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An Overview of Google AMP and its Impact on Website Performance and SEO

Category: Link Building Posted on 19-05-2023

Google Accelerated Mobile Pages consist of a web development framework created by Google to help publishers create faster-loading web pages optimized specifically for delivering content to mobile devices.

It follows a set of open-source web standards and technologies that ensure the reliability of browsing on mobile devices. Content is served from the Google AMP cache, Google’s content delivery network that pre-renders AMP pages for instant delivery.

Accelerated Mobile Pages have become integral to the Google Search experience, appearing in top stories and featured snippets when browsing on a mobile device. How can you use this technology to improve your website performance and SEO? Read on to find out.

What Does Google AMP do? 

The main goal of Google AMP is to provide a better user experience by reducing page load times and improving website performance on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

They are designed to be lightweight and fast-loading, making them ideal for mobile users who want to browse information quickly. It particularly helps when someone is in a place with poor internet connectivity.

With Google AMP pages, slow internet is less of an obstruction to a meaningful user experience when browsing for information. That’s why the feature is most suitable for websites that publish news and articles rather than those that offer dynamic content and animation.

Impact of Google AMP on Website Performance

The first benefit of Google AMP is that it significantly enhances website performance on mobile devices. According to Google, pages built using the AMP framework typically load 85% faster than non-AMP pages.

Due to this loading speed, AMP greatly impacts user engagement, retention, and search engine ranking. As we live in a mobile age, everything happens quickly, and no one wants to wait more than a few seconds for a website to load. Otherwise, they will bounce off.

However, that is not the case with AMP pages. In addition to this, AMP pages also use less data than non-AMP ones. After all, they are designed to be lightweight and only to load the essential elements.

In the AMP version of a web page, no animations are loaded, and dynamic content is ignored. The focus is on the readable section of the webpage: the body. So, really AMP pages are primarily optimized for reading. Therefore, they use far fewer resources to load compared with non-AMP pages.

Moreover, by using AMP pages, the website experience would be consistent across all mobile platforms and browsers, making for a more cohesive representation of your website.

Impact of Google AMP on SEO

While the primary goal of Google AMP is to improve website performance on mobile devices, it can also positively impact SEO.

AMP pages are given preferential treatment in search results and are more likely to appear at the top of SERPs. They are also more likely to appear in privileged positions such as featured snippets, top stories, carousels, and other rich results.

This contributes to Google placing a high value on website speed and user experience when ranking pages in search results. Even if your page is not AMP, you can still monitor your page loading speed and performance using tools such as Eye10 Pagespeed Checker.

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In any case, if your webpage is AMP, you are in luck since that means you occupy a position that can help you boost your search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic to your site.

AMP pages also enhance page engagement, leading to higher audience retention and lower bounce rates, two important metrics contributing to how Google ranks pages.

It also goes without mentioning that Google Analytics provides a built-in solution for tracking user interactions and page views on AMP pages. This special attention will help you identify specific measures to optimize your AMP pages.

Potential Issues With Google AMP Pages

Like everything, there is a good and bad side to Google AMP pages. As much as it is an incredible tool, there are some limitations and challenges that you should be aware of before attempting to implement it on your website.

1. Restricted Functionality

AMP pages are highly stripped-down versions of web pages. And this is done for a good cause: to ensure fast rendering and prevent performance issues. However, this also means that you are limited in the number and types of elements that can appear on your AMP pages.

For instance, you cannot use custom JavaScript or external style sheets on your AMP pages. You also need to use custom AMP elements or components for certain features not supported by standard HTML elements. Animations, dynamic content, etc., won’t also play. So you have to take note of this.

2. Duplicate Content

There might be duplicate content issues if you have both an AMP version and a non-AMP version of the same page on your website.

However, this is not the worst problem in the world since you can correct it using canonical tags to link both versions and let search engines know which one is preferred. The one selected as preferred is then indexed and ranked by search engines, preventing confusion.

To ensure that you are being ranked well and properly, use the Eye10 Rank Checker to gain real-time insights.

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3. Maintainance Cost

Technically, you must raise your development and testing time and resources when maintaining two web page versions. You also need to be able to keep up with the updates and changes in the AMP framework and components. Ensure that an AMP page is what you want and serves your needs before implementing it.

Conclusion

Overall, AMP pages have benefits that outweigh the possible challenges. If your website is focused on publishing text, such as a news site or a blog, you should seriously consider implementing AMP pages if you haven’t already.

Eye10 SEO tools help you to supercharge your website search engine rankings by monitoring performance issues and comparing them with your competitors. Sign up today to access these rich insights.

FAQ

Is Google AMP a requirement for mobile-first indexing?

Google AMP is separate from mobile-first indexing, although both techniques focus on mobile devices. Mobile-first indexing applies to all websites and dictates certain universal standards, such as responsive design. On the other hand, Google AMP can be optionally implemented, and even then, it only applies to certain types of sites, not all.

Is Google AMP suitable for all types of websites?

Google AMP is certainly not for all sites. It is only for those sites that prioritize content delivery and have a significant mobile user base. If your website relies heavily on complex interactions, serving dynamic content, and using animations, then you may not benefit as much from AMP.

Will using Google AMP guarantee a higher search engine ranking?

Google makes no promises as to higher ranking for websites using AMP. However, this comes naturally as AMP improves website performance, a key ranking factor. More so, appearing in featured snippets and rich results is a way to access the benefits of higher search ranking even though your ranking doesn’t exactly change.

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