Google has been trying to push its AMP technology
which they claim will make mobile pages load faster. But what exactly is Google Web Stories, and how does it differ from AMP? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each format to see which one makes more sense for your site.
Advantages of Google Web Stories
- Google web stories allow you to create your own unique website and tell your story in whatever way you want to.
- It’s an affordable, cost-effective way of telling your story.
- You can also see where people are clicking on your site. Google web stories also let you know how many views each page gets so you can decide which topics interest readers most. (Source).
- It lets anyone view it even without a website.
So if someone visits your site from their phone they will still be able to read your content. It also makes every single post shareable as it linked back to Twitter and Facebook from within Google web stories itself. To add to that, when users click on one of these embedded posts, it automatically appears in their feed as well under their Google account name.
Disadvantages of Google Web Stories
It is still a work in progress. There are features that have yet to be included, and not all of them will be available right away. You won’t find all your links or images showing up in Google web stories at first. You may even notice some errors during implementation, so you’ll want to keep an eye on it as time goes on. Another disadvantage of Google web stories might be its SEO rating. When website pages start displaying these AMP pages from your website, search engines might be less likely to show your regular website pages because they think it is duplicate content. Search engines are trying to ensure users get accurate and relevant information by picking one source for each topic. This means less traffic for those without Google web stories functionality. However, there are ways around how to fix Google web stories SEO and make sure both your normal site pages and AMP versions are indexed appropriately.
Usage Cases for Google Web Stories
Google announced at Google I/O that they were pushing forward with a project to be known as Google Web Stories. This will be an effort by Google to help power content websites. The concept of Google web stories is based on their AMP initiative that was started in 2016. AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) allows for faster load times for mobile devices and also includes security measures against spam and privacy violations. There are many similarities between AMP and Web Stories, but it would seem that Google wants to keep both separate initiatives running alongside each other rather than combining them into one. There are no signs pointing towards an eventual merger of these two technologies, though things can always change over time. It seems likely we’ll see more information about how well-received Web Stories is when more details regarding its launch date come out from Google.
Are We Ready for the Google Web Stories Era?
Recently, Google announced a new protocol called Web Stories which aims to combine many of their beloved projects like AMP, Accelerated Mobile Pages, and Instant Articles. If you don’t know what any of those things are, then there is some reading you need to do! Let’s dig in so we can see if we are ready for all of these changes! And just what might be coming up soon.