Google’s latest Lighting Talks video focuses on SEO for web stories and tracking how they perform in search. The discussion is led by Pascal Birchler, a Developer Relations Engineer at Google. The conversation is about what web stories are, how to create web stories, and how to insert ads in web stories.
SEO of web stories –
If the web stories have to be found and indexed by Google, they have to get optimized like any other content piece. All the SEO rules which apply to web pages also apply to web stories. Other than these rules, few story-specific requirements need to be implemented. For example, site owners need to have the publisher logo and a poster image. The owners can also take advantage of optional story-specific metadata.
If the web stories are properly optimized can appear in Google across discover, image, and search. The appearance of web stories in search results can range from a single search result to a visual carousel showcasing multiple web stories. For example, if the users type any keywords, then web stories from various publishers appear.
For the web stories to appear in Google search in different places, they have to meet specific criteria. A valid AMP code is necessary. A good AMP story sticks to various amp specifications. Valid AMP markup helps Google serve stories via the AMP cache, making the best experience for the users and ensures fast performance.
Performance of web stories –
To improve and measure the performance of the web stories, site owners can use Search Console. These Search Console will help the owners to understand how Google sees the content. There are various tools and reports in Search Console, which can help analyze traffic, fix issues, and make web stories stand out in search results.
If no impression is shown for site web stories by Search Console data, then Google’s testing tool can be used to ensure all requirements are met. In the testing tool, the site owners can view how the story will look in search results; if any changes are required or not, this can be determined. After the story is published and validated, Google Analytics measures how the users interact with the story.
