The web is continuously evolving. Google particularly has made it quite evident that it fully intends on pushing the limits. Particularly with the way it seeks to revitalize the mobile user experience. Surely by now you have heard about the Accelerated Mobile Pages or also known as AMP Project. A way to serve up content quicker on mobile devices.
Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages truly are an evolution of the mobile user experience. The next step towards delivering content on mobile devices in a far more eloquent fashion. Some internet users are speculating that AMP is in essence a response to Facebook’s Instant Articles. For all we know though currently, Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages may turning into a ranking factor. Therefore having a potential impact on your website’s organic visibility. But before we jump into any conclusions let’s first dive into some clarity around Accelerated Mobile Pages first.
Defining Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages
Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages or AMP Project is in essence a framework designed to help serve web pages on mobile devices quicker, succinctly, and using less resources. The AMP framework is comprised of the following three components that come together to help deliver Accelerated Mobile Pages:
- AMP HTML – this is code markup that appends to specific HTML tags. By doing so it helps identify with specific elements such as images or text. Therefore being able to parse such information seamlessly onto a mobile device.
- AMP JavaScript – fairly self-explanatory with the exception that no third-party instances are allowed. That being using any other piece of JS code other than the recommended AMP format.
- CDN (Content Delivery Network) – while a CDN is an option component for Accelerated Mobile Pages it is also a recommended one. The use of a CDN can expedite the delivery of content onto a mobile devices. This can also result in cutting down the loading time of a page. A critical element of Accelerated Mobile Pages.
Source: WordPress
Getting Started with Accelerated Mobile Pages
If you are not very tech-savvy than I strongly recommend seeking help from a developer. The implementation aspect can be quite tedious and also very frustrating. Especially if you are unfamiliar with basic HTML or even JavaScript code. A video displayed below provides a quick outlook into AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages).
For WordPress users, AMP implementation is a little bit simpler. Well, sort of. The AMP WordPress Plugin automatically transforms all posts on your site. It accomplishes this by appending the necessary AMP HTML code as mentioned above. Once this is dynamically generated each post on your WordPress site becomes eligible for a Accelerated Mobile Page.
It’s important to recognize that serving up an Accelerated Mobile Page on a mobile device always comes at Google’s discretion. Yup, that’s correct. In other words, Google deems the worthiness of each AMP capable page and decides on-the-fly whether or not to serve it on a specific mobile device. Certain discussions and forums on the web are speculating that AMP are invoked upon certain search queries on a mobile devices. As it stands this is merely a myth with no concrete evidence to back that up.
5 Key Benefits For Using Accelerated Mobile Pages
There are a variety of advantages to using Accelerated Mobile pages. One of them consists of the upcoming mobile-friendly algorithm update Google plans on rolling out. No, this is not another version of last year’s Mobilegeddon. Rather an update to the existing mobile-friendly ranking algorithm that will most likely include Accelerated Mobile Pages. As consumer trends and patterns evolve based on needs, Google puts forth valiant efforts to adapt accordingly.
Let’s explore the key benefits of using Accelerated Mobile Pages.
#1: Speed
Everything is about speed these days. Especially when it comes to content presentation on a mobile device. Did you know that the average Accelerated Mobile Page loads 15%-85% quicker than a regular web page? Mobile users are far more demanding these days than ever before. With an average attention span of approximately 5 seconds we are unfortunately not very focused on our mobile devices. As consumers we spend nearly 60% of our time bolted to one absorbing information from all sorts of channels. The speed aspect of Accelerated Mobile Pages plays a factorial role in ensuring that content is delivered as fast as possible on a mobile device.
The technical aspect of speed for AMP is actually quite intriguing. Most users are unaware of the elements that take place on the background during content delivery. Let’s take a quick glimpse so you can get a basic sense of how a page is requested, rendered, and delivered.
For this instance we will create a hypothetical scenario to follow and it goes something like this:
- Mary Jane surfs the web on her mobile device using her favorite browser by navigating through Google.
- She inputs a search query in the search box and suddenly exposed to a list of results in the SERPs.
- Being on a mobile device though the mobile rotating carousel Google is experimenting with shows up.
- Mary Jane swipes left and right to find the most relevant result based on her search query.
Now that you have a good realistic interpretation of the scenario let’s explore what happens on the background. In order to render a web page to an end user especially using Accelerated Mobile Pages the following tasks need to happen on the background:
- When a page is viewed first it is requested from a server.
- Then the server finds the proper file and/or content associated with the request.
- The server has to allocate necessary RAM and bandwith to serve up the page to end user.
Keep in mind that the above occurs in fraction of second(s). Through the use of AMP HTML and AMP JavaScript the process is expedited and therefore content presentation is achieved much faster.
#2: Accessibility
This one is a bit similar to speed but not entirely. The average attention span of an internet user these day on a mobile device is approximately 5 seconds. That is shorter than a blowfish. Sad but true. As consumers we thrive on fresh content as it helps us stay informed, updated, and plugged in to the digital world. Therefore accessibility plays a key role especially in Accelerated Mobile Pages. Your customers are pursuant of accessing information that pertains to the products and services you sell. Using Accelerated Mobile Pages provides improved accessibility to your web pages. If your current or potential customers are capable of accessing content much faster than they might be more inclined to make faster decisions.
Why is it important for your web pages to be accessible? Did you know that the average internet user navigates away from a web page if they do not identify a solution to their problem?
#3: Innovation
The innovation aspect of using an Accelerated Mobile Page is a great one. Obviously anything related to innovation offers an added value proposition. Making your website eligible for AMP will not only help position you as an innovator but also a go-to source. You see, Accelerated Mobile Pages are shown on mobile devices at Google’s discretion. For instance, your brand may be the only one in your industry or vertical eligible for this feature. Therefore from a market perception standpoint you may gain additional recognition and deemed as an innovator. An innovation would be classified as a new method or idea. In this case leveraging the power of Accelerated Mobile Pages to help position your brand as an innovator.
#4: Distribution
Content distribution is an a la carte of speed and accessibility. Taking those two into consideration assists with distributing content on mobile devices a lot quicker. That is the essence of how a brand that is equipped with AMP can compete on a with others on a distribution level. These days it’s all about delivering content much quicker and efficiently to mobile users.
#5: Experience
Accelerated Mobile Pages provide an all-around better user experience. On mobile devices user experience is a key ingredient for engagement. An eloquent presentation of content can ensure that your mobile visitors are interpreting it succinctly. If you take a closer look at the format of Accelerated Mobile Pages you will see that it’s a lot more clean. The flat design look resonates a lot with majority of modern internet users. For a lot of obvious reasons too that mainly pertain to usability.
Do you have any questions regarding Accelerated Mobile Pages? Feel free to share them in the comments section below.
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