"Video" schema

Video schema describes a video hosted on or embedded in a webpage. It tells search engines what the video is about, how long it is, when it was published, and where to find a thumbnail.

This includes videos hosted on your YouTube channel or other video-sharing platforms that you embed on your site. The video does not need to be on your actual web hosting server to benefit from Video schema.

Video rich results are still actively supported by Google, including the dedicated Video tab and inline video thumbnails in the main search results, making Video potentially one of the most important schema types for any video-focussed website.

When to use Video schema

Use VideoObject on any page that hosts or embeds a meaningful video — product demos, tutorials, recorded webinars, brand films, testimonial videos, embedded YouTube content, etc.

Key properties

Required by Google for rich results:

• name – video title
• description – plain-language description
• thumbnailUrl – one or more thumbnail URLs (multiple aspect ratios are permissible)
• uploadDate – ISO 8601 date

Strongly recommended properties:

• duration – ISO 8601 duration (PT2M30S = 2 min 30 sec)
• contentUrl – direct URL to the video file
• embedUrl – URL of the embedded player
• publisher – the Organization publishing the video
• hasPart – Clip objects for key moments (enables Key Moments rich result)
• interactionStatistic – view counts
• transcript – a plain-text transcript

Example (JSON-LD)

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "How to Run a Technical SEO Audit",
  "description": "Walkthrough of our 12-step technical SEO audit process.",
  "thumbnailUrl": [
    "https://example.com.au/videos/audit-thumb-16x9.jpg",
    "https://example.com.au/videos/audit-thumb-4x3.jpg",
    "https://example.com.au/videos/audit-thumb-1x1.jpg"
  ],
  "uploadDate": "2026-03-10T09:00:00+11:00",
  "duration": "PT8M42S",
  "contentUrl": "https://example.com.au/videos/audit.mp4",
  "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/EXAMPLE",
  "publisher": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Company Name",
    "logo": {
      "@type": "ImageObject",
      "url": "https://example.com.au/logo.png"
    }
  }
}

SEO value

• Eligibility for video thumbnails in the main SERP
• Inclusion in Google's Video search tab
• Key Moments support (jump-to-segment links) when Clip objects are added
• Better association between embedded videos and your site rather than just the host platform

Best practices

• Always include a real, accessible thumbnail URL — broken thumbnails are a leading cause of disqualification
• Keep uploadDate accurate and stable
• For YouTube embeds, you can still add embedUrl pointing to the YouTube embed
• Add Clip markup for any video over a few minutes long if it has clear segments
• A real transcript on the page (or referenced via transcript) helps both SEO and accessibility

Schema

Disclaimer: All information contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not advice or instructional.