Your Popup Is Not "Engaging." It Is a Ranking Penalty Waiting to Happen.
Google started penalizing intrusive interstitials on mobile in January 2017.
That was nine years ago.
And websites are still doing this.
What Counts as Intrusive
A popup that covers the main content immediately after the user arrives from search. A standalone interstitial the user must dismiss before accessing content. An above-the-fold layout where the above-the-fold portion looks like an interstitial.
What Is Allowed
Small banners that use a reasonable amount of screen space. Age-verification interstitials (legally required). Login dialogs for paywalled content. Cookie consent banners (legally required in many regions).
The Fix
Delay your popup. Let users engage with your content first. Use a banner instead of a full-screen overlay. On mobile, make the close button easy to tap.
Or better yet, use exit-intent triggers instead of entry popups. Let people read your content before you shove a signup form in their face. This is part of the broader page experience signals Google evaluates. Their SEO starter guide explicitly warns against intrusive interstitials.
Good mobile UX means proper tap targets, readable font sizes, and no full-screen popups blocking content.
It is one of the 113 tasks in seocheckup.app. Free. No credit card. 30 seconds. wink