AMP or Accelerated Mobile Pages is a brief version of the mobile web. It has been reduced to the essentials and consisting only the relevant information about a particular page. AMP eliminates all the extra details about a page in order to increase the page loading speed.
Since the majority of the web searches nowadays take place from the mobile devices, Google AMP seems to be an important factor for a website’s SEO. This write-up will discuss everything you need to know about AMP and how it influences the modern SEO.
What Is Google AMP?
Announced in 2016, Google said that businesses now need to incorporate AMP into their websites for ranking better on the search engines. The major search engine takes AMP sites into top consideration when it detects that the user is making a search from his or her mobile. As a result, non-AMP sites fail to get the exposure and priority that AMP sites get. AMP is an open-source endeavor, built by Google, in association with LinkedIn, WordPress and Twitter.
The purpose behind the development of AMP is to boost the speed of the mobile sites, as visitors do not tend to wait more than three seconds on a slow website, as per reports, which heavily affects the rank of a website. SEO professionals who have employed AMP technology on their sites have experienced a gradual rise in the user engagement along with the fast page loading speed.
The Technical Jargons that Fuels Google AMP
AMP is created with a simplified version of HTML and JavaScript. The design of AMP caters to the need of a mobile user by showing the required and relevant information. AMP HTML is simply a stripped-down version of HTML that can be found with a lightning bolt in the code. Almost every AMP HTML tags compliments traditional HTML tags, although some of them have either been altered to boost the performance or replaced.
AMP JavaScript, on the other hand, is a JavaScript library that makes sure that no single element obstructs the view of other externals in that library. Web developers often leverage AMP Cache to help Google cache AMPs. The cached copy of AMP websites is transmitted through a CDN. With the optimization of the AMP Cache, all JavaScript files and graphics are captured from the same source. Since it comes with a validation system, the page remains fully functional without depending on any kind of external sources.
How Google AMP Has an Impact on SEO?
When Google first rolled out the AMP, it clearly stated that AMP is not a ranking factor, but helps to improve the user experience on a site. In other terms, Google AMP is not a direct ranking factor; however, it boosts the page loading speed, which is definitely a legitimate ranking factor. Hence, Google AMP does play a key role in search engine optimization.
- AMP is not completely static: Although AMPs are a narrowed down version of the technology and codes used on the traditional website, it does not restrict you from adding video, audio, and social media buttons. As time passes, Google AMP will witness more influence on SEO through additional complex page elements.
- Visitors highly engage with the content: Users who click on AMP pages on the search result engines are more likely to read your content. This makes it a great alternative for online marketers who deploy lengthy content to build relationships with their target audience.
- AMP pages attain great exposure: AMP pages rank better in the mobile search results so that users do not have to scroll vertically looking for information. They are designed in such a manner that they display in a horizontal system, which enables easy swiping and giving great exposure to the top-ranked AMP pages.
- Google Analytics supports Google AMP: Due to this characteristic, you can track how visitors are reacting to the AMP versions of your web pages. You can have an insight into the page views, social interactions, and clicks on the various sections of your landing pages.
What Are the Limitations of AMP?
Web developers across the world have critically welcomed the announcement of Google AMP. Based on the usage and application for different purposes, AMP has been weighed down with both negative and positive reviews. Developers have detected some of the problems that might affect your website’s SEO campaign.
- AMP pages cannot generate leads: Until the feature to include opt-in forms is introduced in AMPs, you will not be able to generate leads through it. If your business is centered on lead generation, then the implementation of AMP will not be beneficial on your site.
- Your HTML needs to be impeccable: Your AMP pages need to be absolutely free of code errors or Google will not be able to cache them. As you might not be able to capitalize on AMP, it calls for a professional assistance, making it a costly affair.
- E-commerce sites find AMPs ineffective: AMP mainly focuses on lengthy articles and other long-form content. Typically, this will not be able to provide relevant answers to the queries made by customers on an E-commerce site. Unless your website has a vast library full of articles and blog posts covering all the aspects of your brand and its offerings, you cannot enjoy the benefits of AMP HTML yet.
- AMP can curb your link building strategies: If you get links back to your AMP pages, they will not be effective until someone linked to your traditional site. This is because the URL of AMP pages is still monitored in Google.com, and since link building is a vital aspect of SEO, it is a great issue for many sites.
Conclusion
Finally, it is too early to make certain that AMP has fully fitted into the SEO game. There are a lot of items to be included in AMP that will go well with the future of SEO. Whether to invest your resources and efforts in Google AMP or not entirely depends on your needs. If you are solely focused on improving your site’s loading speed and mobile friendliness, Google AMP is a great choice for you.
