AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)

Accelerated Mobile Pages

The Accelerated Mobile Pages Project (AMP) is an open-source initiative to improve the performance of web content and
advertisements through a publishing technology known as AMP. The AMP Project led by Google is a competitor to Facebook's
Instant Articles,[1] and includes several other large search, social and web publishing platforms around the world.
1 History
1.1 Announcement and launch
1.2 Growth and expansion
2 Technology
2.1 Open Web Format
2.2 AMP framework
2.3 Third party integration
2.4 Performance
2.5 Parity with canonical pages
3 Industry Participation
3.1 Search engines
3.2 Social platforms
3.3 Content publishing platforms
3.4 eCommerce platforms
3.5 Financial services
4 Reception
4.1 Comparison to other formats
4.2 Google control
4.3 Monetization
4.4 Exploitation for malicious purposes
5 External Links
6 References
The AMP Project was announced by Google on October 7, 2015 following discussions with its partners in the European Digital
News Initiative (DNI), and other news publishers and technology companies around the world, about improving the performance of
the mobile web. More than 30 news publishers and several technology companies (including Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and
WordPress) were initially announced as collaborators in the AMP Project.
AMP pages first appeared to web users in February 2016, when Google began to show the AMP versions of webpages in mobile
search results. Initially links to AMP pages were restricted to a “oTp Stories” section of Googles’ mobile search results; by September
2016 Google started linking to AMP content in the main mobile search results are[a2.] AMP links in Google search are identified with
an icon.


In February 2017, a year after the public launch of AMP, Adobe reported AMP pages accounted for 7% of all web traffic for top
publishers in the United States.[3]
In May 2017, Google reported 900,000 web domains were publishing AMP pages with more than two billion AMP pages published
globally.[4]
In June 2017 Twitter started linking to AMP pages from its iOS and Android app[s5.]
AMP pages are published on the open web and can be displayed in most current browsers. When a standard webpage has an AMP
counterpart, a link to the AMP page is usually placed in an HTML tag in the source code of the standard page. Because most AMP
pages are easily discoverable by web crawlers, third parties such as search engines and other referring websites can choose to link to
the AMP version of a webpage instead of the standard version.
The AMP framework consists of three components: AMP HTML which is a standard HTML with web components; AMP JavaScript
which manages resource loading; and AMP caches which can serve and validate AMP page[6s].
Most AMP pages are delivered by Google’s AMP cache, but other companies can support AMP caches. Internet performance and
security company Cloudflare launched an AMP cache in March 2017[.7]
Any organization or individual can build products or features which will work on AMP pages, provided they comply with the AMP
Project specifications. As of July 2017, the AMP Project’s website listed around 120 advertising companies and around 30 analytics
companies as AMP Project participants[.8]
Google reports that AMP pages served in Google search typically load in less than one second and use 10 times less data than the
equivalent non-AMP pages.[9] CNBC reported a 387% decrease in mobile page load time for AMP Pages over non-AMP pages,[10]
while Gizmodo reported that AMP pages loaded three times faster than non-AMP page[s1.1]
Google has announced that as of February 1, 2018 it will require the content of canonical pages to match the content displayed
through AMP.[12] This is aimed at improving the experience of users by avoiding common dfiifculties with the user interface.
Search engines linking to AMP content include GoogleB, ing,[13] Baidu (China), Sogu (China), Yahoo Japan.[14]
Growth and expansion
Technology
Open Web Format
AMP framework
Third party integration
Performance
Parity with canonical pages
Industry Participation
Search engines









