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Accelerated Mobile Pages are able to speed up the loading speed of websites. Here's how to create one and why they are so important for SEO optimization.

Browsing on Google from mobile devices it happens more and more frequently in recent years to meet pages called AMP. This acronym stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages , and it is an open source framework developed by Google with the aim of improving the performance of the mobile web thanks to the creation of lighter pages and greater usability of the contents consulted by smartphones and portable devices.

Important business partners and world-renowned publishers participated in the imposing project and its results in terms of navigability of the web pages were accompanied by improved performance in terms of organic traffic and user experience. How exactly does this system work? Let's find out together, analyzing all the advantages that creating AMP pages can bring .

• What are AMP pages?
• How AMP pages work: secrets and characteristics
• How are AMP pages created?
• The advantages of AMP pages

What are AMP pages?

The Accelerated Mobile Pages are part of an initiative launched by Big G in 2015, focused on the objective of promoting the increase of the loading speed of the pages consulted by mobile devices. The project is based on AMP HTML , an open framework based on existing web technologies, which allows developers to build significantly improved browsing experiences for mobile : lighter structures, simplified HTML code and easier CSS rules allow creation of pages with instant loading, more attractive and fluid and with a high engagement rate for users.

The AMP program was carried out by Google with the cooperation of a group of international publishers, such as the Condé Nast group, The Guardian, El Pais, The New York Times and La Stampa, and was born with the aim of making possible a future optimized for the digital information universe. The AMP system in its original form was in fact oriented mainly to news sites and online magazines , for which the slow loading of pages is often the cause of abandonment of navigation and immediate loss of the user.

Developed in principle in response to Facebook's Instant Articles, AMP has over the years become a powerful platform for the distribution of content and more and more websites are making constant use of it. There are also numerous technological partners who actively participate in the AMP initiative, including Twitter, WordPress.com , Pinterest, Chartbeat, LinkedIn and Adobe Analytics, as well as many other companies related to publishing, advertising and the sector. e-commerce .

How AMP pages work: secrets and characteristics

AMPs are not obtained by using the same basic elements as normal web pages , and therefore use HTML, CSS and Javascript languages, but have some specific rules and tags that create restrictions and eliminate all the factors that risk slowing down the site in question , considerably lightening the individual web pages.

The Accelerated Mobile Pages are up to 4 times faster than traditional pages, while maintaining the same content and allowing the same actions that can be performed by the user during navigation. The loading time of this special type of web content is incredibly low, even without making it necessary to give up the use of video or graphic elements, animations or smart ads : all the elements of the AMP page that is opened are loaded simultaneously and displayed by the reader quickly, regardless of the technology he uses on his device and the model or brand of the mobile device in his hands.

There are some key features that distinguish AMP pages and which serve to reduce the loading speed of static content.

The HTML AMP format : compared to the classic HTML, this code uses some similar tags but replaces others with specific AMP tags, becoming able to create content with a richer but at the same time more performing formatting.

the AMP JavaScript library makes it possible to quickly render AMP HTML pages, manages the loading of resources and provides customized code tags. The main optimization methods include, for example, asynchrony in the loading of external resources, the disabling of too slow CSS selectors and the loading of resources only after a calculation made on the overall layout of the page.

The use of the Google AMP Cache , i.e. a proxy-based content delivery network that loads AMP HTML pages and automatically speeds up their distribution operations. The option is optional, but when in use images, documents and Java Script files are loaded from the same source, using the HTTP 2.0 protocol.

The AMP method of optimization is therefore based on central hinges such as the execution of only asynchronous scripts, the definition of the size of resources in a static way, the use of built-in styles for the CSS code, the efficient activation of fonts, performing GPU-accelerated animations, reducing style calculations, banning extension mechanisms from blocking rendering, and other similar tricks for instant and efficient content loading .

The system therefore lightens the pages by focusing on the contents of the same and on the functionalities that are proposed. When a user searches on Google, if the result is available in AMP version, the search engine automatically returns the accelerated page when you click on the link in the SERP . The source code of the project is constantly changing and improving , and is available to developers on GitHub.

How are AMP pages created?

