If you hadn’t heard, back in October 2016, mobile overtook desktop. For the first time in history, more users accessed the web from phones and tablets than did from personal computers, and that trend is still rising. While the desktop experience is still vital, making sure your website is responsive and optimized for the mobile experience is the most important thing you can do for your business in 2017.
But that is just the first step. Not only must you give your mobile users quick-loading content, you must also make sure they can find it. And there are new technologies around to help address both of those issues. Enter Facebook Instant Articles and Google AMP. By using these, you can reach more people faster than ever!
Facebook Instant Articles
Facebook Instant Articles allows publishers to optimize their content so readers can access it instantly. If your content gets shared on Facebook, a mobile user on the Facebook app will go directly to the optimized version, rather than your regular site. And, it really is instant – per Facebook, it’s at least 10 times faster than a traditional mobile page! Your users are more likely to stay and read your content, and more likely to share it on their wall.
To start publishing with Instant Articles, you’ll need to create and support separate versions of your content that follow Facebook’s markup rules. You will also need to have a Facebook page approved for Instant Articles. For that, you’ll need to submit at least 50 articles for review. If you don’t have this much content, then there is another choice for you that you can start on right now.
Google AMP
Google AMP, or Accelerated Mobile Pages, is a similar concept. It’s a Google-backed open standard for any publisher to have their pages load more quickly on mobile devices. AMP listings integrate directly into Google’s mobile search results. Pages making use of AMP will appear with a special AMP designation, and may appear in special places in search results. While AMP doesn’t directly increase your search rankings, Google gives a higher weight to fast-loading content. This means that high-quality content using AMP will perform better than the same content without.
Just like Instant Articles, AMP needs a separate version of your pages that use special markup. There is no need for approval; Your AMP pages can start appearing in search results as soon as Google detects that they exist.
Perfect Your Mobile Experience
While they need a little bit of set-up work, AMP and Instant Articles go a long way towards reaching your users more effectively. Fast-loading content and better reach are very hard benefits to pass up in today’s busy world. The mobile experience is more important than ever. Using new technologies such as these is the best way to stay ahead of the curve.