Forty percent of customers say that they will click off a website if it does not load within 3 seconds and mobile internet usage has surpassed desktop internet usage. Customers like fast websites, and Google has been working to provide this ideal experience for them. In 2015, this led to the introduction of accelerated mobile pages, also known as AMP pages.
According to Google, AMP pages load 85 percent faster than regular pages. This enhances the user experience for those using the search engine, creating a desirable reputation both for the websites that have created the optimized content as well as Google for promoting these faster websites.
These AMP pages have been adopted by businesses across a variety of industries, with 1.5 billion already published. They have been particularly popular with sites that promote news-related articles, but they have also seen adoption in industries like e-commerce. Ebay was a pioneer site in this sector, marking up 8 million pages for AMP to enhance the user experience.
If you have questions about AMP, we are your digital marketing experts, ready to answer them and provide related services. Here is what you need to know about these pages.
What is an AMP page?
An AMP page has been stripped of anything that might slow down the load time. This means that Google does not allow a number of different elements on these pages, including 3rd party JavaScript or form elements. The sites also have special features to help the page load faster, such as images that do not load until the reader reaches the picture. The pages are also heavily cached so that Google can host the pages and it does not need to fetch it from the main website.
AMP pages have been completely optimized for readability and speed. When the sites appear in the SERPs, they have a small lightning symbol next to them to let users know that this site will load even faster. This helps to draw user’s attention and can help increase the attention your pages receive.
How do I use AMP?
To use AMP on your own pages, you will need to begin by constructing a version of the web page to be marked up. You will need to use AMP HTML, AMP JS, and AMP CDN to ensure that the content will be accepted by Google. You will also need to include the tag < link rel=”amphtml” href=”http://www.mysite.com/news-story/amp/” >. This will signal to Google that this page has been set up for AMP.
Once you have marked up a page for AMP, you will want to verify that you have followed each step correctly and that the page is discoverable. You can use the Chrome DevTools console to check for validation errors. There is also an AMP Validator at validator.ampproject.org, which will display errors alongside the HTML page source, which can make correcting any mistakes easier.
Once you have set up your AMP pages, you can still use Google Analytics for your AMP pages, which means that using these sites will not interrupt your development of a data-driven content development strategy.
Bringing it together
- AMP stands for accelerated mobile pages, which has been developed by Google to enhance page speeds on mobile devices.
- AMP pages are optimized for load speed and readability and they load 85 percent faster than regular websites.
- AMP pages are stripped of just about anything that might slow down load speeds, including 3rd party JavaScript and form fields.
- You can verify that your site has been appropriately marked up through Chrome DevTools or validator.ampproject.org
- You can still use Google Analytics to track your success with AMP pages.
AMP has been a popular means for Google to enhance page speeds and improve the user experience on the search engine. If you have questions about AMP pages, or are looking to find other ways to enhance your content online, reach out to us at Ballantine.com. Our experienced professionals will help you get the most out of digital marketing.
I'm the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a family-owned and operated direct mail & digital marketing company based in New Jersey. and started in 1966 by my great uncle!
