Google Amplifies AMPs: The Biggest Changes You Need to Know About

Forget the Year of the Dog, 2018 will be the year of the AMP if Google has anything to do with it. Having announced plans to make the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) technology more of a mainstream staple, Google has upped the ante on some of its capabilities, as well as adding a few new features into the mix.

For those who are unfamiliar with it, the AMP Project is an open-source initiative which aims to create a better web experience for users. It allows developers to create websites and ads that are both fast loading and high-performing across all devices and distribution platforms.

Previously, AMP has been a somewhat controversial subject. It’s very much a marmite situation; users love the way it makes mobile sites load almost instantly, whilst publishers silently seethe about adhering to Google’s rules in exchange for a more prominent position on the coveted search pages.

Whichever side of the fence you choose to sit on, the new updates could be a game-changer with added usability giving businesses new platforms to engage consumers. Whilst it’s still early days and a lot of the features are still just in the testing phases, we’ve rounded up some of the most significant features that could help to improve marketing strategies.

Improved usability delivered straight to your inbox

AMP for Email will allow developers to create emails that are more interactive and engaging with Gmail. The new feature will allow you to embed widgets along with plenty of other actionable functions that will all work without the user having to leave their inbox. As AMP for Email is open-source, developers are free to play around with the new features to explore the capabilities so that they can use them to their advantage.

The new features open up a world of possibilities, allowing users to do things like RSVP to events, scroll through images, and interact with content all within the email body. It means that marketers can be more visual and creative with email marketing which will encourage more user interaction. And with the GDPR deadline looming ever closer, the ability to create more interactive and engaging email campaigns is something we should all welcome with open arms.

Tapping into Google Tag Manager

In a bid to win the support of marketers, Google has announced that Tag Manager will now support AMP technology. This opens up a variety of new measurement opportunities. Of course, implementing measurement solutions on AMP pages was already possible, but it was a tedious task to say the least, particularly for those with tagging needs that surpass tracking a basic page view.

AMP containers in Tag Manager will now provide support across all of Google’s ad platforms including AdWords and DoubleClick.

AMPing up storytelling

With content becoming more and more visual, Google is taking instant-loading content to Google Search. This could revolutionise content consumption across platforms as these stories can be viewed on desktop as well as mobile.

To be honest, they’re not that different to Instagram Stories or Snapchat Discover in terms of how they work. What makes them different and more interesting is that they don’t disappear, and they’re searchable.

Another plus point is that publishers will be able to create AMP exclusive stories that can be fully-optimised for the platform.

The importance of being Idle

The biggest change to AMP comes in the form of an entirely new feature called Render on Idle. Designed to increase ad impressions per page, the new feature delivers faster ads by speeding up the ad load time if a user isn’t taking any action in a browser.

If a user has stopped interacting with the browser for a while, AMP technology will stop retrieving and rendering all other page content. This delivers better ad performance as ads load earlier in the page lifecycle.

If you’ve struggled with AMP in the past but want to make the most of the new features, we might be able to help you. If you’d like to chat about it, get in touch with us today to see how you can use AMPs to your advantage.