How to Fix “Video is not the main content of the page” Status in Google Search Console

If you've ever found yourself scratching your head over Google Search Console's (GSC) message stating, "Video is not the main content of the page," you're not alone. It's a puzzling situation that many of us in the digital content world have encountered. But don't worry; I've stumbled upon a fix that, though it might seem a bit odd at first, actually works wonders. Google has been tweaking its guidelines for video content, aiming to only index videos that truly are the main focus of a page. This has led to some confusion, especially when pages that seemingly prioritize video content are flagged otherwise by GSC. Here's the lowdown on a peculiar but effective solution I've discovered:

The Experiment

In an experiment involving two different pages with the same YouTube video embedded, outcomes varied. One page treated the video as its main attraction, while the other received the "Video is not the main content" label. The distinguishing factor? Simply including the word "video" in both the page title and URL seemed to do the trick. Diving deeper, I found that this pattern held up across multiple cases. Pages with "video" in both the title and URL consistently avoided the issue. It led to some interesting findings:

• Scenario 1: When "video" is present in both the title and URL, without any age restrictions, the content is flagged as the main content.
• Scenario 2: If "video" appears in the title but not in the URL, and there are no age restrictions, it's not recognized as the main content.
• Scenario 3: Even if "video" is in both the title and URL, introducing an age restriction changes the game, leading to the content not being considered as the main focus.

What This Means for You

The key takeaway here is that Google's indexing system might rely more on these simple cues than we thought. If your video content is getting sidelined, consider how you're labeling and structuring your pages.

Background Insights

But why does this matter? Google's intention is to index videos that are the central focus of a page. This policy aims to sideline videos that serve merely as supplements to text or list multiple videos without highlighting one as the primary subject. Examples include blog posts with supporting videos, product detail pages with added video content, or video category pages where no single video stands out.

Wrapping Up

This fix might seem simplistic, but it's grounded in Google's evolving guidelines for video content. The digital landscape is always changing, and sometimes, the solution to a perplexing problem is simpler than we might think. If you're facing this issue, try tweaking your page titles and URLs. Who knows? The solution could be just a word away. Remember, the digital world is full of surprises, and sometimes, the simplest changes make the biggest difference. Happy optimizing!