🎬Video rich result

VideoObject Schema — JSON-LD for Video Rich Results

VideoObject schema enables video thumbnails, duration, and upload date in Google Search and Google Discover — dramatically increasing click-through rates for video content. A must-have for sites hosting or embedding video.

What Google shows

Video thumbnail, title, duration, upload date, and a 'Watch' button in Google Search. Eligible for the Top Videos carousel in Google Discover.

Example JSON-LD

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "How to Set Up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC",
  "description": "A step-by-step guide to configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for email authentication.",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://example.com/video-thumb.jpg",
  "uploadDate": "2024-03-15",
  "duration": "PT12M30S",
  "contentUrl": "https://example.com/videos/spf-dkim-dmarc.mp4",
  "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/abc123",
  "interactionStatistic": {
    "@type": "InteractionCounter",
    "interactionType": {
      "@type": "WatchAction"
    },
    "userInteractionCount": 45231
  }
}

Required by Google

*name
*description
*thumbnailUrl (min 720px wide)
*uploadDate

Recommended

◎contentUrl (direct video URL)
◎embedUrl
◎duration (ISO 8601)
◎interactionStatistic (view count)
◎transcript
◎hasPart (Clip schema for key moments)

When to use Video schema

Tutorial and how-to videos

VideoObject on tutorial pages enables video thumbnails in search — thumbnail clicks convert 2–3x higher than text links.

Product demo videos

Product demonstration videos embedded on product pages benefit from video rich results that appear alongside organic text results.

News and editorial video

News videos with VideoObject schema are eligible for the Top Stories video carousel in Google News and Discover.

Frequently Asked Questions

My video is hosted on YouTube — do I still need VideoObject schema?▾

If you embed YouTube videos, Google can typically detect the video automatically. VideoObject schema is most impactful when the video is hosted on your own domain (contentUrl pointing to your server or CDN).

What is the Clip schema and when should I use it?▾

Clip (in the hasPart field) enables 'Key Moments' in search results — jump links to specific timestamps within your video. Add Clip items for each key section with startOffset and endOffset times.

What thumbnail dimensions does Google require?▾

Minimum 720px width, 16:9 aspect ratio preferred. The thumbnail must be publicly crawlable (no authentication). Google may not show the rich result if the thumbnail URL returns a 404 or authentication redirect.

🔍

Validate in Google Rich Results Test

Paste the JSON-LD above to confirm it qualifies for rich snippets.

Test in Google →

VideoObject Schema — JSON-LD for Video Rich Results

Example JSON-LD

When to use Video schema

Frequently Asked Questions

All schema types