We are all well aware of the constant updates from Google for its services. One such update in recent times is the elimination of AMP for Top Story Carousel. Let us walk through the new update and understand how it works.
Google brings out a new wave of change in its user mechanism for a popular feature- the Top Story Carousel.
Yes, it is now a thing of the past that a swipe option appears for multiple websites when we use Google Search. It is due to the elimination of AMP as a prerequisite condition to get featured.
See also: The Secret of Top 10 Rankings!
Contents
What Is AMP For Top Stories Carousel?
On 22nd June 2021, Google announced that the search engine would undergo a transition. In which the AMP, also known as Accelerated Mobile Pages, would no longer be necessary for articles published on the Top Stories Carousel.
So, what is AMP, and why is it relevant to us? Google launched AMP in 2015 for its Search Engine. It is a web-component framework created to provide the user a fast and convenient experience.
AMP cache loads the page faster and allows the user to swipe more quickly, providing a swift user interface.
Earlier, only the websites that were valid AMP documents, i.e., had exceptional content, measured by its engagement statistics, were allowed to appear in the Top Stories Carousel. Google did this to provide an unmatched and high-standard experience to the users.
Drawbacks Of AMP
AMP as software had its benefits of more incredible speed, greater visibility, and greater engagement.
However, it had several downsides to it that included the story provided to the audience through a cache on Google’s server instead of showing a link to that of the creator’s. This resulted in more benefits for Google than the Content Publisher.
Secondly, since it is a faster version of the webpage, it compromises the quality and styling of the content for a quicker upload. Thirdly, there are also several clickbait articles due to similarity in the content available in the Top News.
Elimination Of AMP In The Top Story Carousel
Thus, Google took a significant step in rectifying this shortcoming. AMP will no longer be required to be published for the Top Stories Carousel, and so, previously ineligible content now stands a big chance.
Google has also confirmed removing the AMP symbol and swiping feature since the elimination of AMP will slow the news segment down. This new step will also allow the original URLs of the news to remain as it is. Google expects greater competition.
Google extends advice to the websites to publish relevant content, follow Google’s guidelines, and maintain excellent web core vitals and page experience scores to appear in the Top Stories Carousel.
It advises the websites that were AMP approved earlier to maintain the same level of quality. Lastly, it prompts the site owners that the requirement of utilizing article-specific structured data still stands strong.
We can expect the full roll-out of this change in August 2021.
Conclusion
This change towards giving full acknowledgment to the site owners is an applaudable act by Google, compromising its speedy delivery, as there would be minimal guarantee by Google regarding fast loading.
It once again assures its readers that being the fastest doesn’t guarantee the best content. One must have quality content and needs to be just fast enough to attain loyal readers.
So, now we hope you have a clear picture of what the new update from Google is and how it works. Feel free to ask any other queries in the comments section. We would love to answer them all for you!