Google is working on ways to show more short videos in search results, saying it’s a clear and concise format that satisfies certain queries.
Google product manager Danielle Marshak illustrated this on the latest Search Off The Record podcast episode, where he oversees videos in search results.
Gary Illyes and Lizzi Sassman from the Google Search Relationships team join Marshak in an episode that focuses on video in Google Search.
At about 17 minutes, the discussion delved into the topic of short videos and whether Google has plans to involve this particular format.
In addition to learning that Google wants to show more short videos in search results, we also found that the Search Relations team was interested in recording their own videos.
More short videos in Google?
For the purposes of this discussion, Marshak defines a “short” video as less than five minutes in length and recorded in a vertical aspect ratio.
She said the format was able to convey a lot of information in a short amount of time.
Since short videos can be very useful to searchers, Google is considering how to show them more in search results.
Marshak condition:
“And the format is really cool because, as I mentioned, it’s very concise. You can get a lot of information in a short amount of time, and you can get a lot of different perspectives and perspectives…
So we think this type of content could be useful for many different types of search queries, and we’ve been experimenting with how to show it to users more often. “
What types of short videos does Google show?
Marshak Asked to provide some examples of informative short videos that Google might appear in search results.
She gave an example of a video showing how to make a recipe:
“So let’s say it again, you’re looking for some new ideas to make banana bread. And now, you might see traditional recipes, you might see longer videos, but you can also see short videos, This might give you a different style or perspective.
And people have different preferences. Some may prefer reading; some may prefer longer videos; some may prefer short videos.
Therefore, we want to provide many different options for obtaining this information in the format that is most useful to you. This is an example. “
Illyes added in the discussion that he likes short videos and might consider making some to educate people about Google Search.
Ellis condition:
“Yes, I really like short videos, I see a lot of instructional videos on certain sites. And I really think, at some point, we might want to try it for educational purposes. Love the research, the talk.
I don’t know if we’re still there, but ultimately, especially if I see search engines picking it up and they can present it in some way, then maybe we should push it. “
How will Google handle short-form videos?
Google displays them by crawling and indexing short videos like any other content.
This is already done with self-hosted short videos like Google Web Stories, and Illyes suggests other videos could do the same.
Since TikTok videos have a URL you can access in a web browser, Google may be able to index them in search, Ellis Say:
“You can actually open it on your laptop and you end up on a web page where you can actually watch it. You don’t have to have the TikTok app to watch the video.
So I figured if they allowed crawling – I haven’t checked, then we might be able to index those videos as well. “
This means that short videos on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram cannot be indexed in Google because they require an app to view.
Listen to the podcast below for a full discussion of video in Google Search. Or skip to the 17 minute mark for a short video discussion.
Featured image: Mark gusev/Shutterstock
