You might think of Google Web Stories as the “social media” of search engines. Web tales are a means to move the search experience into the 2020s with their focus on video and graphic content and their concentration on mobile-first design.
Web stories appear in Google’s search results and Discover page as collections of up to 30 pages of material that may be navigated in the same way as social media stories are.
They are an implementation of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) that Google recommends for individuals on the go.
So, what exactly is AMP?
Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project aims to make the web more accessible on mobile devices. Using the included open-source HTML framework, programmers may create pages that are both small in size and quick to load. Although the AMP guidelines itself aren’t a factor in SEO, a site’s ability to load quickly is rewarded by a better placement in search results.
The evolution of this is AMP Web Stories, which make it simple to read material that is also interesting, entertaining, and aesthetically beautiful.
In what ways are Google Web Stories helpful?
In contrast to traditional media, web stories are fresh. They will likely rank higher in search results since they are a new Google product. Because of this, they are a simple strategy for raising your profile above the competition and demonstrating your innovative thinking.
In addition, there aren’t a lot of them since they’re still in their infancy. So, if you want to get to the top of search results for your target keywords, the best strategy is to create compelling online stories.
Reading tales published on the Internet is a great way to pass the time.
Your viewers will like this material since it is simple, quick to load, and entertaining. Web stories are a terrific method to keep readers engaged while explaining your goods or services since they make reading an article seem like browsing Instagram. You may “connect with your audience through the power of storytelling on the open web,” as Google puts it.
Creating a web story is a breeze
They can also serve as Instagram and Facebook stories with only a little bit of cropping and resizing. You may utilize them to boost your social media presence and make your content go farther.
Each one is accessible through its own unique URL, making it simple to connect to and promote.
Do Google web stories support tracking? Yes!
You may learn more about your target audience by monitoring their actions and interactions in much the same way you would on a regular website thanks to their built-in analytics tracking tools.
The WordPress Web Stories plugin
The WordPress plugin, which made its debut in beta form earlier in 2020, is a free software that can be installed on your WordPress dashboard and provides a wysiwyg editor as well as seamless connection between your site’s tales and the rest of your site.
This is significant since creating online stories has traditionally required either extensive technical knowledge or the use of a third-party editor, both of which can be time-consuming and costly. Check out this fantastic post from AMP to learn how to code a web tale.
The WordPress plugin allows users to write and revise articles before posting them online. However, the plugin is far from perfect after just recently leaving beta. We will go through the few essential tasks that you must do that cannot be completed without the use of additional resources.
In what ways might the Google Web Stories WordPress plugin be utilized?
The new plugin may be set up in one of two ways.
You may either go to the Plugins > Add New menu item in your WordPress dashboard. Simply type “Web Stories” into the search bar to bring up this menu. Enter the installation process by clicking the Install button. The next step is to go to your ‘Installed Plugins’ section and turn it on.
WordPress Google Web Story Plugin
If you want, you may get the WordPress plugin directly from this page. Clicking the Download button will provide a web-stories.zip file. In order to use the plugin, just copy the whole folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ folder. Then, you can activate it from the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard.
Google Web Stories: A How-To Guide User-interface for WordPress Plugins However, there are a few key features that aren’t immediately obvious that you shouldn’t overlook, despite the interface’s seeming simplicity.
Your first stop after selecting Stories from the menu should be the Web Stories Dashboard. Easily navigate between your Draft and Published tales with this intuitive interface. We have noticed, however, that the dashboard isn’t reliable, and doesn’t always display your published updates and articles. If you’re experiencing the same issue, choose “All Tales” from the drop-down option to see a table in the WordPress-like format that lists your stories and their details.
What is the process for making a Google web story?
To begin, either go to the dashboard and click the “Create New Story” button in the upper left corner, or choose “Add New” from the Web Stories plugin menu.
Exactly what do Google web tales consist of? An in-depth look at the latest Google web stories Plugin for the WordPress platform
The plugin, like other WYSIWYG editors, has a toolbar on the left that allows you to insert things like uploads, photos, text, and shapes. Various media formats, including films from coverr and photos from Unsplash, are included in the plugin. It’s also important to note that the available shapes may be used as placeholders for photos.
Google’s Web Stories Plugin for the WordPress Content Management System The accessible tools are still in their infancy, however the Dashboard does include web-story templates.
On the right, you’ll see a panel labeled Layers at the bottom, followed by Design and Document. All you have to do is click on the page you’re currently on to see the customized layout. With this, you can change the page’s background color and add a “Page Attachment,” a clickable link that opens when a user swipes up from the page (again, like on Instagram). For the visually challenged, an overlay and written explanations may be added.
All of the publishing controls, such as when to publish, who may publish, and so on, can be found under the document tab. The cover picture is one of the first things readers will see when considering whether or not to click on your content, therefore it’s vital to get it right here along with the permalink. We’ll talk about the differences between the cover picture and the main narrative size in the next section.
Page Advancement, or how long the tale will continue on each page, may be adjusted under the Document tab. You may also switch it to manual mode, in which case page transitions will need a user-initiated click. Don’t forget to provide an extract, which will be shown next to your cover art and provide a summary of your tale. Make the most of your limited space of 200 characters to both enlighten and intrigue your reader into reading your narrative.
