Google ends AMP Cache in search results, redirects to publishers

Image credit: Abondance

Google discontinued its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Cache and Viewer in search results on July 1, redirecting users to publishers’ original domains.

This change means that clicking an AMP result now directly loads the page from the publisher’s website rather than a cached version hosted by Google, altering how AMP content is delivered globally.

The technology giant is abandoning the AMP Viewer, AMP Cache, and signed exchanges, which previously displayed AMP pages under a google.com URL.

Google stated that the ranking of AMP content in search results remains unaffected, with these pages continuing to be positioned like any other web page.

This development marks a continuation of a gradual shift initiated in 2021 when Google removed the AMP requirement for its Top Stories carousels and eliminated the distinctive lightning bolt icon.

The company has updated its official documentation to reflect these changes, removing all mentions of the viewer, cache, and signed exchanges from its guidelines.

Publishers who previously relied on the AMP Cache for rapid content delivery will now see traffic directed straight to their own servers.

The move emphasizes direct access to publisher domains, potentially impacting analytics and content delivery strategies for sites that heavily utilized AMP.

Google introduced AMP in 2015 to accelerate mobile web browsing, promising faster load times through a stripped-down HTML framework and its dedicated caching system.

While the framework itself continues to exist, Google’s decision to remove its caching and viewing components from search results signifies a notable change in its approach to web content delivery.

The company indicated that the core principles of fast-loading web pages remain important for search ranking, irrespective of the specific technology used.

Source: Abondance