Google announced a beta WordPress plugin that enables publishers to take advantage of Google’s relatively new Web Stories.
Web Stories provide a way to rank at the top of Google search, Google images, Discover, and the Google App.
What are Google Web Stories?
Google Web Stories is a new form of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). It is content meant to be consumed in small chunks.
Each page of a Web Story contains a maximum of 10 words. The recommended size of a Web Story is between four and 30 pages.
Publishers can monetize Web Stories with affiliate links, Google Ad Manager, and Google DV360 (Beta).
Web Stories are designed for mobile users who want to consume content at a glance. Google describes the typical content consumer as someone on a subway or having lunch.
Google Web Stories is open source and free.
What are the Benefits of Google Web Stories?
Publishers are adopting the Web Story format because it can be featured attractively for mobile users. Web Stories offer a new way to obtain significant traffic.
These stories are interactive and attract attention when featured on platforms like Google News and the Google App.
Google Web Stories WordPress Plugin
Google announced a WordPress plugin to help publishers gain more traffic through the Web Story format. The WordPress plugin and the Web Story program are both in beta.
A final version of the Web Story WordPress plugin will be released later this summer, 2020. The current version of the plugin is missing animation and page attachment support. The final version will contain all features and be smoother than the beta version.
Snackable Content
The point of the Web Story is what Google calls snackable content.
Videos are recommended to be no longer than 15 seconds and should feature subtitles.
Google specifies that videos should be shot in portrait mode, not in landscape mode, so they display full screen on a mobile device.
All videos must have captions so that a user can watch the video and read along with it. This is because the user may not be able to hear the video, such as in a public place or somewhere loud where their attention is divided.
Google recommends that text be a minimum of font size 24 and that each page contains no more than 200 characters.
Long-form content can be made available as an attachment link. This allows a publisher to attract the viewer’s attention via a Web Story and convert them to read the entire article if it is interesting enough.
Should You Download Web Stories WordPress Plugin?
The plugin is in beta and it does not have all the features. There may be bugs in it. However, it may be useful to create a staging site to familiarize yourself with the plugin and be ready when the fully-featured plugin becomes available.
