There was a surge in complaints from web site house owners and publishers who’re seeing the “Video shouldn’t be the principle content material of the web page” error within the video indexing part of Google Search Console. This could come as no shock to lots of you who learn right here, as Google informed us this will happen with the brand new expanded video pointers that launched final week.
However the Google boards are plagued by complaints round this Video shouldn’t be the principle content material of the web page error.
Here’s what the error appears like for a lot of, together with this web site:
As a reminder, Google requires that the video be the principle or major content material on the web page for it to point out your video in video mode, not simply as video thumbnails within the search outcomes because it did again in April.
Google wrote, “The video shouldn’t be the principle content material or major focus for this web page; solely movies which are the principle content material of the web page are eligible for indexing. Listed below are some examples of web page varieties the place the video is supplementary to the textual content material, and never the first focus of the web page:”
- A weblog publish the place the video is complementary to the textual content moderately than the first content material of the web page
- A product particulars web page with a complementary video
- A video class web page that lists a number of movies of equal prominence
Google additionally added this word to the knowledge anomalies web page, saying, “November 30: Google Search is now solely displaying pages in Video mode the place the video is the principle content material of the web page. You may count on to see a lower within the variety of pages with listed movies. This lower will seem within the variety of video impressions within the efficiency report, video indexing report, and the video wealthy outcomes report in Search Console. Learn extra in our weblog publish.”
Should you browse the Google Webmaster Assist Boards you will notice numerous complaints and threads about this error.
I received them too as a result of the vidoes right here, although I moved them up the web page to the primary a part of the video touchdown web page, they’re nonetheless not thought-about a part of the principle content material. It’s high quality, I additionally host them on YouTube, so I do not actually care nevertheless it is a matter for a lot of publishers.
Actually, that is the efficiency report for this web site filtered by video – take a look at how a lot of an affect it had on this web site:
Listed below are extra charts displaying even bigger drop-offs after this modification, some are fairly scary to take a look at:
Listed below are 4 totally different websites the place clicks dropped off a cliff for video search (or what Google is now calling “video mode”). It is a large distinction from simply eradicating video thumbnails. It is a rating change, so these are misplaced clicks for the location. Now, you could possibly all the time create… pic.twitter.com/iMqtaJzI8c
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) December 12, 2023
Discussion board dialogue at Google Webmaster Assist Boards.
