{"id":11637,"date":"2010-03-01T22:00:43","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T16:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=11637"},"modified":"2026-10-11T16:31:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T11:01:52","slug":"videos-indexed-by-google","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Your Videos Indexed by Google (2026 Video SEO Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Want your videos indexed by Google? A video thumbnail next to your result, or a spot in the Videos tab, can bring far more clicks than a plain blue link. But Google is much stricter about video results than it was when this guide was first written in 2010. Here is how to get your <strong>videos indexed by Google<\/strong> in 2026, step by step.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-63915\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/videos-indexed-by-google-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"Get videos indexed by Google\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/videos-indexed-by-google-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/videos-indexed-by-google-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/videos-indexed-by-google-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/videos-indexed-by-google-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/videos-indexed-by-google.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Make the video the main content of a public page, use a supported video file or a YouTube embed, add a clear thumbnail and VideoObject structured data, list the page in a video sitemap, and submit it in Google Search Console. Then check the Video pages report to see which videos Google indexed and why others were not.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ae4c7fc203c3\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ae4c7fc203c3\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Why_get_your_videos_indexed_by_Google\" >Why get your videos indexed by Google?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Step_1_Make_the_video_the_main_content_of_the_page\" >Step 1: Make the video the main content of the page<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Step_2_Host_or_embed_the_video_correctly\" >Step 2: Host or embed the video correctly<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Step_3_Add_a_good_thumbnail\" >Step 3: Add a good thumbnail<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Step_4_Add_VideoObject_structured_data\" >Step 4: Add VideoObject structured data<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Step_5_Create_a_video_sitemap\" >Step 5: Create a video sitemap<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Step_6_Submit_and_check_in_Search_Console\" >Step 6: Submit and check in Search Console<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Tip_target_searches_that_already_show_videos\" >Tip: target searches that already show videos<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#How_long_does_it_take_Google_to_index_a_video\" >How long does it take Google to index a video?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Is_it_better_to_host_videos_on_YouTube_or_my_own_site\" >Is it better to host videos on YouTube or my own site?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/videos-indexed-by-google\/#Why_does_Google_not_show_my_video_thumbnail\" >Why does Google not show my video thumbnail?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_get_your_videos_indexed_by_Google\"><\/span>Why get your videos indexed by Google?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Video results stand out on the search page with a thumbnail, duration and sometimes &#8220;key moments&#8221; that jump to parts of the video. A page in position five with a video thumbnail can get more clicks than the plain result above it. Your video can also appear in the Videos tab, Google Images and Discover.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_1_Make_the_video_the_main_content_of_the_page\"><\/span>Step 1: Make the video the main content of the page<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Since 2023 Google shows video thumbnails mainly for pages where the video is the main thing, not a small extra clip at the bottom of an article. Put the video near the top, give the page a title that matches the video, and add a short description or transcript below it.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_2_Host_or_embed_the_video_correctly\"><\/span>Step 2: Host or embed the video correctly<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Self-hosted:<\/strong> use a supported format such as MP4 or WebM in an HTML <code>&lt;video&gt;<\/code> tag. Make sure Googlebot can fetch the file and it is not blocked in robots.txt.<\/li>\n<li><strong>YouTube or Vimeo embeds:<\/strong> these work too. Google can index the page that embeds the video as well as the original YouTube page.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Avoid:<\/strong> videos that only load after a click, need a login, or are hidden in a pop-up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_3_Add_a_good_thumbnail\"><\/span>Step 3: Add a good thumbnail<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Google needs a valid thumbnail image of at least 60 x 30 pixels, though a sharp 1280 x 720 image works much better. It is the picture people see in search results, so make it clear and relevant.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_4_Add_VideoObject_structured_data\"><\/span>Step 4: Add VideoObject structured data<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Structured data tells Google the video&#8217;s name, description, thumbnail, upload date, duration and file URL. If you use WordPress, SEO plugins such as Rank Math or Yoast can add VideoObject schema automatically when you embed a video. Add Clip or SeekToAction markup if you want key moments. Google&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/appearance\/video\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video SEO best practices<\/a> page lists every property.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_5_Create_a_video_sitemap\"><\/span>Step 5: Create a video sitemap<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A video sitemap helps Google find videos it might miss. It is an XML file like a normal sitemap with extra video tags:<\/p>\n<pre><code>&lt;urlset xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.sitemaps.org\/schemas\/sitemap\/0.9\"\n xmlns:video=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/schemas\/sitemap-video\/1.1\"&gt;\n &lt;url&gt;\n  &lt;loc&gt;https:\/\/example.com\/videos\/how-to-bake-bread\/&lt;\/loc&gt;\n  &lt;video:video&gt;\n   &lt;video:thumbnail_loc&gt;https:\/\/example.com\/thumbs\/bread.jpg&lt;\/video:thumbnail_loc&gt;\n   &lt;video:title&gt;How to Bake Bread at Home&lt;\/video:title&gt;\n   &lt;video:description&gt;A simple bread recipe in 5 minutes.&lt;\/video:description&gt;\n   &lt;video:content_loc&gt;https:\/\/example.com\/video\/bread.mp4&lt;\/video:content_loc&gt;\n  &lt;\/video:video&gt;\n &lt;\/url&gt;\n&lt;\/urlset&gt;<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Many SEO plugins can generate this for you. See Google&#8217;s guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/crawling-indexing\/sitemaps\/video-sitemaps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video sitemaps<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_6_Submit_and_check_in_Search_Console\"><\/span>Step 6: Submit and check in Search Console<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Add your site to Google Search Console if you have not already. It is one of the best <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2023\/01\/free-google-seo-tools\/\">free Google SEO tools<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Submit your video sitemap under <strong>Sitemaps<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Open <strong>Indexing &gt; Videos<\/strong> to see which video pages are indexed. Common reasons for &#8220;Video isn&#8217;t on a watch page&#8221; or &#8220;Cannot determine video&#8221; are listed there, so fix them and click Validate fix.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tip_target_searches_that_already_show_videos\"><\/span>Tip: target searches that already show videos<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The original idea from this post still works. Find searches where your page ranks on page two and Google already shows a video block on page one. A well-optimized video for that topic can help you reach the first page.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_long_does_it_take_Google_to_index_a_video\"><\/span>How long does it take Google to index a video?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Usually from a few days to a few weeks after Google crawls the page. A video sitemap and good internal links speed it up.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_it_better_to_host_videos_on_YouTube_or_my_own_site\"><\/span>Is it better to host videos on YouTube or my own site?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>YouTube is easier and brings its own audience. Self-hosting can send more search clicks to your site. Many sites embed YouTube videos on dedicated pages to get both.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_does_Google_not_show_my_video_thumbnail\"><\/span>Why does Google not show my video thumbnail?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Most often the video is not the main content of the page, the thumbnail is missing or blocked, or the video loads only after user action.<\/p>\n<p><em>Originally written by guest author Keiros, an outsourcing and infrastructure management consultant and SEOChat forum contributor. Updated for 2026 by QuickOnlineTips.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want your videos indexed by Google? A video thumbnail next to your result, or a spot in the Videos tab,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":63915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,41],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-11637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","category-search-engine-optimization","tag-guest-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63916,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11637\/revisions\/63916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}