Why should eCommerce websites invest in Google AMPs

Over 70% of the total internet traffic today in India comes from mobile phones. The average load time for a webpage on a mobile device is capped at 19 seconds on a 3G network. What is shocking to know is that more than 50% of mobile phone users will abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

In 2016, Google came up with the answer on how to reduce the wait time for mobile consumers with Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs).

What is AMP? Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs), are an open-source project, specifically designed to make webpages load in record time on mobile devices.

It has been possible to achieve a shorter load time by restricting HTML/CSS and Javascript. Another aspect that helps in load time is the automatic caching of AMP pages

The idea behind starting AMP was to give users a faster experience on their mobile devices that would result in better conversion rates for a brand.

eCommerce websites have been utilising AMP to showcase their products with the help of Product pages that utilise amp-carousel and amp-video. This is a great way to make your consumers stay longer on your website where they can check out the plethora of products.

The benefits of AMP

1. Increase in the target audience As the time to load on your page decreases, consumers will willingly spend more time on it looking at your products. This is how the organic reach of your website increases. The best outcome of an increase in this traffic is the higher ranking on a search engine. A higher ranking results in more customers visiting your online store.

2. Higher engagement rates The most obvious benefit from an AMP is the instant webpage load time. Webpages have seen their wait time fall by as high as 85%. This dramatic improvement helps reduce bounce rates and retain visitors, allowing you to engage them on your page using personalized recommendations.

3. Increase in revenue Over the years, we have seen a direct correlation between the load time and conversion rate. The more time a consumer spends on your website, the higher the probability of them making a purchase. If your website doesn’t load in less than 3 seconds, you have already lost 47% of your consumers. With AMP, you manage to retain your consumers on your website to be able to showcase your products. Thus, increasing revenue for your brand.

AMP v/s Mobile-friendly sites A common question is why should one invest in an AMP if their site is already mobile-friendly. The big difference is that mobile-friendly sites only take the User Experience and aesthetics into account and not the speed. AMPs, on the other hand, builds on speed and the overall User Experience as well.

An AMP uses the same code format across all types of website designs. This makes the experience with AMP the same for all using it. On the other hand, mobile-friendly websites differ vastly as per the design they are interacting with. For some, the experience may be seamless while others may find it difficult.

Shifting to Google AMP The shift is fairly easy for any online store to make. One has to know the three core components that an AMP is built on:

1. AMP HTML Websites have been made with HTML as the primary markup language for more than two decades now. When a website shifts to AMP, it uses the same HTML code with a few AMP-specific tags.

2. AMP JavaScript JavaScript is an important factor in modern webpages. To make the change seamless, AMP Project owns an open-source JavaScript code called AMP JS. This code’s main aim is to decrease the web page load time.

3. AMP CDN AMP Content Delivery Network (CDN) is not mandatory to build your page. It helps to increase the reach of your page by allowing one to cache them and making it easier to share.

eCommerce sites that have invested in AMPs have seen a 20% increase in conversion rates and also witnessed a 32% increase in organic traffic on their website.

The shift is easy to make. Don’t lose out on your mobile consumers.