There are three basic ingredients that make up an AMP page:
- Custom HTML: AMP HTML uses custom properties for resources such as images, videos and iframes, and a restricted set of functions.
- Custom JavaScript: AMP JS makes all external resources load asynchronously. It also requires you to set sizes in the HTML, which means that the page layout is determined before it loads. This means that elements won’t jump around the page as other resources load.
- Custom Cache: Google’s AMP Cache is a separate cache used to store AMP pages to serve in search results. When pages stored in the cache are served to a user, everything comes from the same location, increasing efficiency.
All three of these elements work together to render pages seemingly instantly.
Why You Should be Using AMP
If you rely on users viewing and consuming your content, you need AMP. If you rely on organic search traffic to acquire the majority of your users, you also need AMP; Google’s mobile searchers now outnumber their desktop users. Near-instant content that renders and displays in a user-friendly format will keep users on your page. It might even provide them with a little extra nudge to share it.
Even better, AMP supports Doubleclick AdExchange. You can use HTML ads that load as quickly as the actual AMP HTML. Publishers using these ads are already seeing higher CPMs than non-AMP pages.
What’s It Mean for SEO?
So will AMP pages impact your SEO? No. But also yes. AMP isn’t a direct ranking signal. Check out the 15:50 mark of this Google+ Hangout to listen to John Mueller talk about AMP.
However, notice that he goes on to discuss how AMP plays into Google’s mobile friendliness. AMP will help improve the performance of your site’s mobile version, which has a positive impact on mobile ranking factors:
- Near instant mobile page speed
- Better rendering and prioritised ATF content means better user experience
To AMP or Not to AMP
Using AMP can benefit your website’s mobile pages in many different ways:
- Users will be able to consume more content, improving brand awareness and loyalty
- Completing an online order is easier and faster, facilitating future purchases
- Encouraging users to view more content, resulting in higher eCPM and ad loads
And while AMP isn’t a ranking signal, it can directly impact on the signals Google does look at: bounce rate, click-through rate, page views and time spent on site.
It’s possible for you to improve mobile page speed and UX on your own, but using AMP streamlines the whole process and gives Google a strong hint that you have made these improvements. It’s also important to do an SEO check of your mobile efforts. So even though Google’s not directly boosting AMP pages or punishing non-AMP pages, you can expect to see Accelerated Mobile Pages playing a large role in mobile SEO going forward.
NOTE: This article was graciously provided by the team at WooRank.com – a powerful SEO Tool used by some of the great SEO consultants around the world. We are currently testing this software and finding it quite useful!)
