Google AMP
Things You Need to Know About Google AMP
Mobile phones have become a must-have tool for most people globally. It is therefore not surprising that more than 4.88 billion people own a mobile phone in 2021. This translates to around 61.85% of the global population.
With mobile penetration set to increase over the years, more and more people use mobile phones to access news, content and connect with their loved ones. Any savvy marketer and business owner know that optimizing their page for the mobile experience is vital.
It will not only impact your readers but will also improve your SEO. Search engines like Google can detect pages that have high bounce rates and low load speeds. You can already tell that such pages rank lower on the search engine results page.
Fortunately, website owners can optimize their pages for the mobile experience by taking advantage of Google AMP. To get the best out of Google AMP, you have to understand what it entails. So, continue reading to discover more about Google AMP.
Google AMP overview
Google AMP is the technology that Google launched in 2016. It is short for Accelerated Mobile Pages, and its main aim is to cater to the growing demand for mobile content. Simply put, Google AMP is an open-source web-based technology that seeks to give mobile users the best experience.
Google launched AMP around 2016 to compete with Facebook’s in-app publishing platform and Apple’s news platform.
Blog posts, landing pages, and product pages that use AMP load quicker than pages that don’t. Further, such pages might appear differently on the mobile search engine results page. Moreover, these pages have a lightning bolt symbol that lets users know that the page has a faster load speed than non-AMP pages in the SERP.
Studies have shown that Google AMP pages may load four times faster than non-AMP pages. These studies have also shown that AMP pages usually consume eight times fewer data than typical pages.
Is Google AMP Worth it?
Before we discuss the pros and cons of Google AMP, it is vital to understand the importance of AMP. First, it helps to understand that AMP can improve your SEO. This is because it will increase your pages’ load speed, which is an important ranking factor.
However, AMP might be more beneficial to some businesses more than others. Don’t worry, we will help you figure this out.
Bear in mind that Google AMP is one way you can optimize your pages for speed and mobile experience. There are other solutions you can turn to out there.
How Does Google AMP work?
AMP consists of three parts that work together to achieve fast load speeds. Let’s discuss how each part works below.
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AMP HTML
This is a subsection of HTML that is responsible for maintaining specific performance characteristics for content pages. It is quite different from typical HTML.
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AMP JavaScript
This structure is responsible for the management of resource handling and asynchronous loading. Please keep in mind that third-party JS does not work with AMP.
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AMP Content Delivery Network
It manages AMP pages and adds cache to them to improve performance.
AMP improves the mobile experience by removing the HTML tags that would otherwise slow down your pages. Read on to discover how you can get the most from AMP:
- Always have a streamlined version of CSS.
- Keep in mind that you can only use the JavaScript library that comes with AMP.
- Validate all your sites.
- If you want to use custom fonts, remember to load them.
- Always declare width and height to optimize images.
- If you are adding videos to your page, remember only to use AMP-approved extensions.
AMP Pros
When AMP was launched back in 2016, most people thought it was the future of online marketing. However, so much has happened since then, and most people are losing their trust in AMP. But is AMP worth it? Read on to discover what AMP has to offer.
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Better Website Engagement
With at least 50% of all web traffic coming from mobile phones, optimizing your pages from the mobile experience is increasingly important. Google AMP allows you to do just that. With AMP, website visitors can access content quickly and using fewer data. This can increase website engagement, and the chances of visitors visiting other pages on your website will increase.
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Higher SEO Rankings
With page load time being a major ranking factor, AMP can improve your rankings and traffic. Search engines like Google and Bing prioritize pages with faster load speeds. For instance, if your page and a competitor’s page is tied neck to neck for other factors, the page that loads faster will be ranked higher.
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Easy to Use on WordPress Sites
Another reason why Google AMP is important is that it is easy to use on WordPress pages. All you have to do is add this simple plug-in to your WordPress website to get more traffic.
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Visitors are Likely to Spend More Time on Your Website
Studies have revealed that users are more likely to spend more time on a website that loads faster than a slow website. This can translate to reduced bounce rates and more conversion.
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Increase Click-Through Rates
Since AMP pages are likely to be displayed on the top of the SERP, the chances are that your site will get a high click-through rate if you have optimized them for mobile experience through AMP.
Main Considerations for Implementing Google AMP
While Google AMP comes with many benefits, it is also vital to know its major drawbacks. Here are the main AMP cons:
- Hard to Use Analytics
The first main drawback of AMP is that it makes it hard to use standard analytic tags to measure the performance of your page. This is because the page is hosted on Google servers and not yours.
- Amp Focuses on Efficiency Instead of Creativity
AMP can negatively impact UX elements on your pages. This is because it prefers efficiency over creativity. So, it is advisable to avoid Google AMP if your site relies on creative visuals to enhance users’ experience.
Final Thoughts
Google AMP is a powerful tool if used properly. You should only implement it if you find optimizing your page for the mobile experience and page speed. (https://winandoffice.com/) Moreover, it is the best tool to increase your conversation rate if most of the traffic is from mobile devices.
