Google junks sites with pop-up ads in ‘worse search results’ bin

Google is making a move to save users from the annoyance of annoying pop-up ads by ranking them low and among the worse search results.  Image INQUIRER.net

While pop-ups are annoying enough on a desktop or laptop, they become exponentially more annoying on mobile browsers, what with the limited screen space that users have. Google is well aware of people’s plight so the company plans to put sites with pop-ups and interstitials on the “worse search results” bin.

However, there are a few caveats. If a site still contains the best information related to the query, it will still likely be among the top results despite having pop-ups. Google’s aim is basically to direct users to the most relevant search results, reports The Verge.

This is not the first time that Google has made adjustments in filtering search results. Just last year the company began boosting ranking for sites with encryption and are “mobile friendly.”

For the most part, Google is focusing on sites with overlay ads that block content underneath it for a few seconds or until the user clicks on something. Clicking on the “X” button to close the ad also works, providing users can locate these often vaguely placed buttons. Ads that take up the entire site page are also targeted.

Again there are a few exceptions to the rule. Pop-ups for age verification and others of a similar type that are used for legal requirements are whitelisted. Ads that occupy a “reasonable amount of screen space” are also exempted.

Google prides itself in delivering accurate results to user queries. If the top search results get overrun by sites with annoying pop-up ads instead of information that can be immediately accessed, then Google would not be doing its job right. With that line of reasoning, the company’s move is a logical one. Of course, many publishers won’t be too thrilled as this will possibly impede their revenue stream through ads, but it would seem that for Google, the users come first.  Alfred Bayle