What is AMP SEO?
According to a 2020 study by Google, Mobile traffic has grown by over 500% in media consumption since 2011. As a result, content creators, bloggers, and others need to optimize their mobile pages in the ever-changing internet world. Mobile devices collect a considerable portion of Google web traffic.
Therefore, by optimizing your site for outstanding mobile user experience, you are diversifying your audience. One challenge website owners face is long load times on mobiles, which compromises user experience.
What is AMP?
“AMP” stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, a web solution to restructure mobile content consumption. Initially, when mobiles first connected to the internet, they were very slow to load (they often still are.) As a result, Internet users were more inclined to use their desktops as they offered faster load times than mobile phones. This led to the creation of Accelerated Mobile Pages.
AMP is a stripped-down version of HTML, among other web components, to enable mobile pages to load faster. AMP works like Apple News or Facebook Instant Articles, which also strive to make it easier and faster to consume content on mobiles.
The slight difference between Facebook instant articles and AMP format is that AMP distributes its content on an open web without featuring a platform-specific app.
Why Focus On AMP?
A recent study showed that the number of internet searches from mobile phones has overtaken computers. These days, we use our mobile phones to look for a nearby shop, restaurant or read emerging news as we head to work. If mobiles are the primary source of your traffic, then taking care of users’ needs is now more crucial than ever before. The creation of AMP was a reaction to the increased number of searches from mobile phones. The primary goal was to create faster load times for mobile content consumers.
The average load time for a faster website is three seconds. If your site takes longer to load, mobile users will probably bounce and leave for other faster pages.
The Relationship Between AMP And SEO?
Contrary to what many people think, AMP doesn’t necessarily improve search engine ranking. If you adopt AMP to improve your ranking, you won’t get a massive boost.
That said, speed is vital in search engine ranking. If two high-quality articles score equally in other characteristics, but one takes longer to load, Google will emphasise the fastest because that’s what users find appealing.
AMP indirectly affects google search ranking. If an AMP rendered page gets more clicks and fewer bounces since it loads fast, Google assumes the page has valuable content, and it’s likely to rank high on search results.
Google constantly updates the rules of determining what performs better in search. If you post relevant and valuable content on your site, but the site is not mobile-friendly in terms of speed, then your business might be negatively affected by engine page results.
With mobile phones becoming more prevalent across all continents and almost all people relying on Google for internet searches, AMP will continue being an essential tool. Therefore, even if you burn the midnight oil to enhance SEO, your efforts won’t bear fruits without AMP.
What Kind of Sites Should Prioritize AMP?
At the start, AMP concentrated on news stories published online. However, AMP is also essential for other kinds of businesses, such as e-commerce companies. It is also a powerful tool to create a balanced marketing strategy for content creators, given that search engine results are closely tied to user experience. The battle continues, and more businesses are adapting AMP, because Google uses AMPs in search results.
As with other transformative changes in search engines, people need to learn about AMP and adjust. It is recommended to make your website more mobile responsive since it’s an influencing factor adopted by Google in page ranking.
What Are the Advantages Of Google AMP?
Apart from unparalleled user experience to internet users and faster loading speeds, AMP offers multiple benefits to organizations with an SEO strategy:
1. Enhanced Ranking and Traffic
Though not directly, AMPs go a long way in improving page ranking on Google. Search engine algorithms prioritize pages with faster load times. If two websites are neck and neck, the one with faster load times wins.
2. Increased Website Engagement
Lightweight AMP content comes to the rescue of mobile users with a less stable internet connection. Visitors are likely to stay on your site longer if the page has reduced page load time.
3. Lower Bounce Rates
Visitors are likely to spend more time on pages that load faster. A recent study by Google found that 53% of website visitors abandoned pages that took over 23 seconds to load. On the other hand, online publishers who implemented AMP got a double increase in time spent on their site. Essentially, more time on your website might mean more conversion rates.
4. More Ad Views
With AMP, web designers code HTML in a way that improves the overall usability of images and banners. This leads to an increased view rate, allowing publishers to increase their chances of monetizing their content.
Potential Pitfalls Of AMP
Like other revolutionary technological changes, AMP comes with potential pitfalls. Therefore, it is prudent to know these issues before deciding when to enable AMP on your site.
First, you can’t incorporate any custom code that isn’t supported by the AMP system. Custom scripts, widgets, and added JavaScript for conversion might not transmit on the AMP system. Though the technology is backed by reputable companies globally, it is yet to support all custom scripts and plugins on the market.
Second, AMP has an issue with ad systems. Ad systems are created in a way that they can communicate with the central server and determine your earnings. These systems don’t work well without special coding. When used with AMP, you might need other techniques to monetize your site.
Do You Need AMP?
As you have learned, AMP helps speed up web pages, providing a great user experience for mobile content consumers. If done correctly, it will take your business to the next level by increasing the conversion rate. It might take time, but eventually, better site engagement will help you achieve long-term benefits.
