As the use of mobile devices and searches conducted on them continue to rise, prioritizing mobile has become increasingly important. According to the We Are Social 2020 report, 94% of Turkey’s population accesses the internet via mobile devices, with approximately 77 million mobile users. This data highlights the necessity of prioritizing mobile. Most users abandon a webpage that doesn’t load within 5 seconds. To address the issue of slow mobile page loading speeds, Google introduced the AMP project in 2016, aiming to improve mobile visitors’ experience by displaying faster pages in search results.
Let’s delve into what AMP is, whether your website needs it, and its advantages and disadvantages:
What is AMP?
AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. It is a simplified version of your website designed to offer a better experience regarding site speed for mobile users. Google, valuing user experience, recommends the use of AMP to create web pages that load quickly and smoothly. Speed is considered an important ranking factor for SEO.
AMP is open-source, allowing anyone to implement it. After creating a page, you can publish it and make it easily accessible to search engines. By following Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages guidelines, you can create customized pages that, once validated, are stored in Google’s cache. This helps you provide fast-loading pages to your visitors, enhancing the mobile user experience. The rapid loading of these pages is due to Google not having to send requests to your server, which can boost your conversion rates and improve your ranking. The AMP project is supported by major brands like WordPress, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Bing.
Advantages of Using AMP
- Your web pages load faster, improving the mobile user experience. This can be particularly crucial for news websites, where AMP may be considered essential.
- Being a free and open-source framework allows everyone to use this technology.
- You may observe an increase in your website’s conversion rates. Although this may not directly benefit SEO, it is appreciated by Digital Marketing Experts.
- It automatically optimizes images on your site, relieving you from the hassle of adjusting image sizes.
Disadvantages of Using AMP
- AMP has certain limitations. You may not be able to offer all the functionalities of your website to users. The application guidelines impose their own rules on your site, which can be restrictive for e-commerce sites, thus making AMP less recommended for them.
- You give more control to Google. Google applies its own rules to your site and decides how your content is displayed, according to its interests, granting it even more oversight.
- Limited advertising support for websites generating ad revenue. Although page speed is a ranking factor, if the application of AMP does not add value to your page, its implementation becomes meaningless.
Why Should We Use AMP?
As mentioned, AMP is a simplified and streamlined version of your website. Users prefer the AMP version for quick results, as even a 1-second delay in site speed can lead to a loss of visitor interest and potential business losses. Websites using AMP technology have seen growth in organic rankings since site speed is a significant ranking factor for Google. Consequently, you can achieve a better Click-Through Rate (CTR). AMP can make your website more visible on SERPs, as Google prioritizes AMP websites. This technology enables a better mobile experience for site visitors. E-commerce sites using AMP have seen increased conversion rates, as a 3-second delay in page loading can significantly reduce conversion rates. The principle of “the faster, the better” holds true, emphasizing the importance of speed in retaining visitors.
How to Implement AMP?
You can create an AMP page with basic HTML knowledge, using a simplified or streamlined version of CSS. AMP does not allow the use of classic JavaScript, recommending the use of the AMP JS Library instead. You need to report your AMP pages to Google via Search Console, which sends notifications upon AMP implementation. You can view detailed reports and track any errors through the Search Console’s search appearance.
To apply AMP technology to your web pages, follow Google’s guidelines. You can use both the standard and AMP versions of your website. Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress offer AMP plugins, simplifying the process significantly. For example, if you have a page at https://www.example.com/smartphones/, its AMP version would be https://www.example.com/smartphones/amp/. After publishing your AMP pages, it’s beneficial to test them with Google’s AMP test tool to ensure they are working correctly.
WordPress AMP Plugins AMP plugins for widely used CMS like WordPress can significantly ease the process. Before using these plugins, it’s advisable to create a backup of your site.
