Whether or not pop-ups have an effect on search engine optimisation (SEO) is a timely and interesting question, posed by Kevin Gibbons on the SEOptimise blog.

His intuitive answer, with which most seo agency gurus are unlikely to disagree, is yes they do - not least because of Google Toobar's own pop-up blocker.

However as Michael Gray notes on webpronews, seo web design and pop-ups are inextricably linked.

According to Mr Gray, one of the main reasons SEO has become such an important part of any web designer's job is because pop-ups are still so widely used.

He continues: "Until designers learn how to use a CMS properly and separate content from context, an SEO is always going to have [to] fix the nightmare they have created."

Mr Gray also points out that SEO is teamed with usability, unlike pop-ups and "lots of eye candy", which can frustrate users and prevent them from finding the things they want.

On this view, whether pop-ups alone upset Google seems a little irrelevant - internet marketing and web design is wrought with problematic features.

As far as solutions are concerned, I can only agree with Mr Gray - it's SEO all the way.

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