AMP Stories – The New Age Visual Storyteller

Find out what AMP Stories are, how they are different from Google Web Stories and how to get started with creating them.

AMP Stories – A Quick Introduction

AMP Stories are a new age storytelling method introduced by Google in 2018. It is a series of immersive content cards created to keep your audience hooked. These tappable content cards are generally displayed as a carousel. As a brand, you can share stories using images, videos, animations or text. AMP stories use AMP technology optimized for mobile viewing. AMP Stories are also available to view with ease on a browser in portrait format.

Where can one find these stories? You can find AMP Stories on Google Search, Google Discover & Google Images. Find out how to get your web story to rank on Google here.

In May 2020, Google decided to rebrand AMP Stories to Google Web Stories. Many use these terms interchangeably, but there is a slight difference between the two

Difference Between AMP Stories & Google Web Stories

AMP Stories and Google Web Stories are both introduced by Google with the same goal. The goal is to create immersive viewing experiences for audiences on their mobile. They are both backed by AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) technology.

The major difference is that AMP Stories required basic coding knowledge. With Google Web Stories, you can create web stories without any coding knowledge with tools like MakeStories. The pages created use HTML so they link with ease to your website. This gives you complete ownership of the web stories created. MakeStories is one such tool you can use to create and publish Web Stories to your website.

So, why have web stories or AMP stories become an engaging way of storytelling today? Let’s rewind back in time and understand the evolution of visual storytelling.

Evolution of Visual Storytelling

Visual storytelling started back in 30,000 BC. Man carved a series of drawings to depict and communicate major events on rocks. This evolved into the first photograph in 1826 followed by Network TV in 1939. Interactive storytelling started with video games in 1972. The 20th century saw the advent of digital storytelling. Media platforms like Facebook and Instagram started taking over the world.

This evolution gave way to faster communication formats with striking visual appeal. Audiences continued to demand faster, shorter packaged content, forcing brands to adapt.

Web Stories are the ultimate short-form content. Whether on social media or the web, nothing says short and sweet like Web Stories.

Benefits of Google Web Stories (AMP Stories)

There are several benefits of using Google Web Stories formerly known as AMP Stories.

1. Fast Loading Time – AMP Technology enables Google Web Stories to load super fast on a user’s mobile. This keeps the user from leaving the page, often seen with slow page loads.
2. Wider Audience Reach – Published Web Stories appear on the open web. This increases the reach of the audience as compared to the reach on social media. A lucrative option for any brand that wants to amplify its reach outside of social media.
3. No Time Limit – AMP Stories stay published on the web for as long as you want. In comparison, Instagram or Facebook stories need a lot of effort and last only 24 hours.
4. Improve SEO – Web Stories work like blog sections. They optimize for search engine results. They help your brand rank higher on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).

To learn more about how Google Web Stories can benefit you, click here.

How to create your first Web Story?

For someone who uses social media, creating Web Stories is very simple. Free tools like MakeStories make this marketing format accessible to all brands. MakeStories is a free online web stories creator that needs no design or coding experience. Its drag and drop UI makes it the perfect tool to create your first web story.

There are many templates that await you on MakeStories. Pick a template and start editing to make your first web story. Personalize your stories by uploading your logo, brand images or videos. Use the extensive free media library if you do not have professional images. Add text in catchy fonts and animate them to grab eyeballs.

Don’t forget, the main purpose of Google Web Stories is to market your brand. Drive in traffic to your website or convert sales by adding a call to action button. Get new subscribers, send customers to a product order form or poll a new design. MakeStories’ analytics tracked in real-time make this a very effective marketing tool.

Follow these simple steps to create your first web story here.

How to increase your organic traffic using Google Web Stories (AMP Stories)?

Google Web Stories is an excellent tool to increase organic traffic to your website. They follow similar principles to blogs for SEO. Investing time in optimizing web stories can help increase your brand’s visibility across the web. Learn how to increase organic traffic to your website. Read more about them here.

Conclusion

You now know what AMP Stories are, why they are useful to brands and how to get started. Google launched AMP Stories in 2018. They rebranded AMP Stories in May 2020, now known as Google Web Stories. It has quickly become a popular format of visual storytelling on the open web. Web Stories are like stories you find on social media with differences in duration, ownership and reach. Google Web Stories once published can be found on Google Search, Discover and Images. Easy tools like MakeStories can help you create and publish your web stories on the web. MakeStories has SEO capabilities and real time analytics features too.

Learn to design your first web story here.