Bringing Web Stories to Life: Reach and Engage Your Audience.

Are you seeking to expand your website reach and engage your audience with web stories? Google Web Stories are a visual medium that allows creators to host their content on the web. These are similar to social media stories on Instagram, Facebook and even Snapchat. They are designed for blazing-fast loading and are highly engaging. It results in low bounce rates and attracts natural links and shares, which ultimately helps to improve search engine rankings.

If you choose Web Stories, with over 8.5 billion searches daily, you can improve SEO and engage a global audience.

What Are Web Stories Really?

Web Stories are an innovative, full-screen content format combining images, videos, text, and audio into an engaging multimedia experience. Optimised for mobile devices, Web Stories provides users with an immersive, tappable experience where they can swipe through content at their own pace. Supported by Google, this format can appear across Google Search and Discover, making it an effective tool for increasing your reach.

Why Google Web Stories?

Web Stories attract your audience with visually stunning, creative content. They encourage users to stay on your site longer, swiping and browsing like they would with Instagram or Snapchat, cultivating a deeper connection.

• Device Compatibility: Web Stories are built using AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) technology, ensuring they are compatible across several devices, from mobile phones to tablets. This compatibility helps you reach your entire audience.
• Better SEO Performance: Optimised Web Stories can significantly enhance your SEO. Google prioritises content that holds user attention, and Web Stories does just that. By offering valuable and engaging experiences, your online visibility and rankings can improve.
• Storytelling in Marketing: Web Stories are powerful for boosting views by delivering visually compelling content. Seamlessly integrated into your site, Google Web Stories offers a positive experience.

Where Will Web Stories Appear on Google?

Published and indexed Web Stories can appear on various Google platforms, including Google Search, Google Images, and Google Discover.

Web Stories can be shown to users based on their search history, interests, and personalised platforms like Google Discover. Google customises content recommendations, such as Web Stories, by analysing users’ previous searches and browsing behaviour, increasing the likelihood of relevant stories appearing in their search results or Discover feed.

• Google Search: Web Stories can be featured in Google Search results, providing visibility based on relevant searches.

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• Google Image Search: Web Stories may also appear in Google Image Search results, marked with an icon in the bottom-right corner.

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• Google Discover: Web stories are shown on Google Discover and are tailored to users’ interests and browsing behaviour. This feature is available in the USA, Brazil, and India.

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How to Create Web Stories?

Web Stories can significantly benefit your business by engaging prospective customers with interactive elements, driving traffic to your site, generating revenue, and providing insights into user interactions. Here is a step-by-step guide to creating Web Stories:

Step #1 – Narrate a Story

Start with a clear and concise idea for your story. Google provides a script template to help you structure your content, including guidelines on titles, images, and how to present them.

Step #2 – Create Editor

Use an editor to bring your story to life with visual effects, images, and videos. For the Shopify online store, you can use apps like StorifyMe, inStory, or Smart Stories. For WordPress, Google offers a plugin for creating Web Stories.

Step #3 – Test Your Web Stories

• Ensure your Web Story is valid by using the AMP Test Tool.
• Use the URL Inspection Tool to submit URLs or review their status with the Page Indexing or Sitemaps report.
• Use Chrome Developer Tools to test how your Web Story renders on different devices and formats.

Step #4 – Embed Web Stories on Your Website

Embed Web Stories using the appropriate plugin or add-on for your platform. Each plugin or add-on has its own method for embedding, so refer to the specific instructions for your chosen tool.

Best Practices for Creating Web Stories

1. Video First Approach

Prioritise video as it is more engaging than text or images. Use video extensively and complement it with pictures and text.

2. Design Aspects

• Minimise Text: Avoid cluttering your story with lengthy text across multiple pages.
• Avoid Blocking Text: Ensure text is not obstructed by other content on the page.
• Ensure Text Visibility: Make sure all text in your story is visible and easy to read.
• Use Animations Thoughtfully: Enhance your stories with animations to bring them to life.

3. Technical

• Ensure Validity: Web Stories must comply with AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) standards.
• Ensure Discoverability: Avoid using the noindex attribute to ensure your story is discoverable.
• Keep Titles Short: Titles should be no longer than 90 characters.
• Poster Image: Use a poster image without text to avoid obscuring the title when previewed in search results.
• Publisher Logo: The logo linked to your publisher-logo-src attribute should be at least 96×96 px with a 1:1 aspect ratio.
• Poster Image Size & Aspect Ratio: The image linked to your poster-portrait-src attribute should be at least 640×853 px with a 3:4 aspect ratio.
• Avoid Text in Poster Image: Use images without burned-in text to prevent obstructing the title when the story is previewed.

Take a glance at how web stories appear on the website

If you’re looking to integrate captivating web stories into your Shopify store, please contact us today!

For Reference:

https://www.ellieslondon.com/

https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/web_stories_best_practices.pdf

https://www.india.com/webstories

https://webstories.today/fashion-for-her/mostpopular