AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages and is an open source initiative by Google that aims to help website developers to create websites with faster loading times, especially for pages in its mobile version.
Thanks to AMP technology, websites can be loaded almost instantly
Once the AMP is implemented on a webpage, a parallel version of all the pages is created that includes all the elements that Google believes can be eliminated Delay loading times. These elements classified as “superfluous” include the JavaScript or CSS codes. This way, when an AMP page loads, only text and images are loaded.
When you do a Google search from a mobile device, the pages with AMP will be marked with a little lightning bolt next to the URL, as shown in the following image:
Is it necessary to implement AMP to improve a website’s SEO?
While it is true that AMP technology can be beneficial for SEO, it is not a ranking factor and therefore not necessary or mandatory. It’s widely used on websites and blogs. The sites that use CDN (Content Delivery Network) typically do not use AMP because the CDN offers a better response in terms of loading times.
On the other hand, the pages with AMP are simpler, therefore simpler and clearer for the reader. However, removing the Javascript codes can cause problems with loading certain features and with some plugins, especially those that create popups.
Likewise, websites that already have a responsive design or a mobile version do not need an AMP, as this could be counterproductive.
How does AMP affect SEO?
On the sites that don’t have a mobile version or an active CDN, AMP can be beneficial as there improves loading times Overall, something very important for Google (especially since core web vitals are becoming an SEO factor).
Google also ranks pages better with AMP, while also reducing bounce rates because users don’t have to wait for the page to load. At the same time, AMP makes the HTML code “more user-friendly” for the user, which improves the usability of the page and all of its elements such as banners and images.
