Video Sitemaps

Why Video Sitemaps?

Video content is increasingly important for SEO, but search engines struggle to discover videos embedded in JavaScript or complex page structures. Video sitemaps provide:

• Rich video results - Thumbnails and duration in search results
• Video carousels - Featured placement in video-specific searches
• Better discovery - Help Google find videos JavaScript can't easily expose
• Metadata control - Define exactly how your videos appear in search

Google displays video rich results for pages with properly structured video sitemaps, including thumbnails, duration, and view counts directly in search results.

Supported Fields

SitemapHost supports all Google Video sitemap fields:

* Either content_loc or player_loc must be provided.

API Usage

Include a video object for each URL to create a video sitemap:

{
  "domain": "sitemap.yoursite.com",
  "urls": [
    {
      "loc": "https://yoursite.com/videos/product-tutorial",
      "video": {
        "thumbnail_loc": "https://cdn.yoursite.com/thumbs/tutorial.jpg",
        "title": "Complete Product Tutorial",
        "description": "Learn how to use our product with this comprehensive video guide covering all features and best practices.",
        "content_loc": "https://cdn.yoursite.com/videos/tutorial.mp4",
        "duration": 1820,
        "view_count": 45000,
        "rating": 4.8,
        "publication_date": "2024-01-10T08:00:00Z",
        "family_friendly": true,
        "tag": ["tutorial", "how-to", "product guide"],
        "category": "Education",
        "uploader": {
          "name": "Your Company",
          "info": "https://yoursite.com/about"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "pingGoogle": true
}

Generated XML Output

SitemapHost generates valid video sitemap XML with the proper namespace:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:video="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-video/1.1">
  <url>
    <loc>https://yoursite.com/videos/product-tutorial</loc>
    <video:video>
      <video:thumbnail_loc>https://cdn.yoursite.com/thumbs/tutorial.jpg</video:thumbnail_loc>
      <video:title>Complete Product Tutorial</video:title>
      <video:description>Learn how to use our product with this comprehensive video guide.</video:description>
      <video:content_loc>https://cdn.yoursite.com/videos/tutorial.mp4</video:content_loc>
      <video:duration>1820</video:duration>
      <video:view_count>45000</video:view_count>
      <video:rating>4.8</video:rating>
      <video:publication_date>2024-01-10T08:00:00Z</video:publication_date>
      <video:family_friendly>yes</video:family_friendly>
      <video:tag>tutorial</video:tag>
      <video:tag>how-to</video:tag>
      <video:tag>product guide</video:tag>
      <video:category>Education</video:category>
      <video:uploader info="https://yoursite.com/about">Your Company</video:uploader>
    </video:video>
  </url>
</urlset>

Geo and Platform Restrictions

Control where your videos can be shown with restriction settings:

{
  "loc": "https://yoursite.com/videos/regional-content",
  "video": {
    "thumbnail_loc": "https://cdn.yoursite.com/thumbs/regional.jpg",
    "title": "Regional Content",
    "description": "This video is only available in specific countries.",
    "player_loc": "https://player.yoursite.com/embed/regional",
    "restriction": {
      "relationship": "allow",
      "countries": ["US", "CA", "UK"]
    },
    "platform": {
      "relationship": "allow",
      "types": ["web", "mobile"]
    }
  }
}

Limits and Requirements

Best Practices

• High-quality thumbnails - Use 1280x720 images that accurately represent the video
• Accurate duration - Match the actual video length exactly
• Descriptive titles - Include relevant keywords naturally
• Accessible content - Ensure video URLs don't require authentication
• Keep metadata fresh - Update view counts and ratings periodically
• Use player_loc for embeds - If using YouTube/Vimeo, use the embed URL

Tip: For YouTube videos, use the embed URL format: https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID

Use Cases

• E-commerce - Product demos, unboxings, how-to videos
• Education - Course content, tutorials, lectures
• Entertainment - Trailers, clips, original content
• News - Video news stories, interviews
• Real estate - Property tours, neighborhood guides

Next Steps

• Upload API - Automate video sitemap generation with the API
• Image Sitemaps - Also add your images to sitemaps for Google Images