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create a manual video sitemap on blogspot for better indexing

What Is a Video Sitemap and Why Should You Care?

A video sitemap tells Google that your blog includes video content, where it's located, what it’s about, and how it should be indexed. Without it, your videos might never show up in Google Search — even if your blog post is live.

While Blogspot doesn’t let you upload custom XML sitemaps like WordPress, you can still create a manual video sitemap by using Google's tools and smart linking. Let’s walk through it!

Step 1: Make Sure Your Blog Post Has a YouTube Embed

This is the foundation. Before creating a video sitemap, your blog post must have an embedded YouTube video — not just a link. Use the standard embed iframe from YouTube and include a proper description and title above or below the video.

Example:

<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yourVideoID" title="My Tutorial Video"></iframe>

Step 2: Gather Key Information for the Video

You’ll need the following details for your video:

  • Post URL: The exact Blogspot page where the video is embedded
  • Thumbnail URL: Use https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yourVideoID/hqdefault.jpg
  • Title and Description: Match your YouTube video title and summary
  • Duration: In ISO format like PT3M15S
  • Upload Date: Format: 2024-10-05

Step 3: Write the VideoObject Schema in a Script

Paste this script inside your Blogspot post using the HTML editor, ideally just above the closing </body> tag (if using custom templates), or near your video embed in standard posts:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "Your Video Title",
  "description": "Brief but keyword-rich description of your video.",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yourVideoID/hqdefault.jpg",
  "uploadDate": "2024-10-05",
  "duration": "PT3M15S",
  "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yourVideoID",
  "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/yourVideoID"
}
</script>

Step 4: Ping Google Manually to Crawl the Page

Now that the structured data is in place, tell Google to recheck your page:

  • Go to Google Search Console
  • Enter your Blogspot URL into the URL Inspection tool
  • Click Request Indexing

This tells Google you’ve added structured data and a video, and asks it to prioritize crawling.

Step 5: Submit Your Blog’s Main Sitemap

Even if you can’t submit a separate video sitemap, make sure your main sitemap is active in Search Console. For Blogspot, it usually looks like:

https://yourblog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml

Add it under “Sitemaps” in Google Search Console to help Google discover new posts faster.

Bonus Tip: Create a Dedicated “Videos” Label

Add a label like videos to all blog posts that contain YouTube embeds. Then, share the URL like this:

https://yourblog.blogspot.com/search/label/videos

Google treats this label page like a mini sitemap for video content. Linking to it in your blog’s menu or sidebar can increase crawl frequency.

Conclusion: Simple Yet Effective for Beginners

You don’t need coding skills or fancy tools to help Google discover your videos on Blogspot. By manually structuring your data, embedding videos the right way, and using Google Search Console, you give your content the best chance to appear in search results.

Even beginners can play the SEO game — and win — with the right steps.

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