Video mode now only shows pages where video is the main content
Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
Monday, December 4, 2023
Earlier this year, we made a change to only
show video thumbnails next to results on the main Google Search results page when the video is
the main content of a page. Today, we're extending this change to search results in Video mode to
better connect users with the video content they're looking for (rather than having to comb
through a page to find that video). This change will start rolling out today, and it could take
up to a week to complete.
With this update, clicking a result in Video mode will only take users to a page where the video
is the main content. Here's an example of a page where the video is the main content of the page:
the video is above the fold, it's prominent, and the main purpose of the page is to watch that
video.
Here are some examples of page types where the video is supplementary to the textual content, and
not the primary focus of the page:
A blog post where the video is complementary to the text rather than the primary content of
the page
A product details page with a complementary video
A video category page that lists multiple videos of equal prominence
As the update rolls out, you'll see the impact of this change in your Search Console
video indexing report.
Videos that aren't the main content of the page will appear as "No video indexed" in Search
Console. We're also adding a new reason to the report to explain why these videos are not indexed:
"Video is not the main content of the page", which simplifies the report by replacing the
following issues:
Invalid video URL
Unsupported video format
Unknown video format
Inline data URLs cannot be used for video URLs
Video outside the viewport
Video too small
Video too tall
Since these videos will no longer be shown in Video mode, you can expect to see a decrease in
the number of pages with indexed videos. This decrease will also appear in the number of video
impressions in the performance report,
video indexing report, and
the video rich results report
in Search Console.
To learn more about video indexing best practices, check out the video best practices guide.
For questions, feel free to post in our Search Central help community,
where you can join a discussion with like-minded experts.
Posted by Cory Benavente,
Product Manager, Google Search
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Search is prioritizing video results where the video is the primary content of the page, both on main search and in Video mode.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eVideos that are supplementary to text content or not the main focus of a page will no longer be indexed for Video mode.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis update may result in a decrease in indexed videos and video impressions within Search Console reports.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWebmasters can refer to updated video best practices and Search Console reports to understand and adapt to this change.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google is updating its search algorithm, specifically in Video mode, to prioritize pages where the video is the main content. Clicking a result in Video mode will now only lead to pages where the video is central, not supplementary. Consequently, videos on pages where they are not the primary focus will be excluded from Video mode and marked as \"No video indexed\" in Search Console with the reason \"Video is not the main content of the page\". This change will impact video indexing, impressions, and reports.\n"],null,["Monday, December 4, 2023\n\n\n[Earlier this year](/search/blog/2023/04/simplifying-video), we made a change to only\nshow video thumbnails next to results on the main Google Search results page when the video is\nthe main content of a page. Today, we're extending this change to search results in Video mode to\nbetter connect users with the video content they're looking for (rather than having to comb\nthrough a page to find that video). This change will start rolling out today, and it could take\nup to a week to complete.\n\n\nWith this update, clicking a result in Video mode will only take users to a page where the video\nis the main content. Here's an example of a page where the video is the main content of the page:\nthe video is above the fold, it's prominent, and the main purpose of the page is to watch that\nvideo.\n\n\nHere are some examples of page types where the video is supplementary to the textual content, and\nnot the primary focus of the page:\n\n- A blog post where the video is complementary to the text rather than the primary content of the page\n- A product details page with a complementary video\n- A video category page that lists multiple videos of equal prominence\n\n\nAs the update rolls out, you'll see the impact of this change in your Search Console\n[video indexing report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9495631).\nVideos that aren't the main content of the page will appear as \"No video indexed\" in Search\nConsole. We're also adding a new reason to the report to explain why these videos are not indexed:\n\"Video is not the main content of the page\", which simplifies the report by replacing the\nfollowing issues:\n\n- Invalid video URL\n- Unsupported video format\n- Unknown video format\n- Inline data URLs cannot be used for video URLs\n- Video outside the viewport\n- Video too small\n- Video too tall\n\n\nSince these videos will no longer be shown in Video mode, you can expect to see a decrease in\nthe number of pages with indexed videos. This decrease will also appear in the number of video\nimpressions in the [performance report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553),\n[video indexing report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9495631), and\nthe [video rich results report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7552505)\nin Search Console.\n\n\nTo learn more about video indexing best practices, check out the [video best practices guide](/search/docs/appearance/video).\nFor questions, feel free to post in our [Search Central help community](https://goo.gle/sc-forum),\nwhere you can join a discussion with like-minded experts.\n\nPosted by [Cory Benavente](/search/blog/authors/cory-benavente),\nProduct Manager, Google Search"]]
