Google AMP - Thoughts?

I'm completely against the idea of implementing Google AMP on any of my sites. Unfortunately it looks like Google is going to "require" content creators to use AMP to compete for the top mobile positions in search. This is a big deal since the majority of web searches are mobile.

I understand AMP is still in early development, but there are just so many cons. AMP virtually takes your pages back to the early 90's removing javascript, CSS, some images, and navigation. That's right there is a total disconnect between your AMP pages and the rest of your site.

I don't mean to rant, I just find the idea of Google setting such punitive restrictions very frustrating. Especially if you are managing a site that's capable of delivering virtually the same page speeds with a better user experience.

Even though Google's algo has already started to factor in AMP, it's not an immediate threat as of today which makes it more of a problem for tomorrow. Unless the project is abandoned (I doubt it will be since Twitter has jumped on board and other social networks are considering it) I'm anticipating a major shift in how mobile content is published within the next 1-2 years.

What do you guys think about all this?

 

Google is saying that AMP is to load sites quickly on mobile devices. For that Google is trying to avoid elements of a desktop website which are unnecessary for mobile site. But AMP absolutely changes the appearance of website in mobile. I don’t believe that you’ll want to make all the pages into AMP. The sites that will benefit the most from AMP are publishing sites. First you can make pages like blog sections or news and updates section into AMP and see the difference. Track the changes via analytics. If its working for you then continue with AMP.

 

Right, but AMP pages are going to take priority in search to a pretty big degree. Rough 87% of all searches are done from mobile today so it's a pretty significant dilemma for SEO. If speed is all they care about I hope Google sets some kind of threshold where if your page loads in x amount of time it's = to AMP.

Many publishing sites are a business and in order to operate JS is required for things like getting readers email, ads, and a lot more. AMP is definitely more advantageous for small websites, but for people who have large publications and have turned blogging into a full time job AMP will cut into their revenue in some for in it's current state.

Most people do not solely rely on adsense either, and I doubt Google will want to give up complete control over ads on AMP sites if given the opportunity.