Google AMP is Dead: How to Optimize Your Site for Speed and Google Rankings

SEO, Web Design & Development | August 21, 2025

Did you know that Google’s AMP project is now widely considered a legacy technology?

Initially lauded for its speed, the framework’s restrictive nature and its impact on branding and privacy have led to an industry-wide shift. By 2024, many major publishers and social media platforms had already moved away from AMP in favor of modern web standards.

This report explains why you should transition away from AMP, showing you how to build a faster, more flexible web experience using today’s optimization techniques.

Table of Contents

1. How Mobile Web Performance Are Making Google AMP Obsolete

In 2015, Google launched a project to fix a big problem with the mobile web: slow-loading pages. This project was called AMP, and it changed how developers thought about mobile speed for a while. But today, the web has evolved, and AMP’s role has changed.

What Was Google AMP and What Did It Promise?

AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. Google introduced it in 2015 to help websites create mobile pages that would load extremely fast. At the time, many users would leave a website if it took more than three seconds to load, and most mobile sites were much slower than that.

The promise of AMP was simple: incredible speed. Google reported that AMP pages typically loaded in under one second and used 10 times less data than regular mobile pages.

For businesses and publishers, this was a big deal. Faster pages meant fewer people would leave the site, which could lead to more sales, sign-ups, and better ad performance.

How AMP Worked

AMP achieved its speed by being a simpler, more restrictive version of a normal webpage. It was built on three core parts:

AMP HTML: This was a stripped-down version of HTML with strict rules. For example, it limited the size of CSS and JavaScript files to keep things lightweight.
AMP JavaScript: This was a special library that managed how resources on the page were loaded, making sure nothing slowed it down.
AMP Cache: This was the key to AMP’s “instant” feel. Google would store a copy of the AMP page on its own powerful servers (the Google AMP Cache). This allowed the page to be pre-loaded before a user even clicked on it.

These pages were designed specifically for mobile browsers and worked on most modern devices.

Why AMP is No Longer Necessary

Despite its early benefits, AMP is not as relevant in 2025 as it once was. The web has caught up.

Here’s why AMP’s importance has faded:

Websites Got Faster: Regular, non-AMP websites are much faster now. Developers can achieve great mobile performance using modern web technologies without needing to follow AMP’s restrictive rules.
Big Companies Moved On: Starting in 2021, major platforms like Twitter (now X) and many large news publishers stopped using AMP.
Google Changed Its Ranking Rules: This was the biggest change. In a June 2021 update, Google stopped giving AMP pages a special advantage in search rankings. Instead, it started focusing on a new set of performance metrics called Core Web Vitals.

Today, any mobile page—AMP or not—can rank well in Google’s “Top Stories” as long as it provides a good user experience and meets the Core Web Vitals standards. This has made AMP “largely unnecessary” for most businesses. The focus for developers has shifted from using a specific framework like AMP to building a high-quality, fast experience for all users on the open web.

2. Why Google AMP Had Problems with Ethics, Control, and Business

While Google AMP delivered on its promise of speed, it also came with a number of concerns about ethics, privacy, and business practices. These issues led many to question its role on the open web.

The “Walled Garden”: Google’s Control Over the Web

One of the biggest criticisms of AMP was that it created a “walled garden.” walled_garden This is a term for a closed platform where one company has all the control.

Even though Google said AMP was an “open-source initiative,” many felt it was a version of the web that Google controlled. Here’s why:

Hosted on Google’s Servers: Most AMP pages were hosted on and served from Google’s own servers, not the publisher’s. This meant publishers lost control over how their content looked and how they made money from it.
Forcing Adoption: Because Google prioritized AMP links in its search results, publishers felt forced to use it to stay visible. This led to accusations that Google was using its dominance in search to lock publishers into its system, which some called an anti-competitive practice.

The main concern was that the web should be open, not controlled by a single company like Google.

User Privacy and Data Collection

AMP’s design also created privacy issues for users.

