps a way to quickly tag domain names - 'annoying popup', 'spammer', 'dead to me', etc., and then indicate the tags visually next to links/change the colors/something like that, so I can more easily avoid sites that annoy me.

Re: Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

#147

Post by sparky_z »

baddox wrote: post #109
mmanfrin wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I blame this on A/B tests which ignore externalities. Sure, maybe the 3 metrics you were aiming for were improved, but your brand is fucked. I think brands like Sears/Kenmore/Craftsman were A/Bed to death. So many little 'optimizations' (read: cost cutting that looked-good-on-paper) that eventually destroyed what the brand was about in the first place.

In the case of Fandango showing an interstitial ad when attempting to check out, I can't imagine that wouldn't hurt conversion, and I can't imagine that conversion wouldn't be one the key metrics they would test with. I would guess it's more just a lack of care. Someone said "we need our website to make more money" and someone else said "okay, I hear that ads are for making more money."

Well, presumably they're reselling these tickets on behalf of the theaters which get the bulk of the revenue. It's possible Fandango takes no margin on the tickets sales and just makes money on the ads.

Re: Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

#148

Post by sparky_z »

Animats wrote: post #47

What's really stupid are sites from which you can buy things, but then pop up an ad for something else. Fandango, which sells movie tickets, does this. As you're trying to get to the "buy ticket" page, they shove movie trailers for other movies in your face. I mentioned a site earlier today which sold plumbing supplies.[1] They pop up a "gimme your email" box which 1) cannot be dismissed , and 2) isn't even theirs, i…

You're assuming they make money on ticket sales. Maybe all that money goes to the theater? If so, the ads are completely rational.

Re: Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

#149

Post by enjo »

lathiat wrote: post #70
_delirium wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pop-ups asking me to please take a survey about the user experience of the website, too. Well, I was trying to actually buy something on your website, before your goddamn survey pop-up got in the way.

I've had many sites pop this up within seconds of being on the site. Though the attention span of some might be short, I suspect the data collected by these surveys is highly unhelpful simply because you have not yet experienced the product. Given they're all from the same company usually whose name escapes me right now, you'd think they'd be better at it?

One of my lobby conversations at a SEM conference dealt with those quick survey popups. The guy I was talking to swore that by putting one on their landing pages conversion increased by like 30%. His theory was that it helps to refocus users who are about to bounce. Give them a second to digest the page and right before they click the back button bring SOMETHING up to grab their attention. They'll just click the survey away and will come back to the page fresh again.

I've never tested it, so I have no idea if it works. It's an interesting hypothesis at least.

Re: Google Has Started Penalizing Mobile Websites with Intrusive Pop-Up Ads

#150

Post by nkkollaw »

lostinny wrote: post #52
AnOscelot wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can understand why the desktop gets a pass, but I really, really wish they would consider doing it for sites which pop up those damned "Give us your email!!" forms. Especially those sites which pop it up almost immediately when I've arrived at their site for the first time. I don't even know your site yet. Just followed this link from somewhere else. And you're immediately demanding my email for your pointless news…

I agree, though I've unfortunately seen several tests that suggest that they work. The immediate "Give us your email" is much more effective than requests that wait for a certain number of pages, trigger after a certain scroll amount, or wait until you've been on the site for a significant amount of time. Of the people who see the pop up, the conversion rate is highest for those who see it immediately. And there's no…

They probably think they have to give their email to see the site.

We are power users, a lot of people have no idea what they're doing on the web.

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