“Should I AMP or not AMP my website?”
You, like many other web owners and web managers, may find it difficult to answer this question. You may think that accelerated mobile pages are not a necessity for your business since it seems to be doing just fine. On the other hand, you may have heard other businesses describe how accelerated mobile pages have helped businesses enjoy increased traffic, better revenues, and improved market penetration.
So what's the buzz about accelerated mobile pages all about? We're breaking down the details you need to know before deciding on using AMP's for your website.
What Are Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP's)?
Accelerated Mobile Pages or simply AMP is an open-source program that aims at improving the speed at which mobile website renders. Simply put, it focuses on the speed at which the pages or websites load and the faster it is the better.
Although its main sponsor is Google, it’s also supported by other parties and search
Engines including Baidu, Bing, Twitter, and Pinterest.
It was started in 2015 and mainly targeted media sites. The project allowed users to access the “Top Stories carousel” in a faster and more user-friendly manner. Over time, however, it has become more relevant to other media and businesses and that is why more and more people are investing in it.
Why AMP-ify your website?
1. Improve Revenue
According to the latest data, AMP e-commerce pages are 20% more likely to make a sale in comparison to non-Amp pages. This is why leading firms such as Amazon, Yahoo, and Walmart invest in the concept. An interesting observation was that a page that took one-tenth of a second more to load could cost Amazon as much as $1.3 billion in sales. In simple terms, the loading speed has a direct relationship with sales revenue.
2. Boost Website Metrics
Sometime back, Google undertook a poll to see how users reacted to AMP. The results showed that 51.15% of the respondents would click to an AMP link. This means that none-news sites were less likely to get any click-through. And as we already know, Click-through is an important part of Google rankings, organic search, and conversion.
3. Better User Experience
People want pages that load exceptionally fast. Many won’t even spend a few more minutes waiting. Instead, they will move to the next option. A study funded by Google showed that as many as 53% of visitors to a website would leave a website/page that took 3 seconds or more to load. AMPs increase the loading speed and this provides a better user experience which are the basics of SEO. Research sponsored by Google indicates that a viewer will spend twice the time on a page that has been AMP-fied compared to one that is non-AMP.
4. Better Ranking on Google
Although Google does not directly admit, studies show that the giant search engine seems to give preference to sites and pages that have been AMP-fied. Websites that offer current news and events rank higher than those that don't. You nevertheless need to have a full understanding of the concepts to avoid your goals and aims to conflict with Google’s incentives. 
5. Increased Traffic
People are generally drawn to news article and media. In fact, many spend quite some time going through the daily happenings. By giving your website that “media-like” appeal, you are more likely to attract new visitors as well as create loyal followers. Many will simply be drawn by its appeal, the current happenings and will come to learn about what it’s all about.
6. Increased Ad Views
The HTML in AMP sites is coded in a manner that aims at improving the usability and viewability of images, ads, and banners. A user will be able to get all the information without any obstruction. This goes a long way in boosting the views as well as traffic to a page. The bounce rate in an AMP page is also lower than that in a non-AMP page.
AMP: What's Next?
Now that you're aware of the multiple benefits of accelerated mobile pages, you may be wondering what's next. Luckily, there are a number of companies that offer website development services, including those surrounding AMP's. According to Tactica, website development is one of the top services offered by companies in Europe, representing a pool of companies available to help you get started.
This way, you don't need to start from scratch or constantly monitor the processes and performance--you simply let a third party handle the tasks. Many of these companies also have access to the tools needed to create AMP stories. This enables businesses to come up with a feasible solution for their websites. By simplifying the process, it becomes easier, time effective and lowers the cost.
In any outsourcing decision, it's important to make sure that the company you work with has a proven record of accomplishment, has references to back its claims, and is reputable and trustworthy. This will save you many headaches along the way and also offers more guarantee on better market penetration, increase in traffic, better Google ranking, and improved profitability.
Looking for support with getting your website seen on the web? Contact the experts at Profitworks today!
