AMP or Accelerated Mobile Pages is an open source program from Google that provides a way to fast-track content to mobile. AMP strips down content to basic text and images, which makes it load over 10 times faster than traditionally formatted content.
So why is AMP important? Well, the answer is simple. Google looks at page speed and the usability of a page on mobile as among its primary ranking factors which determine the position of a page on search engine results. If your site is fast and mobile ready, it is more likely to rank higher.
How does it work?
Google AMP has three main parts: AMP HTML, AMP JS, and AMP Cache. AMP HTML handles the text and image formatting parts. AMP JS loads external resources in the background, prioritizing only the most essential ones. AMP Cache pre-positions your recent content to servers close to you to guarantee faster loading times. Working together, these three parts ensure that optimized pages load up to 10 times faster than normal traditional web pages on mobile.
Why AMP is the New Tool For Online Marketing
1. AMP articles rank higher in search engine results.
This makes them have a clear advantage over the competition. They also get an icon that appears to indicate that they are built on AMP.
2. You can get more paid impressions with AMP
A normal user will usually click the search engine result after viewing an AMP content to find out what further information there might be on the subject they have been searching for. This translates to a higher number of paid search impressions.
3. AMP has been created for publishers
With AMP, anyone who knows what they are doing or anyone who is willing to learn a few new tricks can easily format their content and make it more accessible to a wider audience. Smart publishers take advantage of AMP to reach millions of readers every day.
4. AMP is an open source
This makes it possible for anyone with an idea to develop it further and add to it, which means it is improving every day. This is great news for everyone because it means that as content publishing changes, AMP will evolve with it.
5. AMP reaches a wider audience
AMP was initially built to compete with Facebook’s Instant Articles. While Facebook restricts its readers to only accessing content from the platform, AMP grants readers more freedom. This makes it possible for content publishers on AMP to reach a much larger audience.
A Few Downsides With AMP
It is not all roses and rainbows with AMP. Being a product that is still early in its developmental stages, there are still a few kinks that need to be ironed out:
1. AMP has no forms
AMP optimized content cannot include forms. This means if you want your readers to subscribe or submit some form of contact information, you have to figure out an alternative way to achieve that goal or wait for the AMP update that will allow this feature.
2. AMP has limited functionality
If your website is not a primarily content publishing website, you may not have any use for AMP. If you have an e-commerce site and your content does not focus on news type articles or blog posts, consider sticking with traditional HTML.
3. AMP does not support Online Ads
This is bad news for publishers who rely on large attention-grabbing ads. With the advent of AMP, they need to come up with more subtle ways to get their ads to their readers. As an advertiser, you need to make sure that your ad complies with the recently introduced AMP ad specs, determined by the Google AMP ads partnership.
4. AMP support means bigger content development budgets
If you want to integrate AMP with your content, and your current CMS does not support it, chances are you will have to dig a little deeper into your pockets and buy a new CMS or add the AMP support feature to your current custom CMS.
5. AMP is much stricter than traditional HTML
Before, it was easy to get away with minor HTML errors. This is no longer the case with AMP. Every page must be free of errors in order to have AMP caches. Although this is easier said than done, it only means that the overall user experience of readers will improve, which can only be a good thing.
One of the best examples of AMP in action is in AMP stories. It is an immersive, open, fast and user-friendly format that builds on what the AMP project has to offer, enabling the creation of amazing visual content. Tools offering you the creation of AMP Stories, such as Ztorie, can help you generate revenue, boost your user engagement, increase sharing and generate new leads for your business via stories.