Accelerated Mobile Pages or AMP is an open-source framework developed by Google along with Twitter to create a faster, more robust mobile device platform. The framework gives webmasters the ability to deliver lightweight experiences by stripping and streamlining the HTML and CSS.
Sadly, only 3.8% of all websites are utilizing this technology, but that trend may soon change.
Reports show that arts and entertainment, computers and electronics, and news and media are the categories using AMP the most.
While AMP was originally designed for publishers, marketers are discovering that AMP is ideal for offering a memorable and speedy mobile viewing experience.
AMP was reportedly created to counter Facebook’s Instant Articles. Lately, however, AMP has become a powerful platform for marketers. You now have the perfect vehicle for delivering content directly from the search results at near-instant speeds. This is what marketers have been trying to do for as long as the internet has existed.
As you can imagine, Google has elevated sites that use AMP in the search results, and in fact, recently added AMP to its list of web standards.
You will know a search result is making use of AMP by the lightning bolt icon. This icon lets you know that the search result is about to load super-fast.
The simple answer is that AMP is a bare-bones version of HTML. AMP also restricts the use of Javascript, ensuring the code remains lean. Finally, the platform contains a proxy-based content delivery network (CDN) that fetches content and caches it for faster delivery.
Google has put together a handy guide to implementing AMP for your own website.
AMP makes Google searchers happy and it makes the search engine happy, particularly since Google rolled out its mobile-first index.
To create an AMP version of your site, you will need to learn the framework. AMP HTML is like a stripped-down version of standard HTML. There are strict rules for developers, especially when it comes to on-page advertising, but more marketers are using it on account of its ability to serve up content fast.
The biggest negative to AMP is the amount of effort it takes to create a separate AMP site. The Google guide can be helpful, but each page must be designed anew using the new framework.
Furthermore, and for best results, it’s recommended that you create and maintain separate marketing assets for your desktop vs AMP websites.
Another downside to the new framework comes because of one of its perks. Because AMP caches content and delivers it in a flash upon demand, you can’t rely on Google Analytics to record every one of your server requests.
Special tracking parameters will need to be established to properly record engagement and conversions.
Lastly, AMP takes away many of the elements that web users tend to love, such as animated images, moving maps, and other nuances that make your site stand out.
If you can live with those things, AMP may be right for you.
If you rely on leads from your website, then by all accounts yes, you should be using AMP. Our clients have seen significant boosts in Google rankings after implementing AMP. As far as conversions, since we just began implementing this technology, that data is still populating. We will update this article when that data finally comes in.
AMP solves a major problem for marketers – the issue of speed. If you can manage to learn the AMP framework, using Google’s guide to assist you, you are encouraged to create an AMP version of your site. Your customers will love you for the speed with which you deliver your content and for the care you display in not wasting their time.
Don’t you want to take the time to learn and implement AMP for your own website? Let Millionairium create an AMP version of your site as part of our Pay-Per-Lead SEO service, where you only pay for the quality leads you approve.
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