Google posted on the Google blog that it will try to no longer show "teaser" based web stories in Google Search and Google Discover. Paul Bakaus from Google wrote "A critical ranking signal at Google is the quality of your content. And a one- or two-page teaser for your blog post doesn't tell a satisfying story to a reader, so Google will do its very best to not show these to users."
Google said it has been noticing "folks try out is teaser content: Web Stories that are essentially advertisements for some other content, like a blog post or full-length video." But he said web users are telling Google "this isn't what they want" from Web Stories. Instead they want Web Stories that "tell a full story and aren’t used to tease other content."
Google said it will try not to show teaser based Web Stories in Search and Discover. Paul wrote "Google wants to send users to the best content, so the quality of your stories is very important in determining if they show up on Search and Discover. In other words: A critical ranking signal at Google is the quality of your content. And a one- or two-page teaser for your blog post doesn’t tell a satisfying story to a reader, so Google will do its very best to not show these to users. To be clear, this doesn’t mean that you can’t link to more extended deep dives on your blog. Like always, there’s nuance, and acceptable ways of adding value in the moment while directing readers to your blog, YouTube channel or e-commerce storefront. Here’s how you can do it."
How do you monetize Web Stories then? Well, that is being worked on and should be coming. But for now, if you want your Web Stories to rank in Google, you will likely need to tell a complete story and not force people to click through to get that story.
Here is a video from Paul on this:
Forum discussion at Twitter.
