Google is working on ways to show more short videos in search results, saying it’s a clear and concise format to satisfy certain queries.
This was stated in the latest episode of the Search Off The Record podcast by Google product manager Danielle Marshak, who oversees videos in search results.
Marshak is joined by Gary Illyes and Lizzi Sassman, both of the Google Search Relations team, for an episode focused on videos in Google Search.
At about the 17-minute mark, the discussion delves into the topic of short videos and whether Google has plans to include this specific format.
In addition to learning that Google wants to show more short videos in search results, we discovered that there is interest among the search relations team in having their videos recorded.
More short videos in Google?
For the purpose of this discussion, Marshak defines a “short” video as being less than five minutes in length recorded in a vertical aspect ratio.
She says this format has the potential to deliver an abundance of information in a short time.
Given how useful short videos can be to searchers, Google is thinking about how to display them more in search results.
Marshak States:
“And that format, it’s really cool because as you mentioned, it’s very concise. You can get a lot of information in a short amount of time, and you can also get a whole lot of different opinions and viewpoints…
So we think this type of content can be useful for many different types of queries, and we’re experimenting with how to show it to users more often.”
What types of short videos can Google Surface use?
Marshak Some examples of short informational videos that Google may display in search results are requested.
She gave an example video showing how the recipe works:
Let’s say, again, you’re looking for some new ideas for making banana bread. Right now, you might be watching traditional recipes, you might be watching longer videos, but you might also be watching short videos, which can give you a different style or perspective.
And people’s preferences are different. Some people may prefer reading; Some people may prefer a longer video; Some people may prefer short videos.
And so we want to offer a lot of different options for getting that kind of information, in the format that’s most useful to you. That’s one example.”
Ellis adds to the discussion, saying he enjoys the short videos and might consider making some to educate people about Google search.
Ellis States:
“Yeah, I really like short videos and I see a lot of educational videos on certain sites. And I really think that at some point, we might want to try it for educational purposes. Like research and conversations.
I don’t know if we’re there yet, but eventually, especially if you see that search engines pick up on it, and they can present it in some way, maybe we should push for it.”
How will the short-form Google Surface video be?
Google may display short videos by crawling and indexing them like any other piece of content.
This is already being done with short, self-hosted videos like Google Web Stories, and Illyes suggests it might be possible with other videos, too.
Since TikTok videos have a URL that you can visit in a web browser, Google may be able to index them in search, Ellis Says:
You can actually open it on your laptop and you’ll end up on a webpage and you can actually watch it on the webpage. You don’t have to have the TikTok app to watch the video.
So I imagine if they allow crawling – I haven’t checked, we can probably index those videos too.”
This means that short videos on platforms like Snapchat and Google’s Instagram cannot be indexed because they require an app to view them.
Listen to the podcast below for a full discussion of videos in Google Search. Or go to the 17-minute mark for a discussion about the short videos.
Featured image: Mark gusev/Shutterstock
