AMP with Structured Data: Monitoring with Google Search Console

In early 2017, Google released Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), an open-source means for creating pages streamlined for mobile devices. In addition to shorter loading times, these pages tend to perform better in search engines (more on this later), and also reduce server strain. With structured data, they can host rich content, including ads.

In early 2017, Google released Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), an open-source means for creating pages streamlined for mobile devices. In addition to shorter loading times, these pages tend to perform better in search engines (more on this later), and also reduce server strain. With structured data, they can host rich content, including ads.

In other words, any business with a virtual presence stands to gain a lot by using AMP with structured data—provided they understand how to develop, publish, and monitor them. In this entry, we’ll be delving into all that, as well as the constraints to keep in mind when using AMP.

Making the Page

The first thing you’d set out to do is, of course, create an accelerated mobile page to begin with. This might be an entirely new page or an adaptation of an old page using AMP technology. Since AMP is designed to improve the user experience, creating a separate AMP version, you ensure that the desktop and mobile visitors enjoy your content.

There are three basic kinds of code used when working in AMP:

• AMP HTML:  A subset of HTML, this markup language has some custom tags and properties and many restrictions.
• AMP JS:  JavaScript framework for mobile pages
• AMP CDN: Optional Content Delivery Network, makes the AMP-enabled pages, cache them and automatically make the performance optimisation.

Google’s AMP HTML specifications do a fine job of explaining the basic aspects of developing such pages; they also have a primer on structured data for AMP.

Some content management/optimization systems (CMS/COS) now also provide options for publishing AMP. HubSpot’s COS, for example, has a checkbox for AMP formatting right in its post editor. It also provides an option for enabling AMP by default.

Search and Surveillance

If you want to check on your accelerated mobile pages once you’ve released them into the wild, you should know that AMP with structured data appear differently in SERPs: they show up in a carousel with other AMP, instead of in the main listings. Note that AMP without structured data don’t enjoy this benefit.

The carousel is one major reason that AMP tends to perform better in search; because they have a slot near the top of the SERP just for their category, they’re more likely to be clicked. But another major factor is the improved experience they provide. As they are lighter on data and load faster, it’s in the interest of mobile users to privilege them over other results.

Thus, even though AMP isn’t itself a factor in determining search results, it does ultimately have a bearing on how these pages perform.

On the other hand, if you want to check on your page’s performance metrics, you can do so with a new filter in the Google Search Console, also known as Google’s webmaster tools. In the Search Analytics section, click on the drop-down under the “search appearance” section, select AMP from that list. This will allow you to compare how the AMP metrics compete against other search results links. You can also see how the visibility of your site’s AMP pages has evolved over time.

Pros, Cons, and Constraints

To recap, AMP have the following advantages:

• Lighter and Faster: Accelerated mobile pages use a tenth of the data normal pages do, and load four times faster. This reduces server load and counts toward its performance score in search rankings.
• Increased Mobile Ranking: AMP isn’t a search criterion, but with better mobile performance, these pages get a leg up anyway. A carousel on SERPs specifically for AMP with structured data helps, too.
• Support for Ads: Aiming to support a range of ad networks format and technologies and the goal is to deliver and makes the ads content to look good and catch the attention of the viewers. Through this it will help to increase their influence and improve the ROI on Ad spend

That said, if AMP provided benefits without any drawbacks, then they’d naturally soon eclipse other kinds of web pages. But as with any other kind of technology, AMP has its limits. Be mindful of these when planning and creating your pages:

• Query Limits: The Google AMP URL API has a default limit of ten queries per 100 seconds.
• Duplicate Content Issues: If AMP aren’t properly implemented with a “rel=canonical” tag, they could register as duplicate content.
• Platform Customization Limits: Developers have limited control over the design and customization of their pages due to reduced JavaScript options, among other things.

Be sure to consider all of these when deciding how to incorporate AMP into your online presence. AMP is definitely an advantage when it comes to gaining traction online, but haphazard implementation may be more bane than boon. Not every page can be successfully adapted to AMP either, so be sure to find out what you can and cannot do with AMP before coming to a final decision on your mobile online strategies.

Want to know more about implementing AMP? Let’s talk.