The AMP Project is a programme initiated by Google that aims to optimise the internet for faster mobile use. When these articles first came around, there was a flurry of activity as SEO experts used this to their best advantage. We’re here to update you on the project thus far and how it could be affecting your affiliate portal.
As of last month, 31 million domains have adopted AMP technology. According to a study by Search Engine Journal, these are also converting three times as much traffic as non AMP sites. In both organic search and PPC, this tech is really disrupting our industry.
Does it really affect your SEO ranking?
While Google aren’t saying that AMP sites will automatically rank higher, page speed has always been a factor in SERPs. The reduced bounce rate from faster loading pages will also have a payoff for those looking to climb the rankings.
This shouldn’t be your entire SEO strategy, but consider how you can make the whole user experience a bit better. Faster loading pages should be a part of that, though you can also consider the user journey, responsiveness of the site and more.
Nowadays, Google mainly tell us that what’s good for the user is good for your rankings therefore by definition AMP is good for your customer. With users willing to spend more time on sites with AMP in place and being more likely to convert, it’s a win win for website owners to consider.
What does it really mean?
You’ve already seen AMP sites popping up in the SERPs, with their articles being marked with a lightning bolt. They receive a larger snippet in the rankings and news pieces get a special preference too. This is an untapped traffic goldmine, as you could dominate these rankings with your affiliate portal.
Faster loading sites are also better for your users, as studies show that we tend to abandon sites that take longer than a few seconds to start up. This can create a problem for affiliates, as externally hosted banners can slow things down by a fair bit. Reducing these requests and speeding the site up will mean your content is more likely to be read and enjoyed by more users.
When you create an AMP section of your site, it’s imperative that you submit the link to Google for approval. If they don’t know you have an AMP section then they won’t list is as such and you’ll miss out on additional exposure. You don’t want to go to the trouble of implementing this tech without getting the full return on that investment.
What’s the latest technology update on AMP?
The most recent updates around AMP are AMP emails, which take the user from their inbox to a site at record speed. Affiliates who run email marketing campaigns should most definitely be using this to improve their conversion rates. If your user is interested enough to open your email and click on a link, you’d better be providing them with a great experience. If you’re getting a decent open rate on your emails but not a lot of click through, then experiment with this tech. This offers a great chance for affiliates to get ahead of the curve and beating the competition.
How will this progress in future as mobile and app marketing increases?
It has been a year since this tech was introduced to the market and the need for AMP is massive. Google has also introduced their mobile first index, so it’s clear they’re prioritising their mobile users. As more and more searches are conducted on mobile, the speed and data that they use will become ever more prominent.
Publishers are reporting big results thanks to the implementation of AMP, with users preferring to give repeat traffic to these pages. Some have reported up to 73% more organic traffic since the implementation of the framework.
Major Media publishers are jumping on the AMP bandwagon in a big way, if you have content that’s written to be read then you might want to consider doing the same. Get more visitors and bring that experience to your email marketing too, you might just start leading the industry instead of following it.
