If you were just getting a handle on your SEO, you might want to sit down for this.

Google has rolled out AMP, also known as the Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, to all website results. AMP could mean big changes for the mobile web if it becomes widely adopted and used as a standard moving forward.

Since AMP was unveiled in 2016, approximately 25 percent of businesses have taken the plunge. If you become an early adopter, you could see a boost in your SEO rankings if you jump on AMP before your competition.

What exactly is AMP?

AMP is essentially a light version of a web page that Google can deliver to mobile users quickly. Google caches the content specific to AMP so that everything comes from the same place, further increasing the delivery speed.

AMP is an open source project designed to create an exceptional user experience by delivering content as close to instantaneously as possible and by connecting your company to a user during micro-moments.

Google has detailed guidelines and documentation to help developers optimize for mobile. The goal is to deliver rapid search results to mobile users.

What sites should be using AMP?

In the beginning, AMP was focused on online publishers and news stories. You’ve likely seen this type of content in an AMP carousel of rich cards on your phone. Non-AMP pages are not eligible for display in the carousel. See how that automatically gives your content a boost?

Now, anyone in the content and e-commerce business should be using AMP. If you want users to look at your content and if your target audience finds you through an organic search, you should be using AMP.

Why? Because more than 68% of U.S. adults use their phones to access the internet, and Google has more mobile searches than desktop searches now.

You need to deliver relevant content quickly and provide a great user experience. AMP could be the answer.

For example, the Washington Post has seen a 23 percent increase in mobile search users who come back to the site within seven days. And Gizmodo reports a 50 percent increase in impressions. How’s that for motivation to get on board?

What does AMP mean for SEO?

The answer isn’t entirely clear on whether AMP will directly impact your search rankings. But it’s almost certain that it will have an indirect effect.

According to Google, using an AMP page will increase your site’s mobile-friendliness factor. This means your site loads faster and improves the user experience, which in turn increases your ranking factors.

While you won’t be penalized if your page isn’t AMP, you can see how refining your user experience can improve your bounce rate, click-through rate, and page views – all of which improve your search rankings.

While AMP will not directly impact your SEO, it will certainly affect your site’s rankings since it focuses on mobile-friendly designs and fast-loading pages.

Whether you choose to adopt AMP or not, improvements to your user experience, like a fully responsive site and lightning quick page loads can only benefit your business.

Make sure you have a mobile optimized website or you may be losing business, contact us here at Fade Digital today to see how we can help ensure you are optimized for the mobile web!