Bypassing Blockers: Because AMP content loaded from Google’s servers, it could sometimes bypass privacy-blocking tools that users had on their browsers.
Unclear Data Collection: When you viewed an AMP page, it was often hard to tell who was collecting your data—was it Google or the original publisher? This lack of transparency was a major concern.

Even with later technology that verified the content was authentic, Google could still gather tracking data from user interactions on AMP pages.

Weaker Branding and Less Design Freedom

To achieve its speed, AMP had very strict rules for web design. This often came at the cost of a publisher’s brand and creativity.

Design Limits: AMP limited the size of CSS and JavaScript files. This meant that many unique design elements and interactive features couldn’t be used. The result was often a “stripped-down” and generic look that made many AMP pages look the same.
The Google URL: A major problem for branding was the URL. When a user visited an AMP page, the address bar often showed a Google URL (like google.com/amp/…) instead of the publisher’s own website. This diluted the publisher’s brand identity.

In the end, the push for speed meant sacrificing the creative freedom that helps a brand stand out.

How AMP Affected Ads and Revenue

AMP was designed to help publishers make more money from ads, but the results were mixed.

The good part was that AMP had its own fast-loading ad format, AMPHTML ads, which loaded up to six times faster than regular ads.

However, AMP’s strict rules also limited certain types of ads, like pop-ups. Some publishers even reported that while AMP brought them more traffic, their user engagement and sales went down. This showed that speed alone doesn’t guarantee more revenue.

The End of AMP’s Special SEO Treatment

In the beginning, Google gave AMP pages special treatment in its search results. They were often featured in a highly visible carousel at the top of the page. This gave publishers a strong reason to adopt AMP.

However, that special treatment is now gone.

After a major algorithm update in June 2021, Google stopped giving AMP a ranking boost. Now, Google’s main ranking factors are the Core Web Vitals, which measure a page’s overall user experience.

Today, any page—AMP or not—can rank well in the “Top Stories” section as long as it’s fast and provides a good user experience. This has made the unique SEO advantage of AMP a thing of the past. The focus is no longer on using a specific Google technology but on building a great website for everyone.

3. How Users Can Stop Using Google AMP

If you want more control over your web Browse and prefer to avoid Google AMP pages, you have several options. You can use simple browser tricks, install extensions, or even switch to a different search engine.

Simple Tricks in Your Browser

There are a few easy, manual ways to get around AMP pages on your phone.

Switch to Desktop View: AMP is designed only for mobile sites. If you switch your mobile browser to “Desktop site” mode, it will usually load the regular, non-AMP version of the page. You can typically find this option in your browser’s menu (the three dots in the corner).
Use the “i” Icon Trick: When you open an AMP page in Chrome, look for a small “i” icon in a circle at the top of the screen. Tap it, and a link to the original, non-AMP website will appear.
Try a Different Browser: Browsers like Mozilla Firefox or the DuckDuckGo browser may block AMP pages automatically, giving you a simpler way to avoid them.

Use Browser Extensions to Automatically Bypass AMP

If you want a more automatic solution, a browser extension is your best bet.

The “Redirect AMP to HTML” extension is an “install-and-forget” tool that does all the work for you. It automatically redirects you from the AMP page to the original publisher’s website. It’s available for Firefox (including on mobile) and Chrome.

Other extensions can also give you more control. Privacy Badger, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), helps block third-party trackers that follow you around the web.

Switch to a Different Search Engine

The most straightforward way to avoid AMP is to simply not use Google Search. AMP is a Google-specific technology, so you’ll only find it in Google’s search results.

If you use an alternative search engine like Microsoft Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Yahoo, you won’t see AMP pages at all. This is a simple and effective way to bypass the AMP system completely.

Choosing a different search engine is also a way to reduce your dependence on a single company and support a more diverse and open web.

Manually Edit the URL

If you’re comfortable with a more hands-on approach, you can often get to the original page by editing its web address (URL).

First, you need to spot an AMP URL. Look for these common patterns:

The address might end with /amp/ or ?amp.
The address might start with amp. (for example, amp.website.com).

If you see one of these, you can usually get to the original page by deleting the AMP part from the URL in your browser’s address bar and hitting enter. For example, if the URL is website.com/article/amp/, just change it to website.com/article/.

