It’s as simple as looking at your site’s analytics: most of your traffic is mobile traffic. That’s how it is across the Internet, and that is why most brands are putting a “mobile-first” initiative on their websites.
Search engines understand the demand for mobile-optimized websites. That is why they often rank mobile-friendly content first – it’s a matter of giving users what they want. One aspect of this collective effort is known as the AMP Project. Google launched this multi-partner project in late 2015, and developers accessed it the following year.
If this is the first you’re hearing about this technology, let’s go over some of the basics of how it works, why it helps with your site’s SEO, and why it’s relevant now more than ever. The AMP Project is by far an underutilized technology, and it could be the next step in your SEO strategy.
How The AMP Project Works
The AMP Project is a special method of publishing pages that allows for near-instantaneous page loading. It uses a unique form of HTML assets created by the AMP team that allows for “super-charged” page loading. That means that your AMP pages can clock in at a half second, or less.
Pages created with AMP have to abide by a set of Google best practices and are limited in their capabilities. It has only a certain number of assets in its scripting library, which means that expansive, custom-built applications are not compatible with the AMP Project.
If your website only boasts text, images, and some of the basic bells and whistles that come with your website’s WordPress theme, then you can certainly create AMP alternatives for your web pages.
The AMP pages utilize a number of techniques for making your web pages as fast as possible, including lazy loading of content, streamlining CSS, standardizing JavaScript components, and leveraging a significant amount of caching.
Why AMP Pages Perform Well For SEO
When you look at the major ranking factors for Google, Bing, and other search engines that support the AMP Project, it becomes clear that by the sheer virtue of your page being AMP-compliant, your page is becoming optimized for their algorithm.
Faster, streamlined websites with less clutter in its source code already perform well in search engines. But in addition to the benefits of having a page be AMP-compliant in general, having an AMP page will help your site rank better in organic search.
While Google explicitly states that it does not increase a ranking just because a web page has an AMP mobile version, one only needs to look at the case studies for the AMP Project to understand what’s going on. Many companies are seeing their landing pages convert better, are faster, and rely on Google’s CDN, meaning that they are constantly up and available for search.
Also, AMP pages can be potentially featured in a “carousel” at the top of search results, similar to how SCHEMA works. This is a huge advantage if your main competitors aren’t leveraging AMP technology.
When your pages are faster, have a lower bounce rate, have longer user sessions, and actually meet your conversion goals, Google and Bing will take notice. A major part of the algorithm is how useful your web pages are – and if users are staying on your page or engaging more with your site, it looks very good for your site’s reputation.
Why the AMP Project is Relevant Today
It is true that the AMP Project started in 2016, and most websites have not been utilizing it outside of a few outlying e-commerce websites and news aggregators. It also lost some of its steam when Google announced that it doesn’t necessarily show favoritism for AMP pages.
However, this does not mean it has failed by any means. As of last week, the AMP Project has officially added a host of additional JavaScript assets that web developers can use. They intend to make AMP as JavaScript friendly as possible in the coming months, which supports more complex and dynamic pages.
In addition, at the end of this month is the first AMP Community Summit, where the main developers behind the AMP Project come together to discuss the future of the technology, and introduce it to new developers. That means if you don’t know where to start, this is a great time to express your interest.
A Better Mobile Experience with AMP
Above all else, the AMP Project is focused on improving your user experience on mobile devices. Mobile conversions can be notoriously tricky, as conversions rely on a consistent experience across dozens of unique devices. That is AMP’s strength: it makes that experience identical, and it makes that uniform experience a satisfying one.
The only caveat to this process is that creating AMP pages can be time-consuming, requires experienced web developers, and can be a confusing process if you don’t personally manage your website. The goods news is that we can help. KWSM offers a variety of services to support your website and help you improve your SEO and the experience of your future customers.
To learn more, contact us today to discuss your own business and what we can do to help you drive more traffic to your website, and ensuring that you can turn visitors into customers.
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