Vimeo members embedding videos on their site may see the message, “Google could not determine the prominent video on the page,” after analyzing a page with an embedded video using Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool or viewing the Video indexing report. When Google returns this message, it means they did not index the video, and it won’t be eligible to appear in search results.
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How to make embedded videos prominent
For embedded videos to be considered prominent, they must be the main content of a page. To make embedded videos the main content of the page, the following criteria must be met:
- Must appear above the fold (the initial view of the page) before scrolling down the page
- Must fill up at least a third of the page width
- The page title and description or transcript must be related to the video
Dedicated video playback page example from Google
Embedding videos as main and supplemental content
Vimeo members that embed videos as supplementary content on marketing or article pages should consider creating a dedicated video playback page. Each video playback page should include a link to the marketing or article page with the same video embedded. Doing so increases the likelihood that Google will index the video and may also result in Google linking to the marketing or article page instead of the video playback page in its search results.
Please note:
- Making an embedded video prominent does not guarantee Google will index the video.
- When adding or updating the placement of an embedded video on a page, it may take Google several weeks to discover and fully analyze the video.