Enhanced Video Indexing Report Now Available in Google Search Console
By Caleb on August 1, 2023 in Internet Marketing
In this blog post, we will be discussing changes to the Google Search Console video indexing report. In June 2023, Google expanded the report to provide more specific error details on why a video may not be indexed and won’t appear in search results.
What was once a vague notification of “Google could not determine the prominent video on the page” has now been broken down into 3 key reasons. These reasons will help marketers have a more specific breakdown of what to address on the page with the video.
Why Videos in Pages Aren’t Indexed
- Video outside the viewport: Reposition the page so that the entire video is inside the renderable area and visible when the page loads.
- Video too small: This indicates that the video’s dimensions are too small to be indexed. Google recommends increasing the height of the video to be larger than 140px or the width of the video to be larger than 140px and at least a third of the page’s width.
- Video too tall: This reason applies when the video’s vertical size is too big, making it unsuitable for indexing. To address this issue, decrease the height of the video to be smaller than 1080px. This makes the video eligible for indexing in Google Search results.
Here is a screenshot of the updated GSC report. You can click further into each individual issue to see what pages were flagged. Also, users associated with the GSC account will receive an email notification alerting of the issue.
New Version:
Old Version:
Are you Still Waiting to See this Update?
If you still see the old prompt “Google could not determine the prominent video on the page,” there is no need to worry. Google posted that it can take up to 3 months to flush out the old data and get replenished with the 3 new vital reasons.
Even if you get the old prompt “Google could not determine the prominent video on the page,” the 3 new reasons still apply. Therefore even if your GSC hasn’t been updated, you only have 3 variables to test.
In conclusion, the update to Google’s video viewport in the Search Console brings excellent insight. With the previous vague prompt replaced by three specific reasons, understanding why a video may not be indexed has become more apparent. Even if it has not reached everyone, Google reassures users that the new reasons still apply.
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Further Learning
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