Storytelling is becoming more and more popular on most social media platforms and people love a good story. Google has adapted and released Google web stories to give people a visually compelling way of sharing stories with the world. Google web stories offer a tappable story experience to its users who can now see stories unfold in their palm.
Google web stories: How it works?
Google web stories provide a full screen immersive experience to users and are powered by AMP. The main difference with stories available on other social media platforms is that you own the content you create and you can choose its lifetime. Your Google stories can be short-lived or evergreen and you have the possibility of hosting them on your own website.
Additionally, Google web stories serve as a great Search engine optimisation tool as they can generate traffic to your website. The stories will appear on Google searches as well as in Google Discover. While searches work based on intent, Google Discover allows your stories to be discovered by people who have interests in your content based on the keywords you use.
Google web story example
Keep in mind that you are creating a visual story. This means that you will need to level up your graphic design skills or hire someone or a digital marketing agency to do this for you. Keep the text short and keyword rich while creative enough to capture your audience’s attention and curiosity. You want them to click to unfold your story.
Remember that from a digital marketing perspective, your Google web stories need to reach your audience and generate traffic. So choose your keywords very carefully and don’t forget to ass a slide at the end of your story for your CTA.
Google web stories WordPress plugin
Google has released a plugin which allows you to create your Google web story straight from your WordPress website’s CMS. You can download and install this plugin and you will get access to the Google web stories editor.
The editor is very easy to use with drag and drop functionalities and ready made templates. However, you should be careful when you use templates as you want to remain original in your content to position your brand in an effective manner.
Third party tools to create Google web stories
Google web stories site also link to two other tools which you can use to create your web stories. They are third party tools which means that they are not run or endorsed by Google.
News Room AI
Much like the wordpress plugin, News Room AI free version allows you to create your unique designs and host them on your own website. You can add pictures and videos and with the paid version, you will also get access to the Getty editorial image library and you will also have the option of leveraging Google Ads for yourself and creating an additional income.
MakeStories
Makestories is a lightweight option offering possibility of creating stories using a drag and drop builder and also has multiple templates ready to be edited. You will also have access to free icons, images and much more to create the most original design.
How to create a Google web story
Now that you have the plugin, don’t just jump into it and start designing a story yet. Work on your content first, think about what you want to share, how you want your audience to perceive the story you are about to create and be creative with the way you want your story to unfold. When you have your script ready, then you can start with the visual part.
The Google web story plugin has a checklist function which is very handy as it will scan your content and tell you if there is anything your content is missing or if you are not following the guidelines for best results.
Benefits of google web stories
Google web story is not just a new cool feature meant to be enjoyed by the end user. It has many benefits for businesses.
Google web story SEO
A google web story is a new way for people to find your content and generate traffic to your website. With Google web stories, you are able to reach more people and put your content right in their palms. You can now reach your audience not only by search intent but also by their interests.
For example, someone interested in growing their business by using SEO techniques would probably see posts like “Everything about internet marketing services” in their web stories feed.
Ownership
You are the owner of the content you create. You can choose to create your web story the way you want, the design is flexible and you can host it directly on your website or even embed it wherever you want or share its URL.
Captivate your audience
Stories are a great way to captivate your audience’s attention. People spend hours scrolling and there has been a great shift from traditional ‘walls’ to stories on all social media platforms with these gaining much more traction.
Creating an immersive story with appropriate links is a sure way to generate warm leads and targeted traffic to your destination URL.
Monetisation
Create compelling stories and sell Ad space. You can not integrate Google Ads and start earning by selling ads space on your content. Google web stories uses the same concept as programmatic ads.
Conclusion
Every business has a story to tell and a message to convey to their audience. There are plenty of benefits for using Google web stories including the fact that it is part of your SEO efforts to generate traffic to your website and there are plenty of tools available to help you create these stories.
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