Video Schema Generator: Build VideoObject JSON-LD

Video schema, using the schema.org VideoObject type, tells search engines the key facts about a video on your page: its name, description, thumbnail, upload date and length. With it in place, your video becomes eligible to appear as a video rich result and in Google's video search. This video schema generator builds valid VideoObject JSON-LD from a short form, so you get correct markup without wrestling with the duration format by hand.

What VideoObject does for you

When Google reads valid VideoObject markup, it can index the video properly, show a thumbnail and duration in results, and surface it in the video tab and in some enhanced listings. That matters because a result with a video thumbnail draws the eye. The markup also gives Google the machine-readable facts it needs, rather than leaving it to guess from surrounding text, which makes correct indexing far more likely for videos hosted on your own pages.

The fields that are required

Google requires four fields for a VideoObject to be eligible: name, description, thumbnailUrl and uploadDate. This tool always outputs those when you fill them in. Duration is strongly recommended and must be in ISO 8601 format, which is where people slip up: eight minutes and thirty seconds is written PT8M30S, not 8:30. The tool converts your minutes and seconds into that format automatically. You should also give a way to reach the video, either a contentUrl pointing at the video file or an embedUrl pointing at the player page, so Google can access it.

Tips and validation

Keep the thumbnail a real, public image at a decent resolution, because that is what appears in results. Use an accurate upload date in ISO format, for example 2026-07-05. After you generate the markup, paste the page URL into Google's Rich Results Test to confirm the video is recognised and the required fields are all present. For sites with a video library, adding VideoObject markup to each page, keeping thumbnails and durations accurate, and submitting a video sitemap is the kind of methodical work that technical SEO covers when you want your videos found in search.