Video search engine optimization has been a hot topic since the launch of Google Universal Search. A Google Groups thread I have been tracking for some time, gives us some insight into how to improve the visibility of your videos in Google search.

If you take a look at the Google Video Sitemap specification, you will notice that a <video:content_loc> tag is optional, not required, for Google to index and list your video. But that isn’t always the case, based on this Google Groups thread.

One video producer couldn’t figure out why his video content wasn’t being indexed, After some time, JohnMu posted the following answer:

So, it is optional in some situations but in this situation it is necessary. I am not sure why this situation it is a requirement. If it is ever a requirement, it should tell you in which cases it would be required but it doesn’t. To be fair, Google does say:

But for this video producer, it really doesn’t help much because his videos are pay-per-view. Maybe there is a work around, John is looking into a solution for this video producer. I am thinking, a First-Click-Free solution for Video Content?

Forum discussion at Google Groups.