Google is known to launch new updates every day. The internet is growing quickly, and bloggers, content creators, and others need to optimize their mobile pages. Mobile devices are responsible for a large amount of Google’s web traffic.
Optimizing your site for mobile users will allow you to reach a larger, more diverse audience. The load time for webpages on mobile devices can be slow, which decreases the quality of the user’s experience.
Does AMP affect SEO?
AMP makes pages loading faster. There are multiple other benefits to having AMP-rendered pages like:
- Enhances User Experience
- Improved Server Performance
- AMP Only Search Features
- AMP Lightning Icon
- Increased Conversion Rate
- GDPR Compliance
What is AMP in SEO?
AMP was created by Google on October 2015 as an open-source framework. The Google Accelerated Mobile Pages Project was designed to improve the speed and performance of mobile web pages. The project is a response to similar initiatives from Facebook and Apple.
The idea behind the AMP project is that Google wants the same algorithm and code to work across multiple platforms and devices, whether it’s a phone, tablet, or any other mobile device. Since AMP started, many international news portals have been involved.
Some of the first websites implementing SEO AMP are The Guardian (UK), The Washington Post and Buzzfeed (US), the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Die Zeit (Germany), and El Pais (Spain). Twitter and LinkedIn are technology partners in AMP.
AMP is a version of HTML that is restricted in features, CSS, and JavaScript.
Almost every online portal that is large is using AMP for SEO today. They have recognized the great advantages of websites that load quickly on mobile devices. You can use AMP for your website with the help of the right codes and plugins.
AMP pages are designed to be lighter and faster than regular web pages, to help improve mobile browsing experiences. When mobile devices first connected to the internet, pages were too slow to be appreciated by mobile users. Although responsive websites and mobile domains have been created to help speed up the process, they still don’t help site owners who have several external widgets and ad systems on their site.
Google has introduced AMP to help improve speed when browsing on mobile devices. This is different from traditional responsive sites because it is a development initiative that requires more than just adding some responsive elements to your site. AMP strips down many of the HTML elements and stores the reduced content model in Google’s cache. It’s like using Google’s cloud servers to browse the internet. Although it is quick, like many Google things, it is not available for use by the general public.
When to use AMP?
When deciding whether or not to use AMP for a web page, digital marketers should consider how well AMP pages convert users compared to non-AMP pages. Some common cases where AMP is used include: -when a website wants to improve its user experience by loading pages faster -when a website wants to improve its search engine optimization -when a website wants to improve its conversion rates -when a website wants to increase its visibility in mobile search
- When mobile devices are the major source of your traffic – Over the period of 10 years (2009-2018), as per the data collected by Statcounter , the market share of mobile users have increased to 54% whereas the share of desktop users declined to 46.If the majority of your website’s traffic comes from mobile, then catering to the needs of the mobile web users is more important than ever before. The AMP project was created because of shifting patterns of users from desktop to mobiles. AMP is perfect to optimize mobile-first strategy and amp in SEO help in attracting and retaining mobile traffic with better page performance.So, AMP must be on your radar to enhance user experience and to stay ahead of the competition in the market.
- To increase your page load speed – Primary goal of AMP framework is to improve mobile page load speed. Websites that have AMP enabled, load almost in just tenths of the second whereas normal pages take on an average 22 seconds to load.
- When your bounce rate is high – According to digital marketing experts, you only have 3 seconds to capture the interest of the visitors who clicked in the link to visit your website. If your page takes more than 3 seconds to load, as much as 53% of visitors will bounce from the page and 79% will abandon the site.AMP is crucial for a website because an increase in page load speed improves overall usability and engagement, which eventually convinces users to be on your website longer.
Integrating the AMP Plugin
To use the AMP plugin, you must select an alternative format for all your webpages. Choose a format that adheres to the standards set by AMP. If you are AMP-optimized, this means that you can still exist together with the non-optimized versions.
This AMP plugin is designed to speed up loading times by interference with the HTML code tag manager and eliminates any potential aspects that could cause slow loading. Some pages on your website may not be accessible to AMPs if they include JavaScript.
Although the documentation for AMP requirements is very accessible, it might take some development resources to implement them.
There are many AMP plugins available for popular Content Management Systems, such as WordPress, which makes it quick and easy to implement. The extensions allow you to include videos on your page.
It is essential to keep to the specifications and make sure the AMP pages renderer is checked before making them public. It is recommended to use the Google AMP testing tool after completing the publishing process.
In addition to verifying your site with Google, you should also verify your site with the Google Search Console. You can now get feedback from Google about your AMP integration.
It only takes 5 minutes to integrate AMP into your WordPress site. All you need to do is follow the few simple steps mentioned below:
- Start by installing the AMP WordPress Plugin by Automattic
- Now, activate the plugin. What it will do is append amp to all your pages, but it will not redirect mobile visitors to your amp pages.
- After installing the plugin, the next step is editing your .htaccess file by using any FTP program.
- Now, you can check if your AMP pages are working by pasting the code mentioned below in your .htaccess file.
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !/amp$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} (android|blackberry|googlebot-mobile|iemobile|iphone|ipod|#opera mobile|palmos|webos)
RewriteRule ^(+)(*)$ https://yourdomain.com/$1/amp
You will need to edit the CSS to make your AMP pages look like your normal website pages. . To change the CSS on your AMP pages using FTP, go to wp-content -> plugins -> amp -> template.php.
Tom Anthony and Will Critchlow of British Whiteboard Friday explain how the AMP plugin works and how to make your mobile pages AMP-optimized.
Advantages of AMP Pages
The advantages of using AMP depend on your site. For example, it can lead to less data consumption, improved server performance, a free CDN, and higher ad viewability.
