210-582-5842
Take your phone out and Google something – anything! Try searching “marketing blogs.” Now, you may have to scroll down a little bit to find this, but do you see a small lightning bolt to the left of some websites? Look for the words “AMP.” AMP stands for accelerated mobile pages. It basically means that the website is very fast! It’s surprising that in this digital age there are still so many websites that aren’t optimized for mobile. What is AMP, and how can you get there? Let’s take a look.
Google created AMP to help users have the best mobile experience. There are two ways that AMP accomplishes its fast speeds. One way is that web developers are required to use a set of narrow web technologies to create pages. Even though JavaScript can help web pages load faster, it isn’t allowed to be used for building AMP websites. The second way is by serving pages from its own servers, at least when you visit an AMP page from a Google search.
Basically, instead of sending people to your website, Google is sending people to a copy of your website on their servers. If you plan to use AMP, you must make an alternative version of your website that meets the standards set by the AMP project. The specifications are very similar to HTML5, except with a set of requirements and restrictions. Your AMP-optimized site will have its own separate address. Those who use WordPress can find a plugin that automatically creates these alternate versions and even helps Google locate them.
Here are a few reasons you might want to consider when deciding if AMP is right for you:
Improve Mobile Ranking
If you follow the specifications very closely, Google will start to give your website special treatment. Okay, so this isn’t a proven fact yet – but knowing Google it’s about to be added to its algorithm very soon. When an AMP-optimized website posts a new update, they tend to show up closer to the top of Google mobile search results. Don’t let this make you lose sight on your SEO efforts, though! Google will only give priority to your site if they notice the other SEO signals are being satisfied as well.
Mobile Speed
One reason page speed increases is because the website is hosted on the Google server. Most websites take a while to load because the browser needs to read a number of requests from a separate website that is hosted on a different server. Even though the loading speed might only be 3 seconds, that’s a lot of time in the digital world.
One of the main reasons AMP-optimized websites run so fast is because they don’t have useless elements that slow them down. Google made sure to create the simplest versions of these sites for fast web technology. AMP websites will keep visitors on your page because they won’t have to wait for pages to load. AMP pages have even proved to load faster than responsive pages.
No More In-Your-Face Ads
Even though AMP supports ads, it is not easy to incorporate them into your site. Google tries to limit ads on AMP sites. They might have a few small banners at the bottom of the pages, but you won’t get pop-ups and extra junk.
The Fine Print
A Google spokesperson confirmed that they have not found a way yet to prioritize AMP sites in search listings without having that content hosted on Google’s AMP Cache servers, but they will be working towards it. Google is smart! They found a way to keep readers on their site while benefitting other business at the same time.
This is kind of similar to Facebook Instant Articles. Publishers can embed their own content on Facebook servers so that users don’t have to leave Facebook’s mobile app to read the article. We are expecting Twitter and Pinterest to be joining this trend in the near future.
Contact Digital Marketing Sapiens
If you own a business in the San Antonio area and are interested in getting the most out of your mobile website, talk to the professionals at Digital Marketing Sapiens. Not only can we build custom websites, but we can make your website mobile-friendly and AMP-optimized! An AMP website can help you generate leads with higher conversions because it is fast and user-friendly. Don’t let your business fall behind the curve. Become AMP-optimized today, and call us at (210) 582-5842 for a consultation.
