Guide to Using Google Web Stories for Digital Marketers

What is Google Web Stories? Find out what features and benefits that Google has to offer in this immersive storytelling format and see whether it’s right for your brand.

Google Web Stories’s visually rich, mobile-focused content format felt similar to the “stories” functionality popular on many social media sites.

The underpinning technology is based on the accelerated mobile pages that have been somewhat controversial in the marketing world.

In May 2020, Google rebranded AMP Stories as Web Stories, which they explain are “a web-based version of the popular Story format, allowing creators to host and own their content.”

What Do Google Web Stories Do?

Google Web Stories are a visual content format that can be shown across the internet.

You might find them similar to the stories on Instagram in that they allow creators to publish a succession of images, videos, and audio.

Web Stories are billed by Google as being “fully immersive” thanks to their ability to be viewed full-screen.

Where Do Web Stories Appear?

One thing that makes Google Web Stories fairly unique amongst the myriad of story-telling functionality found in apps is their ability to be seen across the web.

On Your Website

Whereas the likes of Instagram Stories need to be viewed on that platform, Google’s Web Stories can be hosted on a creator’s own website.

This gives publishers more freedom over what is contained in the story as there are no restrictions around content, unlike many apps.

It also means the story can be used to help to drive traffic to your site, not kept within the walled garden of social media apps.

In the Search Results

One of the main benefits of using Google’s stories above other competitors’ social media story format is their accessibility from the SERPs.

Google Web Stories can be indexed like a web page and served as a Google search result.

In Google Discover

In October 2020, Google announced that they were bringing Web Stories to Google Discover feeds in India, Brazil and the US.

The list of stories, called a “shelf” by Google, sits at the top of Discover.

Tapping on the story brings it to full-screen and allows the user to navigate through the list by swiping.

In Your Online Publications

Because Web Stories are hosted on your own servers it means the content can be used across other digital assets, too, like emails and digital brochures.

On Multiple Devices

Although the AMP technology the web stories is based on is designed for use on mobile devices, web stories can be viewed on mobile, tablet, and desktop browsers.

This increases their utility as there is no need to create desktop-friendly alternatives for responsive assets like websites.

10 Benefits & Uses of Google Web Stories

The format, versatility, and ease of creating Google Web Stories make these a beneficial medium for marketers to explore.

Here are the top 10 benefits and uses of the format.

1. Under Your Control

As the stories can be hosted on a publisher’s own website, the copyright of the content is all theirs.

This means the topics they cover are entirely at their own discretion and without the strict limitations often seen in social media.

The use of the content is also at the publisher’s discretion; Google does not assume any rights over the content.

Google does have some restrictions on the content that can be published, most notable being the policy on content that is “overly commercial.”

It’s worth taking a look over the guidelines before creating your first story – especially if you are using it for promotional purposes.

2. Monetization

Any ads that appear in a Google Web Story are controlled by the content creator.

That means unlike with the story functionality on social media apps, monetization of the content is entirely at the discretion of the publisher.

Therefore, if you host ads on your web story, you get 100% of the ad revenue.

Google recently released a programmatic ads solution for Web Stories through Ad Manager and AdSense.

3. External Linking

A lot of social media sites with similar story formats dissuade content creators from linking out to other websites.

This usually means having to be creative in linking from the comments or bio.

With Google Web Stories, there are no such restrictions on linking out.

4. Supports Google Analytics for Tracking

As Web Stories act like web pages, they can be linked to analytics platforms including Google Analytics.

This means there is a much greater level of tracking and user analysis available than on standard social media story formats.

This is an integral part of assessing how valuable Web Stories are to your marketing strategy.

5. Stories are Responsive

Unlike AMP which is designed specifically for mobile devices, Web Stories can be responsive to any device type.

This means there is no need to create separate content for display on desktop devices or to suffer the loss of functionality on mobile.

6. Can Be Interactive

Web Stories include the ability to host interactive elements such as quizzes and polls.

This is somewhat limited by your technical ability, as this functionality isn’t supported by all Web Stories creation platforms.

Given the immersive nature of the Web Stories, this added level of interactivity could make for an engaging experience.

7. No Time Limit

Unlike some other Google content such as Google My Business posts, there is no expiration date on Web Stories.

They will not be deleted automatically after 7 days and won’t get lost in a timeline like on social media accounts.

You can feature your Web Story for as long and as prominently as you’d like.

8. Easily Indexed and Linked to

Web Stories are designed to be easily indexed by search engines.

This means getting your content onto the first page of Google won’t require any additional work on your part beyond the standard SEO needed to get any web page ranking well.

There is also the opportunity for it to appear in the coveted Web Stories carousel if you are publishing content for India, Brazil, or the United States.

9. Use Whatever Branding Style You Want

There are no design restrictions beyond making sure that Web Stories meet the general technical requirements.

This means you are free to choose fonts, colors, animations, and imagery that suits your brand’s style.

10. Live Stories

Using the “live-story” attribute on your Web Story will notify the user in real-time that you have added a new page.

This can be particularly useful if you are using the format to cover breaking news or developments.

Conclusion

Google Web Stories is a rich, engaging content format that boasts a lot of potential for marketers.

Unlike similar social media storytelling formats, Web Stories are not time-bound or limited to certain platforms.

The brand benefits of exposure via Google products including Search and Discover are worth exploring.

Source: SearchEngineJournal