You've probably heard by now that Google has released new rules that limit the size and type of popups for mobile sites. If the mere sound of this strikes fear into your heart, you're not alone. People everywhere are wondering: do the rules mean that every mobile site with a popup will be ranked lower in searches? Is optimizing my mobile site a lost cause? 

These questions are particularly urgent for dealerships, whose offers are crucial to lead capture. But not to worry – you can make these new requirements work for you and create the best engagement and conversion rates possible on your dealership website. 

First, the details: according to the new rules, Google will lower the search rankings of sites that have "take-over" popups– ones that fill the entire screen, block all content, or position themselves to look like the real webpage when they are not.  On the flipside, Google will award higher rankings to mobile sites that abide by their standards.

Google's stated goal is mobile friendly sites with well-positioned engagements and easily-dismissable popups. And the truth is, your visitors probably want the same. Now is a great time to update your content and offers to make sure they not only fit the new standards, but are also providing the highest quality engagement so you capture more of your site traffic. 

So how do you make sure your dealership website is ready for the change? First, check your mobile engagements to see if they fit the new requirements. If you work with a vendor, confirm with them that your site is in good shape. If your popups don't fit the qualifications, it's time to update them so your rankings remain high and customers can find your dealership website.

Not sure where to start? Here are some best practices we’ll be using at AutoLeadStar to create effective and mobile-friendly popups:

1. Make your offers fat-finger friendly. Your mobile popup fields should be big and easy to fill out. This is crucial for engaging mobile users, who need to be able to fill in information quickly on the go. But remember not to let the fields take over the entire page of content. Find the right balance.
2. Limit the number of fields in your offers. The fewer boxes to fill out, the more likely you'll get visitors to convert into leads.
3. Pay attention to size. Optimize the dimensions of your popups for mobile so your site visitors have a good experience – and so that you comply with the new Google requirements. One option is to position your popup as a banner along the top of your site or as a slider in the corner. Make sure to optimize your text size and font, too. If your readers have to zoom in to see, Google will no longer consider you mobile friendly.
4. Highlight the infamous "x" button. Make your popups easy to exit. If you don't have a clear "x" or "no thanks" button, you'll probably be marked as spam by Google. Don't try to lock your website visitors into a commitment to convert. They'll probably get annoyed and bounce – and once the new requirements kick in, they won't even see your site. 
5. Nix the add-ons. If you have applications like Flash on your mobile site, the time has come to remove them. These are not compatible with the new standards and will affect your ratings negatively. For dealerships that are using "click-to-calls" and live chat boxes, make sure users don't have to download anything funky to engage with your site.

So no need to freak out– Google hasn't banned popups. In fact, Google will probably reward sites with compliant mobile popups– so make sure yours are the best they can be.