Intrusive interstitials update (2017): what changed and what now

What Google changed#

On 23 August 2016, Google announced a new mobile ranking signal. It said that “after January 10, 2017, pages where content is not easily accessible to a user on the transition from the mobile search results may not rank as highly.” Google gave three examples of techniques that make content less accessible:

• A popup that covers the main content, straight after arriving from search or while reading.
• A standalone interstitial that the user has to dismiss before reaching the main content.
• A layout where the above-the-fold area looks like a standalone interstitial, with the real content inlined below the fold.

Google said three kinds of interstitial, used responsibly, would not be affected: those responding to a legal obligation such as cookie usage or age verification, login dialogs for content that is not publicly indexable, and banners that use a reasonable amount of screen space and are easily dismissible. The new signal also absorbed an earlier check for app-install interstitials, which Google removed from its mobile-friendly test.

In the same post, Google announced it would remove the mobile-friendly label from mobile results, while keeping mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal.

When it rolled out#

Google updated the announcement on 10 January 2017: “Starting today, pages where content is not easily accessible to a user on the transition from the mobile search results may not rank as high.” Google gave no completion date or rollout length.

What is known about its impact#

Google gave no figures on how many pages or queries were affected. It stressed the limits of the signal instead: it was “just one of hundreds of signals that are used in ranking,” and “the intent of the search query is still a very strong signal,” so a page with great, relevant content could still rank highly.

What site owners should do#

The signal is no longer described as a separate ranking factor. Google’s page experience documentation lists avoiding intrusive interstitials as one of its self-assessment questions, but says “Beyond Core Web Vitals, other page experience aspects don’t directly help your website rank higher in search results.” Google’s interstitials guidance still recommends:

• Use banners that take up a small fraction of the screen instead of full-page interstitials.
• Do not obscure the entire page with an interstitial, unless it is legally mandatory.
• Do not redirect users to a separate page to collect consent or input.
• For a mandatory age gate, overlay the content rather than redirecting, so Google can still index some of it.

How to check whether it affected you#

This is historical. Search Console keeps 16 months of performance data, so it cannot show January 2017. In archived analytics, compare mobile organic Google traffic for landing pages that showed interstitials in the weeks before and after 10 January 2017. The Google Algorithm Updates timeline lists the updates around it.

Related updates#

• The mobile-friendly update was Google’s earlier mobile ranking signal.
• The Speed update was the next mobile page experience signal.
• The page experience update was the next update built on page experience signals.