The dreaded AMP plugin.
Some people are cool with it but I don’t think anyone (not even Google) can say that they love it.
Then you have those that absolutely wish they had never installed the plugin, all while trying to get ahead of the competition.
“I need to download this plugin asap so my site can fly!”
That’s what I thought and I wish I didn’t.
I got 99 problems and I wish AMP wasn’t one.
Sigh.
Truth of the matter is that I have encountered this problem and one that caused me more headache than anything else.
The problem with this is a bit serious and most site owners will never know what hit them.
But before you even consider any of the tips mentioned, let me go over some of the affects AMP can have on your site.
Here are some of the obvious symptoms that AMP has had a negative impact on your site.
Traffic is Down
Not only did you lose traffic but enough of it to have you scouring the net for answers.
“Why did my traffic drop?”
“Reasons for loss of traffic”
Or anything along the lines of the huge traffic decrease on your site.
Everything leads to the deletion of AMP, as that is the reason you are in this mess in the first place.
Don’t worry, you are not alone.
Like what Michael Jackson said.
Loss of Rankings
As SEO kind of people, we rely heavily on rankings to get us traffic.
Along with that traffic drop came your research to see where your top ranked posts are.
Sadly enough, your competitors jumped right in front of you and some of them are even newer sites.
I know, this sucks just like everything else.
Do know that this is very common with installing and uninstalling AMP, so we have to deal with it.
So many issues can come with a simple install and these are some of the side effects that you might have encountered.
Lesson learned, but how in the world do you undo the damage that has been done?
I know, it sucks and that is why I have created this post.
Now let’s get this issue fixed so you can have your visitors back on your site along with the rankings that once had you running the SERPS.
How to Fix AMP Errors?
There are actually two ways that I have figured out how to do this.
The second option is actually the first route I took as I didn’t know there was a better way and the 2nd option is actually the best way to do it.
One way is great for sites that have hundreds or thousands of links, while the other is enough to fix a much smaller site.
Whatever the case may be, this is exactly how you deal with AMP and the craziness it brought into your life.
The Best Way to Get Rid of AMP – No 404’s
This is what you should do, especially if you just deleted the plugin.
Not only will this have you back to blogging like a champ but you will actually not have to deal with any 404 errors.
But before I proceed any further, I’d like to thank Mr. Gulshan Kumar (gulshankumar.net) for providing this solution.
I am in no way techy or great with computer coding, so Gulshan deserves all the credit for this.
If you are using Yoast, then this is especially for you.
If not, you might want to get the Yoast plugin as it is very much needed.
You can go to the next option but that will require you to redirect the errors.
For you Yoast users, here is what you need to do.
1. Access your .htaccess files by going to Yoast (SEO) > Tools > File editor
2. Add AMP to Non-AMP path using redirection rule (see code below)
[su_note note_color="#e0e0d9" radius="0"]# Redirect from AMP to non-AMP path
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (.+)/amp(.*)$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/wp-content/(.*)$
RewriteRule ^ %1/ [R=301,L][/su_note]
3. Hit save
The steps are really simple and do not require any technical knowledge whatsoever so don’t let this little code fool you.
*Do make sure that you add the code right before “# BEGIN WordPress” and make sure you save it.
The Next Best Way to Get Rid of AMP – Redirection
This is the first solution I tried and pretty much failed but only because of the wrong guidance..
Being that I “failed”, I can give you a fool-proof, fail-safe way to properly redirect the 404 errors that come with uninstalling AMP.
1. Install a Redirection Plugin (I recommend Redirection)
2. Create a 301 redirect from AMP to the actual post/page.
This sounds simple but it’s a little more complicated than it looks, so I have a detailed explanation below.
First, you need to ensure that that you do this with every single AMP error.
DO NOT redirect it to your site’s homepage.
Make sure you redirect it to the actual page that isn’t the AMP version.
Conclusion
AMP might have seemed like the best thing since sliced bread but for thousands of website owners, it was nothing but a nightmare.
If you apply any of the methods above, you will get rid of the errors that come with uninstalling AMP.
Not many will know about this issues, so please do share it with anyone who has lost traffic and has probably installed an AMP plugin.
Besides that, I hope this has solved your problems.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Now you tell me, was AMP really worth downloading?
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