Tutorial · technical-seo · Published 2026-08-15 · 3 min read
Video sitemap guide
Build a Google video sitemap: required video tags, thumbnail and player URLs, duration, and the 50k entry and 50 MB limits.
When a video sitemap helps
A video sitemap tells Google which videos live on a page and supplies the metadata needed to show them in video results: the thumbnail, title, description, and the page a viewer can play the video from. It is the most reliable signal for getting self-hosted or embedded videos indexed, and it feeds the Video Indexing report in Search Console.
It is an extension of the standard XML sitemap covered in the sitemap guide, so the same file-level rules apply, including the 50,000 URL and 50 MB limits per file.
Build the XML
A video sitemap uses the <video> namespace. Each <video:video> block sits inside a normal <url> entry for the page that displays the video:
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/guides/wiring-a-lamp</loc>
<video:video>
<video:thumbnail_loc>https://example.com/img/lamp.jpg</video:thumbnail_loc>
<video:title>How to wire a lamp</video:title>
<video:description>Step by step rewiring of a desk lamp, 4 minutes.</video:description>
<video:content_loc>https://example.com/media/lamp.mp4</video:content_loc>
<video:duration>240</video:duration>
</video:video>
</url>Use an image or player URL that Google can fetch over HTTP(S) with no login wall or block, since the content_loc (direct video file) or player_loc (player page) must be reachable. thumbnail_loc must be at least roughly 60 by 30 pixels and publicly accessible, with something closer to 1280 by 720 recommended.
Required and useful fields
The tags Google needs are the URL (loc), the thumbnail, the title, and a description, plus at least one of content_loc or player_loc. Prefer a direct MP4 for content_loc over a streaming manifest.
| Tag | Purpose |
|---|---|
video:duration | Length in whole seconds (1 to 28,800) |
video:publication_date | The first publication date |
video:tag | Up to 32 short topic tags per video |
video:family_friendly | yes or no |
video:expiration_date | When the video should leave the index |
Escape the title and description into the XML and keep the whole file under the sitemap limits.
Submit and monitor
- Add the sitemap to your robots or submit it in Search Console under your existing sitemap entry, or via the sitemap submission guide if it is a separate file.
- Confirm it parses: open the file in a browser and check no unescaped characters break it.
- Watch the Video Indexing report in Search Console for indexed, not-indexed, and errors by video URL.
Update the sitemap whenever a video is added, removed, or changed, and split a large library across several files referenced by a sitemap index. A correct video sitemap is the fastest, most maintainable route to video results for self-hosted content.