Accelerated Mobile Pages are websites that are especially optimized for the mobile usage. They are built with a specially developed programming language, AMP HTML, and use less data. Thus the sites can load a lot faster.
The user can notice AMPs on top of the search result list of certain search terms in Google. Between those so-called "Top Stories" one can navigate with swiping. That way the experience of users of mobile devices is not only a lot faster but also more user-friendly.
The advantages of the site provider are that his content is displayed 15-85% faster. The number of page- and adviews increases strongly because of that. Furthermore the optimization for mobile devices leads to a better position in the search result list.
All in all Accelerated Mobile Pages can be seen as an equivalent to Facebook Instant Articles. However, there are some significant differences. Google bets on Open Source. That means that source code, code examples and documentations are freely accessible for everyone. The content on the other hand remains in possession of the publisher because they stay on the own server.
The project was started by Google in the course of the Digital News Initiative. Meanwhile numerous publishers are involved in the initiative. Currently 30 international media companies count to the participants.
According to Google AMPs are suitable for publishers, developers, and consumer-platforms. However, they are interesting for all companies and brands, especially online-shops that can be found on Google. Studies have shown that a purchase is often cancelled when the customer has to wait for longer than 3 seconds until the content has loaded. Subsequently Google's AMPs could not only improve the user experience enormously but also lead to more purchases what makes it a great potential carrier that could soon be well incorporated in the field of e-commerce.