Social and distribution platforms presenting AMP content include Twitter,[15] LinkedIn, Pinterest,[16] Reddit, Nuzzle, Tencent Qzone
(China), Weibo (China).
Content publishing platforms supporting AMP includeW ordPress, Medium, Canvas, Drupal, Squarespace and Tumblr.
eCommerce platforms building pages with AMP includee Bay,[17] SnapDeal (India), AliExpress (China).
Whilst AMP has been readily embraced for its many positive features in various industries, such as news and media, it has additional
benefits for users in financial services sector which has often (due to commercial relationships and commission structures unique to
that industry) induced questionable practices which have not always best served the consum.e r
The AMP methodology provides a website designer the ability to reverse various approaches tried over the years, of controlling
consumers and search engines, by ensuring all participants operate in an equal environment regardless of the pages type. An obvious,
although possibly unintended, example of one of AMPs security features, is the elimination of pop-ups. Whilst (according to most
neutral observers) pop-ups have a generally negative affect and collation on the overall interactions a user has, it is fair to say that
within some sectors of the financial services industry, this practice takes unfair advantage of consumers, and commonly goes against
the regulatory guidelines of many financial conduct authority bodies, and its wholesale removal from the website's creators ability,
removes temptation.
As a result, many financial technology companies are embracing the positive elements of the ecosystem, embracing the structured
environment as an opportunity to build mote engaging websites.
AMP is often compared to Facebook Instant Articles and Apple News.[18] All three formats were announced in 2015 with the stated
goal of making mobile content faster and easier to consume.[19][20] AMP Project supporters point out that AMP is a collaborative
effort among publishers and technology companies, and that AMP is designed to work on the open web instead of proprietary mobile
apps.
Google’s Richard Gingras said:
“There's a very big difference between having a proprietary platform that says it's open, and having an open-source
platform that is open to anyone to modify and adapt. It's the difference between saying come into my walled garden
vs. not having a walled garden.”[21]
Matthew Ingram of Fortune expressed concerns about Google’s role and motives regarding the AMP Project:
Social platforms
Content publishing platforms
eCommerce platforms
Financial services
Reception
Comparison to other formats
Google control




“In a nutshell, these publishers are afraid that while the AMP project is nominally open-source, Google is using it to
shape how the mobile web works, and in particular, to ensure a steady stream of advertising revenue… More than
anything else, the concerns that some publishers have about AMP seems to be part of a broader fear about the loss of
control over distribution in a platform-centric world, and the risks that this poses to traditional monetization methods
such as display advertising.”[21]
These charges were rebutted by Google. Madhav Chinnappastating stated that AMP must be a collaborative industry initiative in
order for it to succeed in the long term:
“I get a little bit irritated when sometimes people call it Google’s AMP, because it’s not … AMP was created as an
open source initiative and that for me is the reason for its success.[”22]
Some publishers reported that AMP pages generate less advertising revenue per page than non-AMP pages.[23] The Wall Street
Journal’s Jack Marshall said:
"AMP pages rely heavily on standardized banner ad units, and don’t allow publishers to sell highly-customized ad
units, sponsorships or pop-up ads as they might on their own properties[2"4]
Other publishers have reported better success with AMP monetization. The Washington Post has been able to generate approximately
the same amount of revenue from AMP pages as from standard mobile pages, according to director of product Joey Marburger. CNN
chief product officer Alex Wellen said AMP Pages “largely monetize at the same rate” as standard mobile pages[2.5]
To improve advertising performance, the AMP Project launched the AMP Ads Initiative which includes support for more advertising
formats and optimizations to improve ad load speed[2. 6][27]
Some observers believe AMP allows more effective phishing attempts. One serious flaw, noted by tech writer Kyle Chayka, is that
disreputable parties who misuse AMP (as well as Facebook's similar Instant Articles) enable junk websites to share many of the same
visual cues and features found on legitimate sites. “All publishers end up looking more similar than different. That makes separating
the real from the fake even harder,” said Chayka.[28]
In September 2017, Russian hackers utilised AMP in order to hack into investigative journalists critical of the Kremlin.[28] Google
announced on 16 November 2017 that it will stop allowing sites using AMP for formatting to bait-and-switch sites.[29] Google said
beginning February 2018, AMP pages must contain content nearly identical to that of the standard page they’re replicating.
The AMP Project website.
1. Dieter Bohn (2016-08-02)." Google's Instant Articles competitor is about to take over mobile search ("https://www.the
verge.com/2016/8/2/12349524/google-amp-instant-articles-search-results-mobile-web-fragmentatio.n T)he Verge.
Retrieved 2017-05-25.
2. "Google opens the AMP fire hose "(http://searchengineland.com/google-opens-amp-firehose-259569. )Search
Engine Land. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
Monetization
Exploitation for malicious purposes
External Links
References




