HAVING A POPUP WINDOW ON HOMEPAGE AFFECTS SEO?

[goperformancelabs]

Good evening,

I currently have a blog that uses a popup window after 15 seconds that is used to add visitor to my newsletter.

My question is :  Does it have a negative effect in SEO?

Thanks in advance

Maria Jesus

[Alex-Harford]

I'd say it has a negative effect on SEO as SEO is also to do with user experience. moneysavingexpert.com used to have a pop-up that appeared just after the site loaded and blacked out the whole of the rest of the screen - I found it hugely annoying; just as I'd started to read the content it disappeared and I had to close something to continue reading. If I didn't already know the site was genuine I would have thought it was dodgy and pressed back or close straight away.

I'm not 100% sure but I think it was the owner of daniweb.com who said she introduced something similar to encourage people to sign up to her forum. Her bounce rate increased dramatically so she took it off as soon as she realised, and the bounce rate recovered. Bounce rate is something that can be measured by the search engines, along with other metrics related to user experience that will be taken into account when calculating the ranking of a page.

Alan's idea, to do something more subtle, is a good one. If it was unique and done really well, you might even get extra links because of it, rather than potentially less links as Matt Cutts suggested in the video Ryan linked to.

[AlanMosley]

I find that as long as it does not repeat,or block content, move main content, it would be ok.

even a quck glow.

I dont believe that you can change peoples minds much, you can only suggest. If they are not interested, the the hard sell will only anger.

Internet customers are like rabbits approching food, anything suss or the slightest wrong move, and they are out of there.

After all your compedtors are only a few clicks away

What I rerally hate are these walk on videos
http://www.mediastreams.ca/servicepackages/custom_walkon_video.htm

a lot fast moeny SEO's have them

[RyanKent]

There's a creative idea Alan! You can have a bird move on the page after a few seconds and "land" on the content you wish the reader to see. The implementation would be key. Done correctly, it would be just a tiny bit of movement to catch a reader's attention. On the other hand, it could be done in an annoying manner as well.

[AlanMosley]

As others have stated, its a bit in your face to the user.

May i suggest rather then a pop-up, just insert it somewhere un-obtrusive, after a few seconds, a simple bit of movement is all that is needed, and it would not stop the user from reading your content

[SimonCullum]

Thanks Ryan. I like your more detailed answer on user experience, spot on!

[RyanKent]

I agree with Simon. Prior to Panda pop ups had no effect on SEO. You can hear Matt Cutts share this directly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_0WI75X4U4

I would add that many users perceive pop-ups to be unfriendly, and in our post-Panda world it may be a ranking factor. I would suggest taking a close look at how users perceive the popup. Find a way to sit people down in front of a pc and get them to visit your site. Watch their reactions to the popups. If 2-3 of the react negatively then take that as a strong indicator and consider it surely is a negative user experience and could be a negative panda factor.

[SimonCullum]

Hi Maria, this usually has absolutely no effect at all on SEO, though can't be completely sure without seeing it and your website. The main consideration with such pop ups is User Experience rather than SEO. Hope that helps, Simon