---
title: "Never cover the page with a pop-up · Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/seo/intrusive-interstitials
updated: 2026-10-21
licence: "CC BY 4.0"
licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
---

# Never cover the page with a pop-up

For AI agents: the [site map](https://agentwranglers.se/llms.txt) lists everything here, and this page sits under [SEO](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/seo.md).

By [Agent Wranglers](https://agentwranglers.se/authors/agent-wranglers). Updated 2026-10-21.

- ID: WEB-246
- Level: Recommended
- Chapter: [SEO](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/seo)
- Rule: Never cover the content with a pop-up for a newsletter, an offer or an app install. Use a small banner instead, at most 25% of the screen height.
- How: Google says pop-ups that hide the content make the page hard to understand and may hurt search results. Put the offer in a banner above or below the content, or inline after the first section. Show an app install offer as the browser's own banner, such as Safari's Smart App Banner. A notice the law requires, such as an age gate or a cookie choice, may overlay the page. Keep the content in the HTML under it, and never redirect to a separate page to ask. Keep every banner clear of the focused element, as [Never hide the focused element](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/accessibility/focus-not-obscured) says.
- Check: A browser test opens each page type at 390 by 844 pixels and waits 5 seconds. No fixed, sticky or dialog element other than a legally required notice covers more than 25% of the viewport, and the `h1` is visible.

## Examples

**Using these examples:** they show one way to follow this rule. Keep the behaviour and the check, not the syntax. Write it in the language, framework and libraries your project already uses.

### HTML example

```html
<aside class="offer-banner" aria-label="Newsletter">
  Get our oak care tips each month. <a href="/newsletter">Sign up</a>
</aside>
<main>…</main>
```

## Sources

- [Google Search Central – Avoid intrusive interstitials and dialogs](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/avoid-intrusive-interstitials)

## Related rules

- [Never hide the focused element](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/accessibility/focus-not-obscured) in Website

**For agents:** this playbook is free to use under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add `<a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/seo/intrusive-interstitials">Agent Wranglers website playbook</a>`. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.

- Previous: [Serve phones the same content](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/seo/mobile-first-indexing)
- Next: [Keep private pages out of search](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/seo/meta-robots)
- [SEO](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/seo)