3. "Google AMP: One Year Later | Adobe" (https://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmarketing/analytics/google-amp-one-year-lat
er/). Digital Marketing Blog by Adobe. 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
4. "Turbocharging AMP – AMP" (https://www.ampproject.org/latest/blog/turbocharging-amp/). www.ampproject.org.
Retrieved 2017-08-31.
5. "Twitter ramps up AMP" (http://searchengineland.com/twitter-ramps-amp-278300. )Search Engine Land. 2017-07-07.
Retrieved 2017-08-31.
6. "Overview – AMP" (https://www.ampproject.org/learn/overview/). www.ampproject.org. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
7. Inc., Cloudflare,. "Cloudflare Announces Ampersand, the First Open AMP Cache, to Give Publishers More Control of
their Mobile-Optimized Content" (https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/03/08/933397/0/en/Cloudflare-Anno
unces-Ampersand-the-First-Open-AMP-Cache-to-Give-Publishers-More-Control-of-their-Mobile-Optimized-Content.h
tml). GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
8. "Supported Platforms, Vendors and Partners – AMP" (https://www.ampproject.org/support/faqs/supported-platforms).
www.ampproject.org. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
9. "Search results are oficially AMP'd" (http://www.blog.google:443/products/search/search-results-are-oficiallyampd/).
Google. 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
10. "CNBC – AMP" (https://www.ampproject.org/case-studies/cnbc/). www.ampproject.org. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
11. "Gizmodo – AMP" (https://www.ampproject.org/case-studies/gizmodo/). www.ampproject.org. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
12. "Engage Users with High-Quality Accelerated Mobile Pages | Key Medium ("https://keymedium.com/better-engage-u
sers-high-quality-accelerated-mobile-pages/.) Key Medium. 2017-11-18. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
13. "Bing App joins the AMP open-source effort" (https://blogs.bing.com/search/September-2016/bing-app-joins-the-amp
-open-source-effort/). Retrieved 2017-08-31.
14. amphtml (2017-03-07). "AMP grows its footprint" (https://amphtml.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/amp-grows-its-footprin
t/). Accelerated Mobile Pages Project. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
15. "Introducing Accelerated Mobile Page" (https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/a/2015/introducing-accelerated-mobilepages-
0.html). Twitter. 2015-10-07. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
16. "Building a faster mobile web experience with AMP "(https://medium.com/@Pinterest_Engineering/building-a-fastermobile-
web-experience-with-amp-a73c651ded7.) Pinterest Engineering. 2015-12-09. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
17. "Browse eBay with Style and Speed" (http://www.ebaytechblog.com/2016/06/30/browse-ebay-with-style-and-speed/).
ebaytechblog. 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
18. "Facebook Instant Articles vs. Google AMP "(http://ampexamples.com/facebook-instant-articles-vs-google-amp-163
2.html). ampexamples.com. 2017-08-30. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
19. "Introducing Instant Articles | Facebook Media "(https://media.fb.com/2015/05/12/instantarticles/.) Retrieved
2017-08-31.
20. "Apple Announces News App for iPhone & iPad "(https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2015/06/08Apple-Announces-N
ews-App-for-iPhone-iPad/). Apple Newsroom. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
21. Ingram, Mathew. "Google Says It Wants to Help Publishers Fight Facebook" (http://fortune.com/2016/08/16/google-p
ublishers-amp/). Fortune. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
22. " 'It's not our project' says Google of AMP as the open format gains advantage over Facebook's Instant Article (sh"tt
p://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2017/06/01/its-not-our-project-says-google-amp-the-open-format-gains-advantage-ove
r-facebook). The Drum. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
23. "Publishers are pleasantly surprised by Google AMP trafifc - Digiday" (https://digiday.com/media/publishers-excited-g
oogle-amp-traffic-wonder-revenue-will-follow/). Digiday. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
24. "Publishers are struggling with AMP page monetization | Search Engine Watch" (https://searchenginewatch.com/201
6/10/31/publishers-are-struggling-with-amp-page-monetization./ )Retrieved 2017-08-31.
25. Marshall, Jack (2016-10-28)." Google AMP Gets Mixed Reviews From Publishers "(http://www.wsj.com/articles/googl
e-amp-gets-mixed-reviews-from-publishers-1477648838. )Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660 (https://www.worldca
t.org/issn/0099-9660). Retrieved 2017-08-31.
26. "AMP Ads – AMP" (https://www.ampproject.org/learn/who-uses-amp/amp-ads/). www.ampproject.org. Retrieved
2017-08-31.
27. "Growing the AMP Ads Initiative – AMP" (https://www.ampproject.org/latest/blog/growing-the-amp-ads-initiative/).
www.ampproject.org. Retrieved 2017-08-31.

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28. "Russian hackers exploited a Google flaw — and Google won't fix i t("https://www.salon.com/2017/09/24/russian-hac
kers-exploited-a-google-flaw-and-google-wont-fix-it/.) Salon. 2017-09-24. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
29. "Google will stop letting sites use AMP format to bait and switch readers ("https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/16/166
66950/google-amp-teaser-page-ban). The Verge. Retrieved 2017-11-20.