This gives you direct control over your Browse and lets you access content directly from the publisher, bypassing the Google AMP system.

4. For Web Developers and Website Owners: How To Turn Off Google AMP

For web developers and website owners, the question of whether to continue using Google AMP is a major strategic decision. The web has changed, and the benefits of AMP are no longer as clear as they once were.

Should You Keep or Remove AMP?

Google’s changes to its search ranking rules have changed the game for AMP. The focus has shifted from the AMP framework itself to a broader set of performance metrics called Core Web Vitals.

Here’s what that means for your website:

There is no longer a special ranking boost for using AMP. As of 2023, a regular, non-AMP page can rank just as well in Google’s “Top Stories” section, as long as it’s fast and provides a good user experience.
Maintaining AMP is extra work. For developers, it’s a “hassle to maintain two versions” of every page: the AMP version and the regular version. This extra work may no longer be worth the effort.

The smart strategy today is to focus on optimizing your entire website for Core Web Vitals. The time and money you might have spent on AMP can now be used to improve the performance of your main site. This benefits all of your users, not just the ones who click on an AMP link from Google.

This shift in the web landscape has turned AMP from a “must-have” for SEO into a potential technical burden for many businesses.

The Pros and Cons of Google AMP for Website Owners

Aspect	AMP Benefit (Pro)	AMP Drawback (Con)
Speed & Performance	Pages load very fast, which can reduce bounce rates.	The speed difference is less noticeable on fast internet. Ads can sometimes load slower than the content.
User Experience (UX)	The simple design can be easy to navigate.	The “stripped-down” look can be less engaging and lacks interactive features.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)	Used to get a special spot in the “Top Stories” carousel.	The special ranking treatment is gone. Non-AMP pages can rank just as well.
Website Control	It is an open-source project.	It’s often called a “walled garden.” Google controls the hosting, which limits a publisher’s control.
Branding & Design	Some customization options are available.	Strict rules limit design freedom. Pages can look generic, and the URL often shows a Google domain, which weakens your brand.
Monetization & Ads	Has fast-loading ad formats and can increase ad visibility.	Restricts certain ad types (like pop-ups) and can be complex to set up.
Analytics & Data	AMP has its own analytics for basic data collection.	The analytics are more limited than standard Google Analytics. It can be hard to track a single user across AMP and non-AMP pages.
Development	It can be easy to create AMP pages if you follow the rules.	It’s a hassle to build and maintain two separate versions of your content.

Technical Steps for Disabling and Redirecting AMP Pages

If you’ve decided to move away from Google AMP, you need a clear technical plan. Following these steps will help you make a smooth transition while protecting your search traffic and SEO rankings.

1. Set Up 301 Redirects

The first and most important step is to set up 301 redirects. A 301 redirect is a permanent “forwarding address” for a webpage. It tells search engines and users that your AMP page has permanently moved to your main, non-AMP page.

If you just delete your AMP pages, anyone who clicks an old AMP link will see a 404 “page not found” error. This is bad for your users and will hurt your search rankings.

There are a couple of ways to set up these redirects:

For technical users, you can add rules directly to your server’s .htaccess file.
For WordPress users, you can use a plugin like Rank Math’s Redirection Manager. This makes it easy to automatically forward any URL that contains /amp/ to its regular version. Warning: Only use one redirect plugin at a time. Using more than one can cause conflicts and break your site.

2. Remove AMP Pages from Search Engines

Next, you need to tell search engines to stop showing your old AMP pages in their results. This is called de-indexing. It’s important because it prevents issues like “duplicate content,” which can confuse search engines and lower your site’s authority.

Here’s how to do it:

Use Google Search Console to find a list of all your AMP pages that Google has indexed.
Add a “noindex” directive to your AMP pages. This is a tag in the page’s HTML that tells search engines not to include it in their results.
Make sure the pages are also removed from Google’s own AMP servers so they don’t continue to show up in searches.

