Google Web Stories: what they are and how to create them

The popularity of Instagram stories has led Google to leave a space for this type of content, the Web Stories. Taking into account that a high percentage of users enter social networks only to consume stories, it is worth including them in content strategies to increase web traffic, and it is also something that will directly affect SEO. But what are web stories and how exactly do they work?

Google Web Stories: what are they and what are their advantages?

The Google Web Stories They would be like the well-known Instagram stories. The content, in this case, is displayed full screen on the mobile device and in the form of a carousel. That is, you can slide your finger horizontally in one direction or another depending on whether you want to go forward to see the next story or backwards to see the previous one.

To be able to see Google Stories it is necessary to have the Google application installed and open the Discover tab, which is where this type of content is displayed.

It is estimated that 500 billion users consume stories on Instagram, which means that it is a type of content that attracts a large audience. Furthermore, it is a format of fast consumption, which makes it even more interesting and attractive. So if you design a good content strategy in this format you can reach a larger audience and generate a greater volume of web traffic.

Of course, in Web Stories it is still important to pay attention to SEO, since this way you can appear in both Discover and the search engine.

Web Stores vs Social Stories: what are their differences

Although Web Stories have a similar format to Social Stories, they are not the same and there are a series of differences:

  • Instagram stories or other social networks are not adapted to people who have visual difficulties, but Web Stories are.
  • Social Stories are for followers and have a private scope, while Web Stories are public.
  • Web Stories have a URL and are within a domain, which means they can be crawled and indexed by Google, something that is not possible with Social Stories, which do not have a URL. In addition, Web Stories can be embedded through an embed or an iframe, something not possible with social media stories.
  • Stories on Instagram and other social networks expire in 24 hours, but those on Google do not.
  • Web Stories can be edited once published, something that cannot be done with Social Stories.
  • Social Stories allow interaction with the user, but with Web Stories this is not possible.

We could say, then, that with Web Stories the main objective is to capture the user’s attention and generate web traffic, while with Social Stories the goal is to generate engagement.

All SEO actions that are applied to other types of content must be applied to Web Stories, since this is Google’s way of finding and displaying them according to the user’s interests.

This means that keywords must be used, which can be determined with the help of tools that are usually used for other types of content, such as Google Trends or Search Console; and give the story an alternative text, a title and a personalized permalink with the keyword of interest. It will also be valued that the content is of quality, that at least one URL has been inserted

All this leads us to determine that Making quality Web Stories with well-chosen and used keywords along with quality and well-positioned web content can help increase web traffic.

Of course, Web Stories are a very new type of content and are not yet available in all countries, so we have to wait a little to know the true impact they will have on users.

How to create Google Web Stories

To create a Web Story you need a WordPress plugin, precisely that of Google Web Stories. Simply install and activate this plugin to access the creation and adjustment of stories or use some of its templates, where you can add a photo, video or text.

There are other independent WordPress tools that can also be used to create Web Stories, one of them is MakeStorieswhich may remind Canva.

Both the WordPress plugin and MakeStories are very intuitive and easy to use.

Regardless of the tool used to create a Google Story, it must have a title and an Alt description. Another tip is to make the videos and photos in portrait or vertical mode, since that is how they will fit best in this format. , as well as using a large font size for texts so that it can be read without difficulties. In addition, whenever possible, subtitles can be added to the videos, since using keywords in them can help positioning.

Web Stories are content that, unlike Social Stories, do not expire after 24 hours, so the more optimized it is for positioning, the better.