Google: AMP Not Yet A Search Ranking Signal

In December, Google said AMP might become a ranking signal. It is not yet, but it still may become a ranking factor when it is more widely launched.

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John Mueller, a Google Webmaster Trends Analysts, said this morning in a Google Hangout, at the 15:50 mark into the video, that AMP is not yet a ranking signal in the Google search ranking algorithm.

We reported in December that AMP might become a ranking signal, but clearly, that has not happened yet.

John Mueller said, “Is AMP a ranking signal? At the moment, it is not a ranking signal.”

He went on to explain that you can use AMP to become mobile-friendly, but AMP itself is not a ranking signal.

AMP launched early on Tuesday and only shows in the mobile search top news box. Google likely plans to expand AMP beyond the news box, and when it does, I can see it becoming a ranking signal then. But until then, I doubt it makes sense to make it a ranking signal — that is, until it is used in the core mobile web search results.


About the author

Barry Schwartz
Staff
Barry Schwartz is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry can be followed on Twitter here.

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