A business website is designed with two objectives in mind – to increase conversions and spread awareness about the business’s offerings. A website that fails to attract enough traffic becomes more of a liability than an asset over time. More often than not, websites fail because they have slow loading speeds and are difficult to navigate. The modern customer is more demanding than ever before and hates spending time looking for information. Clearly, the need to improve user experience is at an all time high. Creating and using Accelerated Mobile Pages can help you achieve this objective.
What is AMP, anyway?
As we’ve explained extensively in our What is Amp? Getting Up To Speed With AMP article, AMP is a toned down version of regular HTML. The project is a collaboration between Google and Twitter. AMPs are lightweight and include lesser features which help them load faster. AMP pages takes 15-85 percent less time to load than non-AMPs.CLICK TO TWEET
There are various restrictions on the codes that can be used. Certain HTML tags are not allowed. Furthermore, users can only use the approved Javascript library and a streamlined version of CSS.
While AMP does not embed videos and images in the website, it redirects users to Google pages where the original content is published, helping decrease page loading time.
Benefits of AMP
Currently, Google does not consider AMP as a page ranking factor. Though there is no direct recognition from Google for businesses with AMP, it does not mean that AMP does not have any role to play in improving rankings.
Many businesses have grown their rankings with AMP and many more are following in their footsteps. Because AMP pages load faster than non-AMP pages, they are preferred by most users. When more users visit your website, rankings improve and your website gets the much needed traction.
Still wondering why your business needs Accelerated Mobile Pages? These six AMP benefits will answer this question.
1. Low bounce rate and more dwell time
Studies suggest that around 53 percent of visits are abandoned if the website takes more than three seconds to load.CLICK TO TWEETAs if the challenge of bringing more users to your website was not enough, you also have to somehow keep them interested to spend more time on your page. AMPs can help you achieve the twin objectives.
Because AMPs load faster, your users do not get stuck when looking for useful content on your website and are more likely to spend time navigating not just AMPs but other pages as well. Studies show that implementing AMP can help increase the time spent by users on pages by up to two times.
2. Improved support for advertisements
Because ads increase a website’s load time, many users install ad blockers. AMPs support a range of ad networks, technologies, and formats. HTML is coded in a way to enhance the usability of banners and images. When advertisements load faster and look attractive, the likelihood of users clicking on them increases. An improved click rate boosts your revenue.
3. Improved customer behavior tracking
You can’t just create a website and neglect it. There needs to be a process in place to monitor its performance. To ensure your website serves its purpose, you need to understand how users interact with it. Tracking user behavior on your website will help uncover different behavioral patterns that impact your conversion rate.
To help with this task, AMP has two different tags that track visitor data and the number of new and returning visitors. AMP tags also enable video and link tracking. With this useful information at your fingertips, taking key decisions becomes easier.
4. Improved click-through rate
In search results, AMPs are displayed in green. Additionally, AMPs are featured on the Google Search Top Stories Carousel. Because the carousel appears on the top of searches, featuring pages there increases the likelihood of users clicking on them first. The use of a distinct symbol along with featuring the page on the carousel can make a world of difference for your click-through rate.
5. Help get more traffic
AMPs focus on lightweight content, which helps improve the user’s browsing experience, Additionally, AMPs use a specific set of standards that helps keep a tab on page load time. When your page is easy to navigate, more users start visiting it and the likelihood of them spending more time on your website increases. Pages that load faster are also ranked higher by Google.
Furthermore, AMP pages are prioritized in Google’s algorithms, which helps improve your website’s ranking.
6. Improved customer engagement
A study involving e-commerce businesses shows that using AMPs in online campaigns can increase click-through rates by 200 percent and advertisement performance rates by 18 percent. When your customers spend more time on your website, it becomes easier for you to educate them about your offerings, which in turn increases the likelihood of a positive outcome (conversion) and engagement.
Mantras for using AMP effectively
1. Plan carefully
Creating AMPs is a time-consuming and effort intensive exercise. To divide your time judiciously, prioritize your work. Start with pages that drive the most traffic.
2.Validate your AMPs
Whether you are creating AMPs from scratch or are using plugins, remember to validate your AMPs. To check the accuracy of HTML tags, use the developer tools in Chrome.
3. Document the process
To streamline your process, document every step. You can use plugins for this purpose.
