Google Amp - What it means for your website

What is Google AMP?

Google Amp is a new project designed to speed up the internet for Mobile users.  AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, probably because the acronym for Mobile Acceleration Project (Google MAP) was already taken.

How does AMP work?

AMP displays versions of your page to Google without any extra formatting, and in a way that greatly reduces their time to download by stripping out all but the most essential information.

When will the Amp update Happen?

Even though AMP has been around since last October, AMP is important for your search engine rankings NOW because Google has begun to adjust your position in the rankings for Mobile viewers based on Amp.

Does AMP effect me?

Amp pages are not important for every web site.  Amp is not even important for all pages within a site. But if you are a news publisher or have an active blog it is important that those pages are AMP compatible.

Does Google AMP block ads?

According to Matt Cutts of Google AMP does not effect well behaved ads.  Which could be great for everyone, both readers and publishers if websites are rewarded for having quality ads.

What should I do now?

WordPress has already released an easy to use plugin to convert your pages to amplified ones.  Shopify and HubSpot have not commented on a AMP update to their systems, but business that want to get ahead of the AMP curve have options to do their own upgrades. Contact Harness if you have questions about upgrading your site. 

Conclusion – What does AMP look like?

Google will be displaying AMP pages with a lighting bolt logo, so keep an eye out for it while you are browsing on your phone to see what you think of AMP pages and decide if you like the update. Do you want to see what AMP pages look like right now? To see the AMP version of this page just click our link for our Google AMP example.