Google AMP As A Ranking Signal
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Donna Fisher
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September 29th, 2016
Accelerated Mobile Pages, or AMP, is Google’s newest initiative to optimize and deliver mobile content. Participants in this program find that their sites load almost instantly on handheld devices. AMP was introduced a year ago and has undergone a few changes over the last year. This has led to theories that it won’t be around long, and Google has been clear that AMP is not used in ranking websites. But, most people believe in a future that includes AMP as a ranking signal.
Moving Up in the World
At first, AMP sites were displayed only in the carousel on Google. You can recognize them from the little lightning bolt on the display. In less than a year, AMP broke into organic ranks. Now you’ll see AMP sites listed in line with other organic results. This means that it must be eligible for rankings.
AMP has been featured on the Google carousel.
It’s been known to happen before, with HTTPS. Google demonstrated that it was willing to change its ranking policies when HTTPS started gaining in popularity. Once HTTPS/SSL sites were secure, they were counted as ranking signals. AMP is not a ranking signal “at the moment,” which tells us that if it continues increasing in popularity and use, it may be considered a ranking signal eventually.
Increased Use of Mobile
Mobile accessibility makes money.
Daily internet use has tipped to mobile. The majority of people now use their mobile devices for accessing the internet, in place of using their desktop. While desktops and PCs are still used for offices and other work-related tasks, most other internet surfing is done on mobile devices. It only makes sense for Google to look for ways to not only improve service for its mobile users but to provide ranking for those aspects that make this service possible.
Google AMP as a Ranking Signal
AMP will probably become a ranking signal.
At this time, AMP is not yet a ranking signal. But, if the history of Google is any indication, it will become one. Google already considers accessibility as a ranking signal for mobile devices, so it won’t be a far stretch to apply it to all SERPs. Most webmasters began some time ago, even before Google started ranking mobile use, to convert their websites to mobile accessibility. Responsive design became the gold standard of web design.
Problems with AMP
Some designers see AMP as the natural result of responsive design and evolution of the internet. Others see it as a condemnation of all the work they did to obtain accessibility. The problem arises with the current limitations of AMP. Websites that use AMP are stripped down in order to increase speed. This limits the number of features that can be included on a website.