Yes, we used Accelerated Mobile Pages, Yes we implemented it.  No, it didn’t make a real difference in SERPS.  Neither did users like the AMP served pages.  They look ugly and are detrimental to the end users experience.

Google Accelerated Pages

So with that in mind, we came, we saw, we tried…. and we like the normal, user-friendly mobile pages… At least until it is of real benefit for the website users.  Let’s remember – make websites for users, not just Google!

Thank you. Carry on!

Early 2016 sees Googles next big phase – Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP).

Websites that are mobile-friendly are already considered a ranking factor for Google.  Basically meaning if users can navigate your site well on their mobile phones, the higher your website will appear in search engine results.

In October, the company announced a new open source project – AMP.  It’s all about getting web pages to load quicker on mobile devices.  By late February 2016, Google aims to roll this phase out across its search engine.

AMP pages will appear as a carousel at the top of Google search pages so users can swipe articles to find a relevant page with a flick of their finger.

However, it’s actually bigger than just Google with Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, WordPress.com and Adobe Analytics being involved in the move to integrate AMP HTML Pages.

So it’s safe to assume this is going to be pretty important for websites eager to rank better (or even retain their ranking) when it comes to users searching for businesses, products or relevant information.

Pinterest is already testing pages in their iOS and Android apps and found that pages load four times faster and use eight times less data than purely mobile-optimised pages.

What does Accelerated Mobile Pages mean for your website?

Accelerated Mobile Pages is primarily designed for content you read i.e. blogs and news items.  The AMP HTML strips each web page down to the bare minimum so there will be no forms etc displayed, so if you rely on forms for lead generation on your website this will hamper it.

Having AMP enabled on your site seems to us that it’s another version of your website, a bit like your mobile site being different from your desktop site, so maybe try the new initiative on just a few pages like your blog and news articles. From there you could extend into reviews and guides.

If your website is heavily focused on blogs or articles we recommend you give ‘Accelerated Mobile Pages‘ your prioritised attention.

As web designers, we just wish Google can just give us a break to do our work rather than throw even more confusion and upheaval our way! But hey, what can ya do?

Hope you have enjoyed our article, we have tried to explain it clearly, to the best of our knowledge too!  If you have anything to add or if you spot a mistake please get in touch.

For more info read Googles blog spot on Accelerate Mobile Pages