How To Fix AMP Links In Google Search On iOS 15
January 7, 2022
It’s true! AMPs in Google Search just stopped working with the iOS 15 release. The issue should be resolved soon, but only impacts Google searchers using Google Search on iOS devices that have been upgraded to iOS 15.
AMPs in Google Search Stopped Working
When I first went to search for “How To Fix AMP Links in Google Search” on Google on iOS 15, I noticed the search results page was different than the one I had seen just two weeks ago when I wrote about the search issues.
When I previously searched for the search query, I had seen Google show AMPs (Advanced Meta Crawling) under the search results in the result card that opens up to the right of the main search results page. These AMPs are featured in the search results and show a lot more information than the standard SERP (Search Engine Results Page) display.
In the search results on iOS 15, Google’s AMPs are gone and so are my AMP results.
What is an AMP?
AMP is a Google tool that compresses web pages to a smaller file size, offering faster page loading times and better performance. These are not webpages that you’d find on your local or mobile web browsers. The articles found on AMP sites are actually entirely replaced with images, which results in a much faster load time. The same file can also be downloaded in smaller sizes for those who’d like to save them. The onus is on the webmasters to have AMP sites installed and running. There is no need to download AMP files manually when using mobile browsers, however.
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Why does AMP Ads Not Work On iOS 15?
The reason why AMP links for search on iOS 15 stopped working is that iOS 15 simply can’t load AMP.
What Happened
In a warning sent out yesterday to searchers, Google notes that AMP pages with Google AMP tags are not displaying “as expected”. For example, searching Google for “popular AMP (also known as AMP) websites” or “popular AMP links” will not pull up the AMP version of the search result.
Google is updating the AMP versions of the pages in question on a rolling basis, and will ensure that the AMP version of the link will display as expected for all search results.
I’d assume this is most prevalent when searching on Apple devices, like the iPhone and iPad, but Google also notes that it should resolve the issue for anyone searching on the web through Google Search on Windows and Android.
A fix has already been issued and should be live for everyone by this afternoon.
Google and Apple clashed and compromised the AMP feature in iOS 15
AMP is an innovative method by Google that could help speed up mobile web browsing. The tool not only dramatically reduces page load time, but it could help lower the price of data bandwidth for users.
Google updated the AMP initiative in July 2015 with the goal to have AMP pages to load up to 40% faster. In April 2016, Google updated the AMP initiative with the goal to speed up pages for mobile web users on smartphones.
Google rolled out an AMP Lite to take on Google AMP for iOS 9. It became available in Google Search and Maps in June 2016. Google AMP for iOS 9.5 took a different approach by loading an AMP page for specific mobile devices instead of just in search results.
Google has not officially announced the AMP feature’s demise with the release of iOS 15.
Why is This Important?
When Apple users search for something with Google Search on iOS 15, the search results will not appear to be AMP. That’s really a shame, since AMP works pretty well for search. It’s really more about what search engines should and shouldn’t show to their users.
How Do I Fix It?
The issue is related to the AMP process itself. Google Play has said that the fix should be completed by the end of this week. If you’re running iOS 15, AMP links have been broken for more than 24 hours, so expect the fix to arrive sooner.
iOS users can still utilize AMP links on Google Search. You just won’t be able to see AMP links in the results. For now, the workaround is to go to Google and search using your mobile browser.
How to fix AMP Links in Google Search on iOS 15
We’ve received confirmation from multiple sources that AMP links on Google Search in iOS 15 are now indeed broken. The issue, we are told, was identified by Google earlier today. As of today, we’re told that AMPs on Google Search on iOS 15 are no longer working.
If you’re currently using AMPs on Google Search on iOS 15 to place a branded meta tag on your website, stop doing that as soon as you can. If you have not been using AMPs yet and use Google Search on iOS 15, then your links should not be affected at this time. However, it is entirely possible that AMPs may go offline again, so it’s best to remove them at the earliest possible moment.
At this point, it is unclear whether or not AMPs will be completely disabled or not.