How AMP technology can boost your content strategy

AMP technology can help you boost your content strategy for 2020. Here’s how to get started today.

It was back in 2016 when Google announced the launch of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). The rise of mobile consumption made it imperative to aim for a seamless user experience through smartphones and AMP seemed like a great solution to it.

According to an early study, Google AMP pages load four times faster and use eight times fewer data than traditional mobile-optimized pages.

The idea was to provide an open-source framework that can make the mobile experience better and faster. Several publishers started implementing AMP but not all of them were initially able to measure the success of their efforts.

The state of AMP by the end of 2019

There were several interesting announcements around AMP in 2019 to keep an eye on.

On July 25, Google Images announced:

“Google Images made a series of changes to help people explore, learn and do more through visual search. An important element of visual search is the ability for users to scan many ideas before coming to a decision, whether it’s purchasing a product, learning more about a stylish room, or finding instructions for a DIY project. Often this involves loading many web pages, which can slow down a search considerably and prevent users from completing a task. As previewed at Google I/O, we’re launching a new AMP-powered feature in Google Images on the mobile web, Swipe to Visit, which makes it faster and easier for users to browse and visit web pages. After a Google Images user selects an image to view on a mobile device, they will get a preview of the website header, which can be easily swiped up to load the web page instantly.”

The use of AMP in Google Images is improving the speed of searching for visual content. The increasing demand for visual searches creates the need for improved user experience. This announcement proved that AMP is not just about the written text but it is going to affect complete websites and the way we perceive content.

Moreover, Google recently announced that the AMP framework will join the OpenJS Foundation. This is a move that can make AMP even more accessible without relying too much on Google. According to Malte Ubl of AMP’s Technical Steering Committee:

“Google will continue to be a strong supporter of AMP.  Google is already a platinum member of the OpenJS Foundation and will continue to provide additional financial and other forms of support to the foundation to ensure a thriving AMP community and ecosystem.  The team of Google employees contributing full time to the AMP open-source project will also continue to do so”.

It is estimated that since 2016, more than 25 million domains have published more than 1.5 billion AMP pages. This move can signal an even higher number of pages using AMP to improve the user experience.

According to Google, 53% of mobile visitors abandon a page that takes more than three seconds to load.

How AMP can affect your content strategy

AMP can make a useful addition to a content strategy in many different ways:

1. Improved UX

Focusing on accelerated mobile pages can have a significant impact on user experience. A good content UX can lower the bounce rates on your page while it can also help your visitors stay engaged.

2. Increased conversion

The more time a visitor is spending on your content, the higher the chances of conversion. It’s not always enough to provide high-quality content to increase conversions. The speed of the site, the overall user experience, and the design of your page can still affect your conversions.

3. Reducing load time

Your site’s visitors expect a seamless experience from the very first second. The longer it takes for your content to load, the lower the chances to keep someone interested.

4. Beating competition

Not all websites are invested in AMP technology. It’s not too late to review your site’s speed and start exploring the best ways to use AMP for your content. If your content is already relevant to your visitors and you combine it with a fast experience, then you can end up ahead of your competitors.

Content as a priority

AMP technology is helping developers and marketers understand the importance of delivering a great experience at all levels. From designing your website to the creation of the actual content, everything needs to provide the best experience to all your visitors. This is always helpful in making the content a priority of your website. The loading speed is not enough if the copy is not relevant and informative.

Embracing the omnichannel experience

It’s more important than ever to embrace a multi-channel approach in your web development and also content marketing. Not everyone is accessing your content from the same device. As the load time makes a great factor on a site’s user experience, AMP can help you speed up your content, whether it’s on desktop or on a mobile device.

Boost SEO

AMP might not be an official ranking factor but site speed can significantly impact your ranking in the SERPS. Implementing AMP technology to your site can improve your rankings while delivering great user experience.

How to start

It’s not too late to get started with AMP technology. Here are the first steps that you can follow:

• Review your site’s current load time, you could use GTMetrics or some online tools that are similar
• Set up AMP (you can install the AMP plugin if you’re a WordPress user)
• Validate the pages that you want to involve
• Look at the content that you want to include if you need to make any changes
• Start measuring the success of your posts
• Keep reviewing the content performance and the load time

It’s quite easy to start applying AMP to your website to improve the speed of your pages. Your visitors will appreciate a faster load time and you will start reaping the benefits of it.

Content marketing, UX, and web design have never been more interlinked and it’s a great opportunity to make the most of them in 2020.

Cole McKeon is President at Revealize Inc.

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