3. Monitor Your Performance and SEO After Removal

After you’ve set up your redirects and de-indexed the old pages, your work isn’t done. The final step is to monitor your website’s performance to see how the change has affected your traffic and SEO.

Keep a close eye on the traffic to your main, non-AMP pages. Track key metrics like impressions, clicks, and user sessions to see if they go up or down.

Don’t expect to see results overnight. It’s best to wait at least 90 days for your site’s performance and search rankings to stabilize before you can get a clear picture of the impact of removing AMP. This will give you enough data to know that the transition was successful.

4.3 Comprehensive Strategies for Enhancing Website Speed without AMP

Moving away from AMP doesn’t mean you have to have a slow website. By focusing on modern web performance strategies, you can build a fast, user-friendly site without AMP’s limitations. The key is to focus on Google’s Core Web Vitals.

1. Master Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS)

Core Web Vitals are the metrics Google uses to measure the real-world user experience of a webpage. A good score can help your site rank higher in search results. There are three main vitals to focus on.

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): This measures how fast the main content of your page loads. A good score is under 2.5 seconds. To improve your LCP, you can upgrade your web hosting, use a Content Delivery Network (CDN), and compress your images.
INP (Interaction to Next Paint): This measures how quickly your page responds to a user’s click, tap, or keypress. A good score is under 200 milliseconds. To improve INP, you should break up long-running JavaScript tasks so the main thread stays free to respond to the user.
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): This measures the visual stability of your page. It checks for how much content unexpectedly “jumps around” as the page loads. A good score is less than 0.1. To fix this, always set the width and height for your images and ads so the browser can save a space for them.

You can check your site’s Core Web Vitals score using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.

2. Optimize Your Images and Videos

Large images and videos are one of the biggest causes of slow websites.

Choose the right format and compress them. Use modern image formats like WebP where possible. Use tools like TinyPNG to make your image files smaller without losing quality.
Resize your images. Don’t use a huge, high-resolution image if you’re just going to display it as a small thumbnail.
Use “lazy loading.” This technique tells the browser to only load images and videos when a user scrolls down to them. This makes the initial page load much faster.

3. Optimize Your Code

Clean and efficient code is the foundation of a fast website.

Minify your CSS and JavaScript. This process removes unnecessary characters like spaces and comments from your code, making the files smaller.
Remove unused code. Get rid of any old plugins, libraries, or CSS that your site is no longer using.
Combine files. If you have many small CSS or JavaScript files, combine them into single files. This reduces the number of requests the browser has to make to your server.
Inline critical CSS. This means putting the most important CSS needed to display the top part of your page directly in the HTML. This makes the content appear to load almost instantly.

4. Use Caching and a CDN

Caching and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) are powerful tools for making your site faster for users all over the world.

A CDN is a network of servers located around the globe. It stores a copy of your website’s content. When a user visits your site, the CDN delivers the content from the server that is geographically closest to them, which dramatically reduces loading time.
Browser caching stores parts of your website, like images and stylesheets, on a user’s computer. When they visit your site again, it loads much faster because they don’t have to re-download everything.
Server-side caching saves a ready-made version of a webpage on your server so it doesn’t have to be built from scratch every time a user visits.

5. Use Modern Protocols and Rendering Methods

The web is always evolving. Using the latest technologies can give you a major speed advantage.

HTTP/2: This is a newer version of the web’s main protocol that is much more efficient at loading multiple files at the same time.
Server-Side Rendering (SSR): With SSR, the server sends a fully-rendered HTML page to the browser. This makes the content appear faster and is great for SEO.
Static Site Generation (SSG): This is the fastest option. The entire website is pre-built into static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. These files can be served directly from a CDN at lightning speed. This is a great choice for sites like blogs or portfolios.

Conclusion

The web has evolved beyond the need for restrictive frameworks like AMP. Today, building a fast, high-quality website is about applying modern performance standards that work for everyone. Focusing on Core Web Vitals allows developers to create better user experiences without sacrificing design freedom or control over their content. This approach ensures your site is fast, responsive, and fully your own.

Ready to improve your website’s performance? Use Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze your Core Web Vitals score and identify your first opportunities for optimization.