The CMS and techniques that allow the creation of a website structure are manifold, and for each there are specific plugins and extensions that allow you to create AMP pages. On the official AMP Project website you can find them all and get a complete overview of the information needed to learn how to give life to your Accelerated Mobile Pages.

Those who use WordPress can automatically generate AMP pages from a traditional page, and even modify it to make it similar to desktop pages in terms of user experience. Among the most popular plugins for this purpose is the one called AMP for WordPress. For those who use the Joomla CMS instead , they can use the JAmp extension, to easily create accelerated mobile pages. For Drupal, on the other hand, you can download the AMP module that allows you to automatically transform the pages of each site into AMP.

Once an AMP page has been created, it is possible, as well as advisable, to test it directly in the search console made available by Google itself. Both by testing a single page and multiple pages within a site, Google generates a report on the AMP pages that highlights any problems related to the code or the final display of the content.

The advantages of AMP pages

The effectiveness of AMPs can be measured first of all by the incredibly efficient loading speed of the sites that use the technology, which also leads to data savings by end users.

Those who deal with SEO and mobile SEO seem to agree that a well structured AMP website has advantages in terms of organic traffic, engagement and ranking. First of all, the AMP pages basically bring attention to the contents of the websites and since most of those on the net are static, the companies that have chosen to implement accelerated mobile pages have found significant increases in traffic with organic search sources .

The relationship between the use of AMP technology and increased performance on Google is also becoming increasingly evident. The reason can be found in the fact that the user engagement on AMP sites is much greater than on non-AMP sites, and that the conversions deriving from faster mobile experiences are much greater.

The studies carried out on the online sites that currently use AMP, in most cases highlight an increase in organic traffic, an increasing SERP impression and a sharply increasing SERP CTR . It is not only editorial sites that benefit from these results, but also e-commerce portals, albeit with different results and improvements on the three factors mentioned. Excellent performances therefore, which push more and more programmers to enter the world of Accelerated Mobile Pages.

The Web Analyst is undoubtedly one of the professional figures of the future. Here is what it does and why it is so important for the companies of the future

How important is it to have a Web Analyst in online marketing? Let's try to explain it with an old slogan in the business world: " no number, no business ". Nothing more true even in the online world, without numbers you cannot make the right decision, without the right decision you don't get success.

That's why if you want to achieve results in your web marketing strategy, you need to choose this figure. But what does a Web Analyst do ? And why is it so important?

Web Analyst: who he is and what he does

The Web Analyst lives among the numbers. His work consists of analyzing data and monitoring them , but not only. Its function is very important precisely because it takes these data and crosses them; interprets them to ensure that those in charge of the business can make the best strategic decisions from a data driven perspective .

This dual function is the basis of a good web analyst. On the one hand, making decisions without data is pure improvisation, on the other, having a long series of numbers but not knowing how to relate them is an exercise in itself. That's why a professional figure able to read data and analyze it in an integrated way is fundamental for any activity.

What are the skills of the Web Analyst?

To become a good Web Analyst you need to love numbers, graphs, formulas, in short, to have a mathematical vision of the world . It is also essential to have all the skills necessary to manage some of the main analysis platforms : Google Analytics, Search Console, Facebook Insight, Instagram Insight , Twitter Analytics and many many other relevant tools.

That's enough? Not exactly. Another fundamental element of the preparation of a web analyst is to have full mastery of the metrics and their meanings : Cost per Click, Cost per View, KPI , Page per View, Bounce Rate. These are just some of the most important metrics in the world of web marketing. Concepts that are not exactly immediate but that prove to be fundamental in guiding online commercial strategies .

How to become a Web Analyst?

It is not easy to finalize one's study path on the figure of the Web Analyst . There are many courses and masters with more generic contents, but it is difficult to find a specific itinerary.

In these cases, the best solution is to practice on the field , to have experiences that can start from your own small site up to ever larger reality, starting from free tools such as Google Pagespeed Insights to more advanced tools. The important thing is to document every small step, every step reached and passed, in order to show possible buyers all their skills.

The figure of the Web Analyst is undoubtedly one of the professions of the future . Knowing and handling with attention and creativity the data returned from the web is a skill that the future of the company will require more and more often.

As always, the important thing is to have experience in the field!