Video link [video_link]

Elevate your listings with rich, dynamic product videos across Google and YouTube. Use the video link [video_link] attribute to provide more visuals for your product beyond your image attributes. Videos can show a product from different angles or demonstrate the product in use.

On this page

• When to use
• Format
• Minimum requirements
• Best practices
• Examples

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When to use

Optional for each product.

Drive customer interest and purchases with the video link [video_link] attribute. With the video link [video_link] attribute, you can share videos of real-world applications through immersive and engaging content.

Linked videos will appear in free listings, and can also be used in Google Ads campaigns. These video links can be used in ad creation to simplify ad setup. For example, use video link [video_link] videos in Demand Gen and ad campaigns for less manual entry.

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Format

Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure that Google understands the data that you're submitting. Learn when and how to submit your product data.

Formatting specifications
Technical name	video_link
Type	Video URL (Must start with "http://" or "https://"), ASCII characters only, and RFC 3986 compliant
Limits	Up to 2,000 characters
Supported file formats	.MPG, .MP4, .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, .FLV, .MPEG-1, .MPEGPS
Repeated field	Yes, up to 10
Schema.org property (What’s this?)	No

File format examples

To ensure your attribute is recognized correctly, use the formatting specific to your data source type.

Data source format	Examples
Text (TSV) data sources	https://example.com/video1 To submit more than one video, separate each URL with a comma ( , ): https://example.com/video1,https://example.com/video2 Make sure to encode any commas (as %2C) within the URL, but don’t encode the comma that you use to separate each image URL: https://www.example.com/image2%2C3.mp4,https://www.example.com/image2%2C4.mp4 Alternatively, you can enclose each individual URL with quotation marks (“”), and separate the URLs with commas, for example: “https://www.example.com/image2,3.mp4","https://www.example.com/image2,4.mp4” Note that content in the quoted values is treated as a single value. Learn more about Quoted attributes.
XML data sources	<g:video_link>https://example.com/video1</g:video_link>
Merchant API	To format your data for Merchant API, check the Merchant API for Shopping resource.

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Minimum requirements

These are the requirements your video will need to meet to be shown on Google. If you don't follow these requirements, we may not use your video.

• URL requisites:
  • All video links must use a video URL, starting with “http://” or “https://”. URL must be provided and can be either a YouTube URL or a URL from another video hosting site.
  • Replace any special characters in video URLs with their URL-encoded equivalents. For example, replace commas with %2C. Refer to a URL encoding reference for a complete list.
  • The URL must point to a video in a supported file format (.MPG, .MP4, .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, .FLV, .MPEG-1, .MPEGPS).
  • If you’re not using a YouTube URL, the URL must point directly to a raw video file. It should not be a link to a landing page that contains the video player.
• Length: Video length must be between 6 seconds and 240 seconds.
• File Size: The video file must be within the maximum file size of 500 MB.
• Aspect ratio: The aspect ratio of the video should be 9:16, 16:9, or 1:1.
• Resolution: Use videos with at least a resolution of 720p (1280x720).
• Ownership and Accessibility:
  • Merchants must own the content licensing rights for marketing purposes. No payment to creators will be made through Google. Any compensation must be handled between the brand and creator directly.
  • The video URL must be publicly accessible on the web. Googlebot must be able to access videos publicly without requiring logins or special permissions and with no restrictions in robots.txt. URL must be stable (not reused for different videos) and crawlable by Google.
• Content:
  • Video links should be static and shouldn’t expire.
  • Videos should not be blurry or out of focus.
• Sound is optional.

Shopping policy compliance

To ensure a safe and positive experience for customers, Google requires that all video assets comply with standard Shopping policies. All videos submitted with the video link [video_link] attribute must adhere to Google's advertising and content guidelines.

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Best practices

These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimize your product data for performance.

If you update the video content but keep the same URL, it can take significantly longer (up to 6 weeks) for the system to detect and recrawl the new video. During the recrawl period after submitting a new URL, the product will be listed as "Under Review" until the new URL is processed successfully. We will continue to serve the prior video during this period until the new URL is processed.

• Use videos that show the product in use. The video should feature your product (possibly together with multiple other related products) preferably with detailed product information.
• Submit links for the specific product or products being presented. Don’t submit videos that represent the whole company instead of the product itself.
• Videos should not have black bars on the top, bottom, or on the sides of the video.
• Submit high quality videos. Videos should have a coherent structure and message, as well as high production quality, including appropriate lighting, concise editing, and smooth camera movement.
• Change a video for an existing product: If you need to change a video of an existing product, it is best to submit a new, unique URL for the new video in your video link [video_link] attribute. This signals a change to Google and prompts a new crawl, typically within 3 days (24-72 hours). If you update the video content but keep the same URL, it can take significantly longer (up to 6 weeks) for the system to detect and recrawl the new video. During the recrawl period after submitting a new URL, the product will be listed as "Under Review" until the new URL is processed successfully. We will continue to serve the prior video during this period until the new URL is processed.

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Examples

Product with one video

Product with 2 videos