The label is going because most pages now pass, but mobile-friendliness still counts. From January 10, pages covered by intrusive pop-ups on phones may rank lower, so replace full-screen pop-ups with small banners or inline offers.

What Google said yesterday

Google announced two changes for phone searches yesterday. The mobile-friendly label shown beside results since late 2014 is being removed.

The reason is that most pages now pass. Google says the criteria behind the label still count as a ranking signal.

The second change has a date. From January 10, pages whose content is hard to reach because a pop-up covers it, for someone arriving from a phone search, may not rank as highly.

The first needs no action. The second gives sites about four and a half months.

What still counts

Removing the label does not remove the signal. Pages that fail the mobile-friendly test, with text too small to read or links too close to tap, still start at a disadvantage in phone results.

The Mobile-Friendly Test and the Mobile Usability report in Search Console are staying, so the way to check a site has not changed.

What changes is what searchers see. A page that passes no longer gets a badge for it, and a page that fails no longer stands out by missing one.

Most sites built for phones in the last few years pass already. Older sites patched for phones rather than rebuilt are the ones worth testing again.

The pop-ups Google described

Google gave examples of what will count against a page on phones.

The fourth is the one sites will argue about. A screen-filling welcome panel that is technically part of the page is treated like a pop-up, because to the visitor it is one.

What is not affected

Google also listed what, used responsibly, will not be affected.

Notices that respond to a legal obligation, such as cookie use or age verification. Login boxes on private content that search engines cannot see anyway, such as email or members' pages.

And banners that leave most of the screen free and can be dismissed easily. Google pointed to the app banners shown by Safari and Chrome as the right sort of size.

Where small business sites stand

Most small business sites have no app installs or paywalls. They have newsletter sign-ups, coupon offers and chat windows.

Those are often set to appear after a few seconds on every page and every device, because that was the plugin's default.

On a phone, a box that fills the screen is not a gentle invitation. It is the whole page.

Chat windows are the quiet offenders: an open chat box on a phone can cover half the screen.

Visitors arriving from a search want the hours, the menu or the phone number, and the pop-up stands in the way.

A worked example

A dumpling shop with four small tables and a busy takeout window in a suburban strip mall has a site with its menu, its hours and a monthly email.

The email sign-up was a pop-up offering a free order of dumplings, set to open three seconds after any page loaded, on any device.

On a phone it filled the screen. Its close button was a small cross in the corner, partly off the edge on smaller phones.

Most visitors came from phone searches for the shop's name or for dumplings nearby, and wanted the hours or the menu. They met the offer first.

The shop replaced the pop-up with a slim banner across the top on phones, easy to close, and a sign-up box placed after the menu for people who had read it.

The offer stayed the same. Only its position changed.

Dealing with an existing pop-up

Start by searching for your own business on a phone, opening the result the way a customer would, and waiting ten seconds on the page.

If anything covers the content, decide what it is for. A sign-up can move into the page; a promotion can become a banner; a chat window can wait until someone taps for it.

Many pop-up plugins already have a setting to show a smaller version on phones, or nothing at all. Check that before replacing the plugin.

Small banners done properly

A banner that passes is small, clearly dismissible and leaves the content visible: a strip along the top or bottom edge, not a box in the middle.

Keep it to one line and one button. If it needs a paragraph, it belongs in the page.

Keep it clear of the menu and the phone number, the two things phone visitors reach for first.

And make the close button large enough for a thumb.

Before January

Nothing needs to happen today, and nothing changes in rankings until January 10. Changes made this autumn can be checked calmly, well before the date.

December is a poor month to discover that the holiday promotion runs as a full-screen pop-up.

List the pop-ups that appear only part of the year, such as a seasonal sale or a spring booking offer, so they are fixed before they return.

If the site was built by someone else, ask them now which pop-ups it uses and where each one is set.

The counter-case

This is one signal among hundreds. Google said the intent behind a search remains a very strong signal, so a page with relevant content may still rank highly.

A notice required by law, or a login on private pages, need not change at all. And on computers the announcement changes nothing.

A site with no pop-ups at all has nothing to do beyond the usual checks.

But a pop-up that hides the content on phones was already costing visitors. The date simply adds a second reason to replace it.

This autumn

  1. Search for your business on a phone.
  2. Open each main page from the results.
  3. Note anything that covers the content.
  4. Check the plugin's phone settings first.
  5. Replace full-screen pop-ups with banners or inline boxes.
  6. Run the key pages through the Mobile-Friendly Test.
  7. Check Mobile Usability in Search Console.

Step three is where most of the work is decided, because few owners see their own pop-ups the way a stranger arriving from a search does.

The report only helps if someone at the business can see it, which is covered in Search Console owners who left the company.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Google removing the mobile-friendly label?

Because most pages in phone results now pass the test, so the label no longer tells searchers much. Mobile-friendliness itself remains a ranking signal, and the test remains.

Does mobile-friendliness still matter for ranking?

Yes. Google says the criteria behind the label still count, and the Mobile-Friendly Test and the Mobile Usability report in Search Console remain available.

What happens on January 10?

From then, pages whose content is covered by intrusive pop-ups for people arriving from a phone search may rank lower. It is one signal among many.

Which pop-ups are not affected?

Notices that meet a legal obligation, such as a cookie or age check, logins in front of private content, and small banners a visitor can close easily.

What should replace a newsletter pop-up?

A slim strip along one edge of the screen, or a sign-up box within the page, ideally placed after the content people came for.

Does this change anything on computers?

No. The new signal concerns phone searches, though many pop-up plugins use one setting for every device, so check how yours is configured on phones.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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