With Google's new Speed Update, what does that mean for AMP pages?

[TaylorRHawkins]

Hey everyone!

I wanted to get the other Mozzers opinions on this.

With Google announcing a new Speed Update that will affect mobile rankings, I wanted to ask: How will AMP pages play into this?

Let me know what you think! 
Thanks!

[bridget.randolph]

Hi Taylor, great question! I think the first thing to remember is that AMP is something you want to implement alongside a mobile-friendly website, not as a replacement.

AMP pages by nature are faster than the typical webpage and so they should not be affected by this, according to Google's statement: "The “Speed Update,” as we’re calling it, will only affect pages that deliver the slowest experience to users and will only affect a small percentage of queries." They also note that query intent is a very strong signal and so in theory a very slow but very relevant page could still outrank a faster, less relevant result.

My take on this update is that it is a sign of Google starting to focus on making the shift to mobile-first indexing. If you want more info on that, I wrote a blog post here on Moz about it recently: moz.com/blog/mobile-first-indexing-seo