What is the procedure for revising a web-based narrative?
Web articles may be edited even after they have been published, so don’t worry if you see an error or wish to make a change.
From the All Stories page, you may change a specific tale by hovering your mouse over the title and clicking the “edit” button that appears. In addition, if your dashboard is functional, you may launch the editor by clicking on a story inside the dashboard itself.
What am I doing wrong with my online story?
When we initially began creating tales for the web, we encountered a few challenges that we felt were worth sharing.
Offer some context
Make sure each page has a backdrop. Backgroundless mp4s uploaded to the site will fail the AMP evaluation. You should instead submit gifs of the appropriate size to serve as a backdrop for your videos. In this approach, you’ll be able to fulfill the prerequisites!
A caching plugin for WordPress
There might be complications if you use a caching plugin with WordPress. The AMP test fails because the web stories plugin loads third-party JS with bundling or modification turned on.
On the event of a mistake, you may see the following in your console:
In other words, “no “poster” property has been specified for amp-video.”
When you compress your JS, it breaks a regex search that is seeking for code from cdn.ampproject.org.
Avoid this by preventing your caching plugin from minimizing or bundling any files hosted on cdn.ampproject.org.
This is how our WP Rocket installation looks like:
Exactly what do Google web tales consist of? An in-depth look at the latest Google web stories Plugin for the WordPress platform In what ways can I improve my Google web stories? Let’s go down to basic principles.
Dimensions of a Google Web Story
The specs are 720 pixels wide by 1280 pixels tall. However, there is a’safe zone’ within this that shows where the top and bottom of the tale are less legible; specifically, 83px from the top and bottom, so it’s best to avoid placing any vital information there.
Dimensions of the Text and Its Fonts
Google recommends keeping your page length to under 10 words (200 characters) and your page title to under 10 words (40 characters). All text must be at least 24px in size.
In spite of the fact that several of the featured tales in the examples above exceed the recommended word count per page, we encourage you to write at or near that rate. If you really must go over, consider attaching a page so that readers may swipe up to get more text.
Maximum effective word count for online fiction
It may be as long as 30 pages, but no less than 5. You should aim for ten to twenty pages while making a web tale.
Film and pictures
Use movies that are no more than 15 seconds in length. Make sure the photos you submit are of good quality and in portrait orientation if you want to use them. Social media postings may be embedded in the articles, but the post’s title and description should still be included. The use of colors, pictures, and typefaces should all contribute to a cohesive whole that serves the message.
When it comes to creating a visually attractive online narrative, AMP provides an excellent illustrated guide with further recommendations.
What to look for while evaluating online fiction
Your web story will be accessible at the URL you specified in the Documents tab. To determine whether your web story meets the AMP standards, you may visit the AMP test and enter the URL.
Exactly what do Google web tales consist of? An in-depth look at the latest Google web stories Plugin for the WordPress platform
Is there any way to make money off of a Google web story? There are a number of methods to make money off of online fiction. As a first option, you may utilize affiliate links, which allow you to earn money by sending traffic to a certain URL. These may be included in the pages itself or via the swipe up function; however, it must be made clear that these links are affiliate links.
Google web stories are single-page articles that may have advertisements. To do so, you may use Google Ad Manager, which will control when and how many adverts appear in your articles. The AMP website has further information on this topic.
Web content optimization and data modeling
Similarly to a regular web page, AMP web stories need to include some SEO and schema markup in order to be properly indexed. The WordPress plugin helps out a little bit with this, but there are still certain features you can’t add without using other plugins. Google classifies content as either an Article, a Blog Post, or a News Story, so labeling it appropriately is essential.
XML sitemap visibility
Including your web stories in your XML sitemap is a crucial step. According to research cited by Brodie Clark, sitemaps have a significant role in Google’s ability to find fresh content (approximately 20%).
Search Engine Optimization Plugin Choices
To complete your online tales with the necessary information, you have a few choices. The AMP sites include Yoast and Rank Math meta tags mechanically.
When using the Rank Math Plugin, go to Titles & Meta, and then scroll down to Post Types, where you’ll find Stories. Here you may alter the schema types, add social media thumbnails, and modify the order in which article titles display.
An Online Math Ranker for Google Stories
Analytics Configuration Your interactions, page views, and clicks may all be monitored in the same way they would be on any website. The ability to integrate Google Analytics monitoring into the WP web stories plugin is a major improvement over the beta version. Visit the Web Stories control panel to accomplish this. To access the editor’s preferences, choose Preferences from the left menu.
You may enter your Google Analytics tracking ID in this box. This is because, as stated, “The story editor will include a default, changeable AMP analytics setting to your tale.” This post is for you if you want to know how to implement more complex tracking into your web stories.
Looking for guidance with your Google-generated web narratives?
As a result of our dedication to remaining on top of the industry, you can always count on us to provide the most cutting-edge SEO strategies without any of the legwork. The actual application of them is something we like as well. Web stories may be a great asset for your company, but if you’re not sure how to use them, don’t hesitate to contact us.
