Responding to a question asked in a Google+ Hangout, Google’s John Mueller officially stated AMP is not a ranking factor at this point. Converting pages to AMP format will satisfy the mobile-friendly ranking signal, but there’s no ranking signal that’s solely associated with AMP.
I ask if it matters if AMP is a ranking signal right now, not because few have adopted the technology, but because of how AMP content is currently being featured. In an effort to push its new proprietary technology, Google is featuring AMP content in a carousel that sits above-the-fold. Take a look at the screenshot below.
My question is, what does it matter if AMP is a ranking signal or not if AMP content already has a one-way ticket to the top of the first page? For the most part AMP content is already ranking above organic results, which is one of the greatest ranking boosts one can ask for.
[pullquote]“That is more than favoring AMP, that’s putting it front and center!”, Laporte exclaimed after viewing the AMP carousel on his phone.[/pullquote]
Leo Laporte and Jeff Jarvis shared similar concerns on this week’s This Week in Google podcast (discussion starts around the 32-minute mark) that the AMP carousel is the equivalent of Google favoring AMP content. Jarvis goes on to explain the carousel won’t always be there, indicating AMP content may not always be favored, but it for the time being.
Google has not ruled out the possibility of making AMP a legitimate ranking signal in the future.
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