This post is sponsored by Clickio. The views expressed in this article are those of the sponsors themselves.
In every corner of the industry, the media are Say goodbye to AMPmany people think they can increase their income without it.
Some of the larger publishers, such as Vox Media LLC and BDG, have left AMP and are using dedicated resources to develop their own solutions.
Also, smaller sites are looking to invest in different alternatives to AMP, such as leveraging tools like Prism.
But since every publisher and site’s needs are different, it’s worth asking if AMP is really as redundant as it seems.
How do AMP alternatives (such as in-house development or tools like Prism) perform?
At Clickio, we work with many publishers who are still using AMP and others who are no longer using AMP.
Here, we share what website owners should consider when deciding whether to make the switch.
Consideration #1: Will Alternatives to AMP Boost Search Rankings?
Google has confirmed AMP is not a ranking factorbecause AMP links no longer need to appear in Google’s Top Stories.
Any fast web page with a good user experience can easily get featured and ranked.
The speed of your website is the ranking factor here.
While it’s true that AMP can easily give you faster page load times, there are some downsides like lower revenue from ad placement restrictions, less visible branding, and a user experience layout that’s not unique to your business.
Long story short, use core network vitality (CWV) to help you optimize your website instead of AMP, which will give you a better chance to increase ad revenue, maintain your brand awareness, and still rank high on Google.
How can I improve search rankings without AMP?
CWV enables you to make a realistic assessment of the speed, interactivity and visual stability of your pages, making it easy to speed up the overall speed of your entire website.
When considering switching from AMP to true website optimization, you need to prioritize CWV requirements:
- Performance: How fast does the item load on the screen?
- Responsiveness: How quickly does your page respond to user input?
- Visual Stability: Do items on the page jump a lot on load?
Clickio PrismFor example, is a cloud-based mobile template designed with these metrics in mind.
No matter where your end users are, your pages will always load quickly because Prism is able to speed up your mobile site by using a global content delivery network (CDN) and site-wide caching.
Prism also uses a lightweight page design that removes lengthy JavaScript tasks and complex CSS code.
Smart lazy loading of images and ads helps prevent unexpected layout changes that can disrupt the user experience and impact a site’s CLS score.
According to data from the Chrome User Experience Report, 92% of Prism sites are fully CWV compliant, compared to just 36% of all sites worldwide.
Whether you choose to use existing tools or build your own solution, it is important to check the impact by setting up real-time monitoring of CWV.
Services such as Clickio Network Vital Signs Monitoring Track the actual page experience of your visitors in real time.
This means you can instantly see how changes to your website affect your score.
This helps you investigate the source of any problems and take quick action.
Screenshot of Clickio Web Vitals Monitoring, March 2022Consideration #2: Will alternatives to AMP increase user engagement?
AMP is designed to create websites that display well and load fast.
However, user experience is more than just a fast website.
Visitors who come to your site using AMP pages often face challenges when trying to navigate to other areas of your site, resulting in high bounce rates.
Also, out of the box, there are few ways to include a way to capture and convert your AMP audience.
To create a positive user experience and maintain high search rankings, you should also consider integrating features that encourage interactivity and improve navigation without slowing down your site.
With site speed covered by CWV, how can I increase user engagement?
To increase user engagement, it’s important to implement features that your audience uses and trusts every day.
Many users are now accustomed to the type of navigation they see in apps, such as being able to swipe across the screen to instantly move to the next article.
Prism includes this feature, along with infinite scrolling — which continues to load more content as readers move down the page — and a carousel of related articles that display similar stories.
These engagement features help keep your audience on your website longer.
Screenshots of Clickio Prism, April 2022 and June 2021It all makes it easier for users to see more of the content they are interested in.
With Prism, you can also easily see its impact by running a free A/B test against the standard mobile version of your website.
Screenshot of Clickio Platform, March 2022On average, publishers running such tests found that users spent 45% longer on the Prism site than on the standard mobile version.
Consideration #3: Will alternatives to AMP increase revenue?
AMP tends to be inflexible and often limits publishers’ monetization opportunities.
This is because you can only use features implemented in the AMP library.
Additionally, many rich media and video vendors do not fully support AMP.
PreBid.js is the industry standard for header bidding and doesn’t work in AMP – a huge disadvantage for monetization.
As a result, many sites continue to run their original pages with AMP, which means extra work and more complex analysis.
How to reduce workload and increase income?
When creating your own CWV-friendly layout, you can remove duplicate AMP pages, while giving your site access to more ad networks and improving bids.
Prism Gives publishers access to the full ad ecosystem, including Open Auction and Header Auctions, as well as greater flexibility in ad placement and placement—helping to increase revenue.
Publishers can also use a variety of non-standard ad formats, while dynamic layouts automatically adjust ad placement based on article length, device type, and connection speed.
This partly explains why publishers see an average 59% increase in revenue (measured by session RPM) using Prism compared to standard sites.
Regardless of the option they choose, Clickio publishers can easily track revenue from different sources and site versions within the Clickio platform.
Clickio Platform, March 2022
Clickio Platform, March 2022Consideration #4: Which alternatives to AMP are easy to set up and use?
The initial setup of any technology is a critical issue for publishers, and AMP is undoubtedly easy to integrate without much technical knowledge.
The simplicity of AMP is a big reason why some publishers continue to stick with it, especially when they lack the means to integrate other solutions.
But other options, like Prism, are also easy to use – from setup to maintenance.
Prism can be installed via a WordPress plugin or Clickio’s CDN, and offers free support and integration.
This can save smaller publishers a lot of pressure and cost as no additional development is required.
Additionally, every publisher using Prism is assigned an account manager to support them during the setup process and help them get the most out of it.
With that in mind, for publishers looking to move away from AMP, the hassle of setting up and using the new product is nothing to worry about.
What is best for your website?
AMP remains a useful aid in ensuring a great web experience for mobile users, and it remains a good choice for many smaller publishers.
However, technology has continued to evolve since AMP was first introduced.
Publishers frustrated with their limitations can now take advantage of tools like Prism to maintain site speed and search rankings while increasing their chances of revenue growth.
As with many aspects of web development, testing is key.
See how AMP alternatives are different
With Prism, we provide a Free A/B Testing Depending on your current mobile site, you can see exactly how it makes a difference.
click here Apply for Prism’s Free A/B Test – or contact us If you want to discuss the best options for your website.
Image Source
Featured Image: Image courtesy of Shutterstock. Used with permission.