There are two primary benefits of using AMP that are most commonly realized by those who use it for SEO purposes.
Faster Page Load Times
While AMP is not a direct ranking factor, it is indirectly affected by ranking factors, one of which is speed.
This is for 2021 with core web vitals becoming a ranking factor.
If done correctly, load time usually improves significantly.
According to Google, the average load time for an AMP page is less than one second. This is well within the core web vital requirements.
Plus, speed often has a run-on effect of a more optimized user experience, witnessed by:
- Lower bounce rates.
- Higher time on site.
- Increased conversion rates.
Additional Visibility in Google Search Results
If you have an AMP page, it will always look better in Google search results on mobile devices.
The Lighting Bolt Icon in Google SERPs
Pages that are AMP-enabled are indicated with a lightning bolt icon in the Google search results.
Some SEOs believe that giving pages the “AMP” designation will make users more likely to click on them, because they will know that the page will load quickly.
There is no significant evidence to support the idea that this will have a positive effect on most industries.
AMP + Structured Data = More Changes of Getting Rich Results
AMP in combination with valid structured data can result in appearing in a host carousel or with rich result features, such as headline text and larger-than-thumbnail images.
Although AMP is not compulsory for these enhanced features.
Swipe to Visit
The third new feature is the ability to swipe to visit an AMP page from Google Images on mobile.
After a user has selected an image, they are able to preview what the site header would look like. If they wish to visit the source page, they can swipe upwards.
The main reason that AMP pages are gaining more visibility is that they are required to be included in the top stories carousel, with the exception of COVID-19 related content.
starting in 2021, the Core Web Vitals update will allow both AMP and non-AMP pages to be ranked based on on-page experience metrics.
When Google announced that they would begin to include AMP pages in their search results, many SEO professionals started to question if the benefits of AMP still outweighed the negatives.
Disadvantages of AMP
From a Developer’s Perspective
- By design, it is a restrictive framework and will likely always be so in order to deliver on the promised speed.
- It’s an extra burden to implement and subsequently remain valid with the ever-evolving AMP standard. Plugins can give a head start, but they rarely work perfectly out of the box.
- It creates technical debt as both the AMP and canonical pages of the code need to be kept in-sync unless you go all in AMP native.
- Light speed is not guaranteed without the AMP Cache . For sources that link to AMP pages without using an AMP Cache (for example, Twitter), additional performance optimizations are needed for optimal speed.
From a Sales Perspective
- The mere presence of AMP inventory creates complexity as if you implement best practice with separate ad units for accurate reporting, you have double the ad units to manage.
- The framework limits ad features . Notably, AMP doesn’t support “disruptive” ads, such as interstitials or expandables, and direct-sold ads can be complex to implement.
From a Marketer’s Perspective
- It costs double the crawl for one piece of content as Google wants to ensure parity.
- For many publishers, it drives impressions but not necessarily engagement metrics due to the top stories carousel ‘swipe’ functionality encouraging users to read more from other sources.
- It’s an extra burden to optimize . Like a regular page, just because it’s live doesn’t mean it’s SEO-friendly. You will need to partner with your development team to get the most out of AMP.
- Google’s AMP Viewer dilutes brand identity as a Google domain, not the publisher’s, is shown in the address bar. This can be rather confusing for users who have been trained that the URL in the address bar has significance. The fix of showing the actual site at the top of the AMP pages takes up precious space above the fold. Signed exchange is a step in the right direction, but isn’t available for most traffic.
How to Optimize AMP Pages
Not every AMP adopter sees an increase in results.
There are two potential reasons why that might not be the case.
- Either wasn’t the right fit, we come to this in the next section.
- Or it wasn’t implemented thoroughly and correctly. AMP is not often as simple as plugin and play.
What does SEO involve to make AMP more visible?
Here are the top optimization actions for AMP pages: -make sure the pages are crawlable and indexable -optimize the title and description tags -use canonical tags to avoid duplicate content -minimize the use of JavaScript and other external resources
Ensure Discoverability
To connect an AMP page with its non-AMP version, add a rel=”amphtml” tag to the non-AMP page and a rel=”canonical” tag to the AMP page.
SEO-Friendly AMP URLs
Some examples of how you might communicate the URL is AMP are as follows: -You could use AMP’s official website. -You could use AMP’s social media platforms. -You could use AMP’s email newsletter.
- Parameter : ?amp
- Subdomain : amp.domain.tld
- Front-end language : domain/folder/article.amp.html
- Subfolder : domain/folder/article/amp
The option to have subfolders is generally considered the most SEO-friendly and flexible.
Google only recommends two options: front-end language and this option.
Consistent User Interface
The user interface and design scheme for AMP and canonical versions of the same page should be similar, with only minor variations due to AMP restrictions.
Fully Functional
Assuming you are talking about web pages, personalization, interactive elements, login, and ads should work the same way on the mobile version of a website as they do on the desktop version.
Verify SEO Element Parity
The code that controls things like hreflang, H1s, alt image text, and especially valid structured data should be identical on both the canonical and AMP pages. Having different code on those pages can hurt SEO visibility.
AMP-Friendly Logo
If you want your logo to appear in the top stories carousel, it must meet the AMP guidelines. Otherwise, it will be displayed poorly or not at all.
Don’t Add AMP URLs to XML Sitemap (Unless You’re Native AMP)
Only canonical URLs belong in XML sitemaps .
The rel=”amphtml” allows Google to find AMP pages.
If a page is correctly paired with AMP, Google will serve the AMP version to the user.
It takes a lot of work to set up AMP, and many marketers are wondering if it’s worth it.
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