Google Updates Video Mode Requirements on SERP

Quoting from the Google Search Central blog, Google is currently updating the video mode system. The updated aspect is the requirements for displaying videos in the video tab to enhance the user experience.

Currently, Google requires videos to be the primary content on a page to be featured in the Video Mode. So, what are the impacts of this update? Here's the complete explanation.

 

Video Mode Requirement Update

This update was announced by Google on December 4th and will be rolled out gradually over the next few weeks. This move aims to make it easier for users to find the videos they are looking for when accessing a page.

With this new requirement, video content will be the main focus on pages that want to appear in Video Mode.

Before this update, Google displayed videos in Video Mode based on various factors, including content relevance and other SEO criteria. However, with this update, videos must be the primary content on a page to appear in the Video Mode feature.

 

 

Google also ensures that the displayed video content aligns with user preferences by optimizing the Video Mode feature as a more effective video search tool.

So, if your video content is not the main content on a page, the video will not appear in the video tab or Video Mode.

Here are some case examples of pages containing videos but cannot be displayed in video mode:

• A blog where the video is an additional element to support text, not the main content of the page.
• Product pages with videos as additional content.
• Category pages that contain many videos at the same level.

 

Changes to the Video Report in Search Console

In addition to changing the requirements for Video Mode, Google also announced changes to the video indexing report in Search Console. This update includes adding more detailed information about why a video is not indexed.

This step is expected to help site owners address issues that may hinder the indexing of their videos.

As a result, website owners may more frequently encounter the report "No video indexed" on pages containing videos but not the main content. Google will also add the reason "Video is not the main content of the page" to replace reporting issues such as:

• 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.

 

Impact on SEO

Google's update to Video Mode requirements has a significant impact on SEO strategies and video content visibility. Websites with a focus on content other than videos may experience a visibility issue in Video Mode. Therefore, site owners need to adjust their content strategies.

In responding to this update, it is essential for site owners and SEO practitioners to continuously monitor changes in Google's algorithms, optimize content as needed, and adjust SEO strategies to remain effective in this new era.