Issue 180

This issue checks whether a website has a dedicated video sitemap that helps search engines discover and index video content, enabling video rich results in Google Search.

A passing implementation means:

• A video sitemap exists at a standard location (e.g., /video-sitemap.xml or /sitemap-video.xml)
• The sitemap is properly formatted with <video:video> entries following the Video Sitemap schema
• Videos are listed with required metadata (URL, thumbnail, title, description)
• The video sitemap is referenced in the main sitemap or robots.txt

Example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:video="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-video/1.1">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/videos/tutorial</loc>
    <video:video>
      <video:thumbnail_loc>https://example.com/thumbs/tutorial.jpg</video:thumbnail_loc>
      <video:title>SEO Tutorial for Beginners</video:title>
      <video:description>Learn SEO basics in this comprehensive guide</video:description>
      <video:content_loc>https://example.com/videos/tutorial.mp4</video:content_loc>
      <video:duration>600</video:duration>
    </video:video>
  </url>
</urlset>

Video Discovery: Search engines may not discover videos that are loaded via JavaScript, embedded from third-party platforms, or located deep in the site structure. A video sitemap ensures all videos are found.

Video Rich Results: Properly indexed videos can appear in Google Video search and may be eligible for video rich results in regular search results with video thumbnails and duration.

SEO Traffic: Videos can drive significant traffic through Google Video search and enhance regular search results with visual appeal.

Metadata Context: The video sitemap provides important metadata (duration, thumbnail, title, description) that helps search engines understand and rank video content.

SEO Health Score: Having a video sitemap improves the technical SEO score by demonstrating comprehensive video content optimization.

1. Create a video sitemap - Generate an XML sitemap specifically for videos following the Video Sitemap schema.

2. Include required metadata - For each video, include:

   • <video:content_loc> or <video:player_loc> (required)
   • <video:thumbnail_loc> (required)
   • <video:title> (required)
   • <video:description> (required)
   • <video:duration> (recommended, in seconds)

3. Add optional metadata - Consider including:

   • <video:publication_date>
   • <video:tag>
   • <video:category>
   • <video:family_friendly>

4. Submit the sitemap - Add the video sitemap URL to:

   • Google Search Console
   • Your main sitemap index file (if using one)
   • The Sitemap: directive in robots.txt

5. Keep it updated - Ensure the sitemap is regenerated when new videos are added or old ones removed.

6. Validate the format - Use Google Search Console's sitemap testing tool to verify the sitemap is properly formatted.

Example 1: Basic Video Sitemap

Problematic State (Fails): No video sitemap exists. Videos are only discoverable through crawling HTML pages.

Corrected State (Passes): Create a video sitemap at /video-sitemap.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:video="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-video/1.1">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/videos/tutorial</loc>
    <video:video>
      <video:thumbnail_loc>https://example.com/thumbs/tutorial.jpg</video:thumbnail_loc>
      <video:title>SEO Tutorial for Beginners</video:title>
      <video:description>Learn SEO basics</video:description>
      <video:content_loc>https://example.com/videos/tutorial.mp4</video:content_loc>
      <video:duration>600</video:duration>
    </video:video>
  </url>
</urlset>

Example 2: Missing Sitemap Declaration

Problematic State (Fails): A video sitemap exists at /video-sitemap.xml but is not declared in robots.txt.

Corrected State (Passes): Add the sitemap to robots.txt:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /admin/

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml
Sitemap: https://example.com/video-sitemap.xml

Example 3: Videos Not Discoverable via HTML

Problematic State (Fails): Videos are loaded via JavaScript and not present in the initial HTML:

<div id="video-player"></div>
<script>
  // Video loaded dynamically via JavaScript
</script>

Corrected State (Passes): Create a video sitemap to ensure these videos are discovered:

<url>
  <loc>https://example.com/videos/tutorial</loc>
  <video:video>
    <video:content_loc>https://example.com/videos/tutorial.mp4</video:content_loc>
    <video:thumbnail_loc>https://example.com/thumbs/tutorial.jpg</video:thumbnail_loc>
  </video:video>
</url>

PixyScan performs the following checks:

1. Looks for video sitemap files - The crawler searches for common video sitemap filenames (e.g., video-sitemap.xml, sitemap-video.xml, videos-sitemap.xml).

2. Checks sitemap index references - PixyScan examines the main sitemap index file to see if it references a video sitemap.

3. Validates robots.txt - The system checks if the Sitemap: directive in robots.txt includes a video sitemap URL.

4. Parses sitemap content - If a video sitemap is found, PixyScan validates that it:

   • Is properly formatted XML
   • Contains valid <video:video> entries
   • Has required metadata fields
   • References accessible video files

5. Issue Identification: PixyScan raises issues when:

   • No video sitemap is discovered (SUGGESTION)
   • The video sitemap is not declared in robots.txt (SUGGESTION)
   • Video URLs in the sitemap return errors (WARNING)
   • The sitemap format is invalid (CRITICAL)