It's a common occurrence when browsing the web on your Smartphone, you visit a website and immediately get bombarded with a full screen ad asking you if you'd like to install an app instead of viewing the page on your browser. The days of this annoyance are fast coming to an end as Google has announced it will begin cracking down on websites that make use of such advertisements.
In a post on their Webmaster Central blog, Google explained the reasoning for this new change:
'Sometimes a user may tap on a search result on a mobile device and see an app install interstitial that hides a significant amount of content and prompts the user to install an app. Our analysis shows that it is not a good search experience and can be frustrating for users because they are expecting to see the content of the web page.'
So beginning November 1, the company's algorithm will start flagging sites that make use of these full page interstitials as 'not friendly for mobile'. Which could have a negative effect on the websites Google search ranking.
Back in April, Google announced that it was changing its search criteria so that sites with mobile friendly layouts would appear higher in their rankings. This new initiative falls in line with their goal of improving the mobile browsing experience.
Google doesn't want to ban company's and web site owners from advertising their apps however. The blog clearly states that app install ads can still be utilized just as long as they do not hinder a user's view of the page's content.
So web developers and SEO managers take notice, come November 1 running full screen banners could be a huge detriment to your website's rankings.
