With the increase in the number of mobile internet users, there is no doubt that the web is moving towards mobile.
Daily, the number of people browsing with their PCs is severely reducing.
On a blog I manage, for instance, based on analytics for the past three months. Traffic coming is averaged at 73% Mobile users, 22% PC users, and 5% Tablet users.
In underdeveloped countries of the world, mobile internet users from our statistics are about 88%. While developing countries have about 69%.
It is only the developed countries that the number of PC internet users is very high – when compared to other countries. About 41%, with mobile and tablet users having the remaining percentage.
Why Is Mobile Browsing High?
- Mobile devices are more affordable.
- Mobile and smartphones are more user-friendly.
- The cost of internet data is low on mobile devices.
- The proximity of the device.
- The use of mobile apps.
- Push Notifications.
- Increase in mobile responsive websites.
The increase in the number of mobile internet users first gave birth to the development of mobile responsive web designs – which Google highly recommends for every website.
Now, to improve the mobile users’ experience with faster loading web pages led to the introduction of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP).
What is Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)?
The Accelerated Mobile Pages is an open-source coding for publishers which runs a stripped-down version of HTML.
The main objective for AMP is to enable publishers to load their sites quickly on mobile devices.
The reason for this is that mobile responsive designs could take longer to load desktop resources.
No doubt that most of the elements of a desktop site view are unnecessary for a mobile website. AMP is just a way of improving the mobile Users’ experience.
Seeing the importance and impact, Google decided to back up the AMP by encouraging sites to create Accelerated Mobile Pages.
Advantages / Pros of AMP
1. Speeds up website loading time
With the Accelerated Mobile Page, mobile users will experience nearly instant loading of web pages and smoother scrolling speed within every page.
The AMP pages can load up to 4x times faster than non-AMP pages all things being equal.
2. Increased Visibility
On the mobile Search Engine Reporting Page (SERP), Google now shows which mobile page that supports AMP page and those that don’t.
They do this by adding a little lightning bolt symbol next to the meta-title on the SERP.
It will give AMP web pages a boost because it will show users that your site is faster than others. Users who need speed will click at the expense of others.
3. Flexible Layout
Accelerated Mobile Pages are much thinner than standard mobile pages because they support a variety of layouts and designs.
But you can still show your business brand in any way you wish. It as well helps ads that are non-intrusive to your user’s mobile viewing experience.
4. Higher Mobile Rankings
AMP’s impact on Mobile ranking is arguable. Google has stated that the accelerated mobile pages are not a ranking factor.
But there is no doubt that page speed is one of Google’s ranking factors.
Therefore, even if AMP does not yield better rankings – then the page speed will prevail in that regard.
5. Visitor Tracking Analysis
When tracking visitor insights in Google Analytics, two tags are available through Google Tag Manager.
It enables you to be aware of the way or how your viewers got to your site. Also, where they come from is vital pieces of information that can be leveraged to make for a better website.
6. It improves server performance
If your site gets lots of traffic from mobile pages, AMP will reduce the load on your servers as well as the bandwidth; this will improve server performance.
It is because the AMP page echoes data from the saved Google cache; this means that the short server down period will not affect your mobile visitors.
Disadvantages / Cons of AMP
1. Difficult to implement
Many started AMP implementation on their sites and abandoned it, due to the difficulty of achieving what’s required.
2. Reduction in ad revenue
After the successful implementation of the accelerated mobile pages, most people complained that they lost lots of ad revenue.
Although this point is arguable and cannot be generalized, it was evident that it is challenging to add ads in a strategic location.
Even some WordPress AMP plugins do not provide flexible ad positioning.
3. AMP page loads much more than ads
Accelerated Mobile Pages are so fast that ads can’t match their speed. After implementing the AMP, you will observe that the AMP is much faster to display than the ads. It could be among the reasons why ad revenue on AMP is dropping.
4. Post-update delay
Because Google AMP shows Google cache pages, when a post is updated, it does not immediately take effect on Google AMP.
It may take several minutes or even hours; in some cases, it takes days before the update takes effect.
5. JavaScript and CSS issue
Since AMP runs a stripped-down version of HTML, it does not allow the execution of JavaScript.
If you are running a site that runs a JavaScript widget, know that some of them won’t execute properly on accelerated mobile pages.
Should I Implement AMP on My Website or Not?
Most publishers are not yet sure whether to implement the AMP or not.
Since Google has not said much as to the influence of the AMP on rankings, the risk may currently be too substantial for publishers that don’t have a backup plan.
But it is not too early to start learning the AMP implementation even though it won’t be added to your website yet.
We recommend finding out how the implementation process would work for your organization or business and weighing the resource cost to benefit.
We have already given you the pros and cons of AMP. Therefore, you need to know if you can let go of some specific features that are not important to you.
Difference Between AMP and Non-AMP
- AMP forces you to use a stripped-down version of HTML.
- JavaScript is not allowed on accelerated mobile pages.
- You are forced to use only the JavaScript library that AMP provides.
- AMP forces your images to lazy load automatically.
- AMP loads much faster than non-AMP.
How to implement AMP in WordPress
WordPress users will not have many challenges in implementing the AMP to their sites.
Most modern WordPress themes now come with a default option to tick in other to enable AMP.
Also, there are lots of free and premium AMP plugins for WordPress. All you need to do is to install, activate, and customize the AMP plugins.
Best AMP plugins for WordPress
- AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages.
- Glue for Yoast SEO & AMP.
- Better AMP – WordPress Complete AMP
Conclusion on AMP
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) are a game-changer in the world of mobile web browsing.
They provide lightning-fast loading speeds, improved user experiences, and SEO benefits.
By implementing AMP on your website and staying updated with future trends, you can ensure that your mobile users have a seamless and enjoyable browsing experience.
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