VideoObject

VideoObject schema tells search engines a page contains a video. It powers video rich results in Google Search: a thumbnail with play button, duration, and upload date displayed directly in search results. Videos marked up with VideoObject can also appear in the Google Video tab, Google Discover, and AI-generated video answer panels.

Required fields

These fields must be present for Google to generate video rich results.

• name — Text
• description — Text
• thumbnailUrl — URL
• uploadDate — Date/DateTime

Recommended fields

These fields improve how the video appears in search results and AI answers.

• contentUrl — URL
• duration — Duration
• embedUrl — URL
• expires — Date/DateTime

Google requires either contentUrl or embedUrl (or both). Most implementations use embedUrl because video hosting platforms rarely expose direct file URLs.

JSON-LD example

A complete VideoObject with all required and recommended fields:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "Complete Webflow CMS Tutorial",
  "description": "Learn how to build dynamic pages with Webflow CMS collections, templates, and conditional visibility",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://img.youtube.com/vi/abc123/maxresdefault.jpg",
  "uploadDate": "2024-06-15T14:00:00Z",
  "duration": "PT45M30S",
  "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/abc123",
  "contentUrl": "https://cdn.example.com/videos/webflow-cms-tutorial.mp4"
}

Webflow implementation

Static pages

Add VideoObject JSON-LD in Page Settings > Custom Code > Head Code. Hardcode the video metadata for pages with a single, fixed video.

CMS template pages

For collections where each item has a video (e.g., course lessons, product demos), create CMS fields for the video title, description, thumbnail, embed URL, upload date, and duration. Reference them in a custom code embed within the collection template.

With Schema HQ

Schema HQ detects video embeds on Webflow pages and generates VideoObject markup automatically. It extracts embed URLs, maps CMS fields to schema properties, and validates all required fields before publishing.

How AI engines use VideoObject

AI answer engines surface VideoObject data when users ask how-to questions, request tutorials, or look for visual explanations. The name and description fields determine relevance matching. duration helps the AI filter by expected time investment. thumbnailUrl provides the visual preview in AI-generated video cards. Pages without VideoObject markup are less likely to have their videos referenced in AI answers, even if the video content is relevant.

Google rich result requirements

Google requires name, description, thumbnailUrl, and uploadDate at minimum. At least one of contentUrl or embedUrl must also be present. Meeting these requirements makes the page eligible for:

• Video rich results in Google Search
• Google Video tab listings
• Google Discover video cards
• Video carousel in mobile search results

Use Google's Rich Results Test to validate your VideoObject markup before publishing.