Web Stories Consultant

I love working with Web Stories - it's a very immersive, powerful form of content which, if used correctly, can yield some great results. As with most forms of content there are things to bear in mind if you want to get as much search visibility from them as possible. Despite being a very different type of content to your typical web article, really the same SEO principles apply to Web Stories as blog posts and so on.

Let me guide you through the process of developing Web Stories to help your brand to increase it's reach online.

What is a Web Story?

Chances are that if you're on this page you already know what a Web Story is! 

It's a mobile-first format which is powered by AMPHTML, which allows for a far more immersive and memorable experience. When opened on a mobile device this format will open to the full size of your screen, ensuring that your focus is fully given to the story you're consuming. On desktop devices the Web Story opens to the full size of the browser window, again ensuring for a more immersive experience.

Web Stories support video, audio and other interactive formats like quizzes and polls, as well as basic animated (text sliders for example). 

You can see an example of a Web Story in action below.

 

What is the SEO opportunity when using Web Stories?

There are certain topics which Google seems to favour when it comes to Web Stories. This is because there's a SERP feature called "Visual Stories" which appears for mobile users in certain territories when looking for particular topics - often recipe and travel searches will trigger this Visual Stories pack.

Within the Visual Stories pack you'll see any Web Stories that exist on that topic - so by having content that exists in this format you might very well be increasing the chances that a user will end up consuming your content. 

Not only is there the opportunity to rank in the traditional SERPS but also within Google Discover. It's been observed that Google Discover feeds often feature Web Story content within their Carousels, again within certain territories.

So: if you're smart you might be able to get traffic from Google Search and Google Discover through your Web Stories.

 

What is involved in creating a Web Story?

You can either make use of a web developer - who might have to make an effort to code based on the AMPHTML format, a subset of traditional HTML, or you could use one of the many online builders that exist. Some of these are free, others may have costs involved. Personally I have built several Web Stories using the MakeStories platform and these have always turned out well. 

I've outlined a rough plan of developing and launching a Web Story below:

Step 1 - Ideation and strategy
This is where you'll need to come up with an idea for the Web Story based on existing content you've created, or potentially new content.

Step 2 - Storyboarding
Planning out the Web Story in a storyboard format so you can understand the frames involved and the end vision for your Web Story.

Step 3 - Building
Either coding the Web Story with the help of a developer or using an online tool to build it yourself.

Step 4 - Publishing
This is where you'll publish the Web Story, which will require technical assistance to ensure it's hosted in a suitable location on your domain that will be accessible to search crawlers.

Step 5 - Tracking
You'll want to keep tabs on how the Web Story performs, in terms of visits and engagement. A tracking solution can be implemented to allow this review further down the line.

 

Interested in trying out Web Stories?

If you've got any other questions or wanted to chat about my Web Story service as an SEO consultant you can get in touch with me here.