- After Google announced the introduction of AMP in October 2015, it first appeared in Google search results in February 2016. Ever since, Google has urged web owners to key into the AMP project.
- However, so many publishers still contemplate on the decision whether to setup or not to setup AMP on their websites.
This should not be such a tough decision to make, especially, if you know everything about AMP – the important information regarding AMP.
I want to clear up your confusion about AMP – whatever doubts or questions you may have.
For new bloggers, especially, who may not have any understanding of what Google AMP is all about.
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What is Google AMP?
Google AMP simply means “Google Accelerated Mobile Pages.” It is an open-source web technology project aimed at improving the overall UX (user experience) of web contents and advertisement on mobile devices.
Google AMP was introduced by Google, with the aim of “making the internet great again,” as has been acknowledged by most of its early pioneers.
The AMP project is already a huge success, with so many large website, like Forbes and New York Times, already displaying AMP versions of their pages in Google mobile search result pages.
Google AMP Review
After using AMP for many months, I want to offer a sincere review on Google AMP: the upsides and downsides, pros and cons. The decision would be yours to make, whether to Add or not to Add AMP to your website.
How does Google AMP look like?
Knowingly or unknowingly, if you search for stuffs in Google using your mobile phone, you must have come across a couple of AMP pages. They rank pretty high in Google Search results.
How does Google AMP work?
Google AMP pages are lite versions of web pages indexed and cached in Google servers – So, when visitors browse Google on their mobile devices, they can be accessed without having to wait for multiple seconds of load time.
6 reasons to or not to create Google AMP
1. Faster page load for mobile visitors
After battling, for a long time, with a mobile page speed score of 70/100 in the Google page speed insight – I must confess, the Google AMP project have come in handy in helping me achieve a faster website for my mobile visitors.
The Google AMP project was introduced in a bid to improve the UX (User Experience) of mobile devices used over slower networks.
2. Higher Google page rank
Page speed is one of the ranking factors in Google – the faster your website, the greater the chances of your posts ranking higher in Google search result pages.
I noticed a slight improvement in the AMP versions of my pages. Most of my AMP pages rank higher compared to the non-AMP versions.
3. Increased organic traffic
A higher page rank will ultimately improve your website organic traffic. So, if you receive, let’s say, 10,000 monthly mobile visitors from Google, you may experience a slight improvement – maybe an additional 2000-5000 mobile visitors.
If you have not added AMP to your WordPress website, follow the guide below.
4. Google AMP pages are not so attractive
Google AMP pages are compressed, optimized and saved on Google servers. They are the mobile lite versions of every website. And as expected, the looks of the AMP pages are not so fancy compared to most real pages.
This has not gone down well with so many users. Some users claimed to have made a switch to other search engines, simply because they don’t like the view they get from AMP pages.
However, that is a one-sided view. Other mobile internet users visiting the web over slower networks have expressed their delights with the AMP Project.
5. Hard to configure for a no tech-savvy
Although, in WordPress, it is very easy to setup Google AMP. However, so many advanced customization, like writing AMP compatible ads codes, may be a little bit complicated for no tech-savvies.
Google AMP is an on-going project. So many things are still being put into place.
For instance, AMP pages do not show Google ads, even if you have AdSense setup on your website.
The processes involved in displaying Google ads on AMP pages is different from the usual. You need to learn how to create AMP compatible AdSense ad units and how to add them to your AMP pages.
Even the latest Google AdSense feature, auto ads, took me a while learning how to add to my AMP pages. I have successfully added AdSense auto ads to my AMP pages in WordPress.
If you want to add auto ads to AMP pages in WordPress, follow this guide:
6. Google AMP displays Google URL at the top of AMP pages
Google created Google AMP so taking some credits shouldn’t be much of an issue. However, this has not gone down well with most publishers. With a publication claiming “Google might be stealing your visitors.”
That publication may have be spurred by the fact that, when AMP was initially introduced, there was no way to track AMP visitors. But that has been corrected. WordPress publishers are able to add Google Analytics code to AMP and track the number of AMP visitors they get.
Conclusion
Although my AMP review provides an even number of reasons to or not to create Google AMP for your site (3 apiece), I must confess, the benefits outwit the disadvantages by a distant.
And like I noted earlier, initially the AMP project got a wide range of mixed reviews and opinions. However, the number of big sites that have keyed into the project leads the way for smaller sites to do likewise.
Also, with the introduction of mobile first index by Google, creating Google AMP for your site gives you an edge in Google search results – the opportunity to rank higher in Google search results.
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