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Consider Interstitials When Mobile-Friendly-ing Your Site For Google

Columnist Mark Munroe explores an element of mobile SEO that may not have occurred to some webmasters.

Mark Munroe on April 3, 2015 at 11:49 am

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When you’re prepping your site for the mobile-friendly algorithm update Google’s rolling out on April 21, don’t forget to consider a key element of the user experience — interstitials.

Many mobile Web sites begin users’ visits by presenting them with an interstitial page instead of sending them to the intended piece of content, with the goal of getting the user to do a specific action. In the examples below, Zulily wants users to sign up while Indiegogo asks users to download its app.

Users typically find these pages quite annoying. But when businesses are weighing the benefits of promoting their app or spurring sign-ups versus the user experience, the interstitials often win out.

However, with Google’s new focus on the mobile user experience, it may be time to reconsider the use of disruptive interstitials. Read my full column on the subject on Marketing Land.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Mark Munroe

Mark Munroe recently founded SEORadar.com, a new company focused on helping sites avoid and solve technical SEO disasters. Mark has spent the prior 12 years deeply involved with SEO focused on large, technically complex sites such as Wine.com, Usedcars.com, EverydayHealth and most recently as the Director of SEO for Trulia.