Why does duration need to be written like PT1M33S instead of '1:33'?

duration uses the ISO 8601 duration format schema.org requires: PT1M33S means 1 minute 33 seconds, PT2H means 2 hours. Timestamp notation like 1:33 isn't a valid schema.org duration value and will be ignored by strict parsers, even though it's the format video players themselves usually show.

Do I need both contentUrl and embedUrl?

No, one is enough, and this generator requires at least one of them since Google's video indexing guidelines need a way to actually locate the video file or player. contentUrl points directly at the raw video file (only use this if the file is publicly accessible without authentication), while embedUrl points at a page or iframe URL that plays it, which is the more common choice for videos hosted on YouTube, Vimeo, or a similar platform.

Why are name, description, thumbnailUrl, and uploadDate all required here when schema.org marks them optional?

schema.org's own spec doesn't strictly require them, but Google's video structured data guidelines treat all four as required for video rich results and video indexing eligibility, so this generator enforces them to help produce markup that actually qualifies rather than technically-valid-but-useless output.

Is thumbnailUrl really an array?

Yes, Google's own VideoObject examples show thumbnailUrl as an array of one or more image URLs, the same convention used for image on Article and Product schema, even when you only have a single thumbnail. This generator wraps whatever single URL you enter in that array form automatically.

Video Schema Generator - VideoObject JSON-LD for Video SEO

Overview

Introduction

VideoObject schema is what makes a page's embedded video eligible for video rich results, video previews in search, and inclusion in Google's video index in the first place - without it, a page hosting a video is just a page with a <video> tag as far as a crawler is concerned.

This generator collects the handful of fields Google's video guidelines actually check (name, description, thumbnail, upload date, duration, and a way to locate the video) and outputs a complete, correctly-shaped JSON-LD block ready to paste into a page's <head>.

What Is Video Schema Generator?

A form-driven generator for VideoObject JSON-LD, covering the fields Google's video structured data guidelines treat as required (name, description, thumbnailUrl, uploadDate) plus duration and a contentUrl or embedUrl to locate the video itself.

thumbnailUrl is built as an array (matching Google's own documented examples) and an optional publisher is nested as an Organization with a logo, the same shape used across this category's other generators.

How Video Schema Generator Works

Name, description, and uploadDate map directly to their VideoObject properties; the thumbnail URL is wrapped in a single-item array to match the array shape Google's documentation uses.

duration is typed directly as an ISO 8601 duration (e.g. PT1M33S); contentUrl and embedUrl are both optional individually but the generator requires at least one, since that's how a crawler actually locates the video.

When To Use Video Schema Generator

Publishing a page with an embedded YouTube, Vimeo, or self-hosted video and wanting it eligible for Google's video rich results.

Retrofitting VideoObject schema onto an existing video library or course-platform page template.

Often used alongside Structured Data Validator, Article Schema Generator and Event Schema Generator.

Features

Advantages

Enforces the fields Google's video guidelines actually require, catching missing thumbnail or upload-date fields before they ship as invalid markup.
Wraps thumbnailUrl in the array form Google's own documentation uses, rather than leaving it as an easy-to-get-wrong bare string.
Nests an optional publisher as a proper Organization with a logo, matching the shape used across this category's other generators.

Limitations

Doesn't verify that contentUrl or embedUrl actually resolves to a working video, or that the thumbnail image meets Google's minimum size guidance.
Covers a single video per generated block; a page with a video gallery needs one VideoObject generated per video.
Doesn't expose interactionStatistic (view count) or clip/key-moment markup, which are more advanced VideoObject properties beyond this generator's core field set.

Examples

A YouTube-embedded product demo

Input

Name: DevToolbox Quick Tour
Description: A two-minute walkthrough of the tool catalog's search and categories.
Thumbnail: https://example.com/video-thumb.jpg
Upload date: 2026-07-15
Duration: PT2M4S
Embed URL: https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ

Output

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "DevToolbox Quick Tour",
  "description": "A two-minute walkthrough of the tool catalog's search and categories.",
  "thumbnailUrl": [
    "https://example.com/video-thumb.jpg"
  ],
  "uploadDate": "2026-07-15",
  "duration": "PT2M4S",
  "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ"
}
</script>

thumbnailUrl is wrapped as an array and duration is expressed as an ISO 8601 duration, matching Google's documented VideoObject format.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Use a thumbnail that matches the video's actual first-frame or a representative still, since a misleading thumbnail can violate Google's structured data content policies.
Keep uploadDate accurate to when the video was first published, not when the schema was added to the page.
Prefer embedUrl for platform-hosted video (YouTube, Vimeo) and reserve contentUrl for a directly-accessible video file URL.
Write description as a genuine summary of the video's content, long enough to be useful, rather than a copy of the page's meta description.

Developer Notes

duration is stored and emitted as a raw ISO 8601 string (PT#H#M#S) rather than parsed into a structured time value, matching the literal wire format schema.org expects; the generator requires at least one of contentUrl/embedUrl because a VideoObject with neither, while technically parseable JSON-LD, gives crawlers no way to actually locate the video and won't qualify for video indexing.

Video Schema Generator Use Cases

Adding VideoObject schema to a product demo, tutorial, or course lesson page
Marking up an embedded YouTube or Vimeo video so it's eligible for Google's video rich results
Retrofitting structured data onto an existing video content library, one video template at a time

Common Mistakes

Writing duration in clock format like '1:33' instead of the required ISO 8601 format (PT1M33S).
Leaving both contentUrl and embedUrl blank, which produces markup a crawler has no way to use for video indexing.

Tips

Run the generated output through the Structured Data Validator tool in this category to confirm the required fields are present before shipping.
If the video is hosted on YouTube, use the /embed/ form of the URL for embedUrl rather than the regular watch page URL.

Video Schema Generator