uploadDate

uploadDate · Required

Appears in

VideoObject

What is it?

uploadDate is the date and time when a video was first published. Google uses this field to determine video freshness in search results and to display the publish date alongside video rich results. It is one of the required fields for video structured data.

Why this matters for AEO

When a user asks "latest tutorial on Next.js App Router," AI engines use uploadDate to rank and filter video results by recency. A video without an upload date cannot be assessed for freshness, making it less likely to surface for time-sensitive queries. AI assistants that cite video sources display the publish date to help users judge relevance.

What the specs say

Schema.org: Date or DateTime. Date (including time if available) when this media object was uploaded to this site. schema.org/uploadDate

Google: Required. "The date and time the video was first published, in ISO 8601 format. We recommend that you provide timezone information." Google Video Structured Data

How to find your value

• YouTube — Video page > Show more > Published date, or YouTube Data API snippet.publishedAt
• Vimeo — Video settings > Upload date, or API created_time
• Self-hosted — The date you uploaded the video to your server or CDN
• CMS — The publish date field on your CMS item, or a dedicated "video date" field

Format and code

Expected type: Date (YYYY-MM-DD) or DateTime (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ or with timezone offset)

Google recommends including timezone information. Both UTC (Z) and offset (+08:00) formats are valid ISO 8601.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "Getting Started with Webflow CMS",
  "uploadDate": "2024-06-15T14:30:00Z",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://example.com/images/webflow-cms-thumb.jpg",
  "description": "Learn the basics of Webflow CMS collections and dynamic content"
}

DateTime with timezone offset:

{
  "uploadDate": "2024-06-15T14:30:00+02:00"
}

Date only (valid but less precise):

{
  "uploadDate": "2024-06-15"
}

Invalid: Relative dates like "2 days ago" or non-ISO formats like "June 15, 2024."

Webflow implementation

Static pages

In Page Settings > Custom Code > Head Code, hardcode the upload date in ISO 8601 format within your VideoObject JSON-LD block.

CMS template pages

Use a CMS Date field. Reference it in your JSON-LD embed with the Webflow date format that outputs ISO 8601:

"uploadDate": "{{wf {"path":"video-publish-date","type":"PlainText"} }}"

Webflow date fields output ISO 8601 by default when used as plain text in custom code embeds.

In Schema HQ

Schema pulls CMS publish date field and formats it as ISO 8601 DateTime with timezone. It flags missing dates before publishing and warns if a date is set in the future.

Real examples

Hotstar uses DateTime with UTC timezone:

{
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "Action Recap: Pakistan vs India",
  "uploadDate": "2023-09-10T15:13:40.000Z"
}

Source: hotstar.com

TED Talks uses DateTime with timezone offset:

{
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "The levitating superconductor",
  "uploadDate": "2015-02-05T08:00:00+08:00"
}

Source: ted.com

Related fields

• thumbnailUrl · Preview image required for video rich results
• duration · Length of the video in ISO 8601 format
• expires · When the video will no longer be available
• embedUrl · URL of the video player
• datePublished · General publish date used on articles and other content

FAQ

Should uploadDate include the time or just the date?

Google recommends providing the full DateTime with timezone. Date only (2024-06-15) is valid but less precise. Including timezone information helps Google accurately determine recency across regions.

What if the video was re-uploaded or re-published?

Use the original upload date, not the re-publish date. Google uses uploadDate to track the video's age. Changing it to a recent date to appear fresh can cause indexing inconsistencies.

Is uploadDate the same as datePublished?

uploadDate is specific to MediaObject and refers to when the media was uploaded to the site. datePublished is broader and applies to any CreativeWork. For VideoObject, use uploadDate as Google explicitly requires it for video rich results.