Schema Types

What is VideoObject schema?

Answer

VideoObject schema is a Schema.org type for video content. It includes properties for name, description, thumbnailUrl, uploadDate, duration, contentUrl (the video file), embedUrl (the embed iframe URL) and publisher. VideoObject schema is critical for YouTube SEO, for video-rich result eligibility in Google, and for AI agents answering queries that have video answers.

Why it matters

Google features videos in search results, in dedicated video tabs and in AI Overviews when VideoObject schema is present. AI engines like Perplexity surface video sources when relevant. Sites that publish video need VideoObject schema on every video-embedded page.

Critical properties

name, description, thumbnailUrl (high-resolution), uploadDate, duration (ISO 8601), contentUrl or embedUrl. Add transcript (string) for accessibility and AEO. Add interactionStatistic with WatchAction to surface view counts.

YouTube vs self-hosted

For YouTube embeds, set embedUrl to the youtube.com/embed URL and let YouTube provide most of the metadata. For self-hosted videos, set contentUrl to the MP4 file URL and provide full schema yourself.

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