Two Cutting Edge Applications for Google’s Accelerated Mobile Page (AMP) Tool

Let us look at two of those developments :

AMP for emails

Integrating AMP into email has several distinct advantages. The user of an email server that has AMP can directly access any event simply by clicking on it inside the email, and they would not be redirected to a different website. This adds to the user’s engagement with email and makes the mail much more interactive. The content inside emails can be updated real time by widgets that are embedded by the AMP.

The AMP framework has been introduced into Gmail by Google already, and at present only developers currently have access to it. Regular users of Gmail will also be able to start using AMPs by the end of this year. Companies largely use email for their email marketing, and many companies have already decided to integrate AMP with their Gmail accounts. There are other email providers, like Microsoft’s Outlook which still do not support AMP, but industry experts expect Google to soon come up with some solutions for other email platforms.

The best effect of AMP in Gmail is that a lot of actions that users usually take can now easily be taken from inside the email itself. For example, airlines often send emails containing a link showing the latest update for a flight you are booked on. Or Gmail sends you a meeting reminder which you need to action. Emails also could contain a social media post or a picture which you might want to ‘like’ or comment upon. Gmail users get hundreds of surveys asking them to fill out small questionnaires. All of the above can easily be done from within the email itself if AMP is integrated with Gmail.

Google has already set the ball rolling for AMP in emails, and the others will soon be doing their best to catch up. We can, therefore, expect a very action packed 2018 for AMP in emails.

AMP Stories

We already know that AMP is a tool which aids faster loading of webpages on mobile devices. AMP Stories is a tool which is a graphical and pictorial way of telling a story easily on a mobile device. Therefore AMP Stories can enable web developers and designers to augment their text based content with bite sized and visually rich pictures, videos, and graphics, without fear of slow loading speeds on mobile devices. Although AMP is still available only for developers, yet it is expected to become open for use very soon. All the content in AMP Stories is pre-loaded and also pre cached, so they can be easily used. AMP Stories have yet to find wide acceptance among companies, but a few brave media companies have started working with AMP Stories.

AMP Stories is a name that sounds pretty familiar to Snapchat Stories, which is a similar facility provided by the popular social media app Snapchat. This has later been adopted by Facebook and Instagram as well, but Snapchat Stories still remained the most popular, and now Google is expected to provide a stiff challenge to Snapchat. The primary reason for this is that Google enjoys unparalleled reach which is much beyond Snapchat. Also, Snapchat Stories keeps the content available only for 24 hours, and Google is reported to be considering not keeping this limit on its AMP Stories.

The storytelling format of AMP Stories, and the fact that it is search focused, will ensure that stories featured on AMP Stories will enjoy much better search engine results page rankings. This is accentuated by the fast loading content, which begins loading automatically because it is pre cached and pre-loaded.

We hear that AMP Stories would not be supported by advertising. But Google does have plans to include PPC (pay per click) advertising within AMP Stories. From the experience of Snapchat Stories, it has been seen that users did show inclination towards products and services which used the Stories format, therefore advertisers using AMP Stories are expected to get handsome revenues and returns on investment when they opt for AMP Stories.