Is Google Indexing URLs with Embedded

YouTube Videos?

Just a short time ago, something happened that many people thought might never happen.Google is now

indexing URLs with embedded YouTube videos. With Google now Indexing URLs

with Embedded YouTube Videos, this represents a fundamental shift from

their previous practices of not indexing such embedded videos in any capacity.

This practice is a bit surprising, and after some considerable testing by

ReelSEO.com to see if it was real or just a fluke, the results show that YouTube videos are indeed getting indexed by

Google. The question many people have is what are the benefits to having these

embedded videos indexed.

One of the biggest benefits about embedded YouTube videos being

indexed by the social media giant is that it doesn’t have to be your own

personally owned video.

What Google Indexing URLs with Embedded YouTube Videos Means to You

This is important because there was talk that Google was considering enabling the index function for YouTube videos, but the only stipulation was that these

videos had to be property of the website on which they resided. There was some discussion about trying to

authenticate ownership of the YouTube video in order for it to be indexed.

All that discussion, however, is water under the bridge now that Google is

permitting any YouTube videos, whether proprietary or not, on a website to be

indexed.

In the past, in order for a YouTube video to be recognized by Google, developers

had to be somewhat creative when it came to indexing embedded videos.

One very popular method was to create sitemaps for YouTube and other video

platforms.

This offered Google information about the embedded video in order for Google to recognize it. Again, you will no longer have to create video site maps in order to end round Google’s refusal to index

embedded YouTube videos on a website. Now Google now does this

automatically.

It is important to remember, however, that while Google is now

indexing YouTube videos, the same rule doesn’t apply to other video platforms.

In these cases, such as an embedded video using the Vimeo platform,

sitemaps will still need to be developed to index those embedded videos.

Another excellent benefit to the recent trend in Google indexing YouTube

videos is its ramifications on search engine optimization. This is yet another

appendage that qualified SEO professionals can use in a more

comprehensive and effective search engine optimization strategy.

Since videos can now be crawled and indexed, this allows search engine

optimization strategies to take on a new and potentially effective method of

driving more traffic to a site based on the recognition of its embedded

YouTube videos.

Now, when you’re talking about Google indexing your embedded YouTube

videos, one thing you need to understand is that this can happen in a

very short amount of time. In some cases, it will depend upon your website

and how often web spiders collect information from your site.

In some cases, a XML or a non-video site may help increase the speed at which videos are indexed. Regardless, expect

the indexing of videos to be fairly quick.

Another interesting aspects of Google indexing embedded YouTube videos is

that when it comes to results, the same thumbnail photographs that are chosen

from the YouTube video is what is displayed when the video is indexed.

This may seem relatively insignificant, but it’s a way of identifying videos or

helping a web searcher to find the right related video.

Whether you’re tired of creating site maps to get videos noticed by Google,

or you’re looking for a new way to expand your search engine optimization strategies, having YouTube videos finally

indexed by Google makes things a bit more convenient and opens up new

possibilities.

You can drive more traffic to your site as well as offer people searching for a

particular website a new avenue to find what they’re looking for.