How do I improve my site's position in video search results?

Video search offers video hosting sites, mass media, and private internet projects the chance to index their video materials posted openly on the internet. Indexed videos become available to Yandex search. The search results pages contain video previews, names, and text descriptions.

To make your videos appear in the search results:

1. Support the player requirements

For the player to be displayed in the search results and display all transmitted data without errors (including things like ad scripts and styles), make sure it supports HTTPS.

To display ads in the player, don't use hidden click areas, banners that interfere with watching videos, or other types of intrusive ads. Make sure that you follow the ad requirements.

To learn more about setting up the player display in video search results, go to Player requirements.

2. Use markup for your videos and player

  • Transmit as much data about videos as possible

    The more details you provide in the descriptions, the easier it is for users to find your videos. Use additional attributes so that your video content is shown in the search results interface in the most informative way. A complete description makes it more likely that your video will be shown in the search results for a wider class of queries. It also helps the search to respond more accurately to user queries.

    Video search supports several markup standards. We recommend that you combine the possible methods to allow the Yandex robot to crawl your site pages more often, quickly index up-to-date information, and process large amounts of changing data.

    To learn more about video indexing settings, see Data transmission methods.

  • Transmit data to build the player

    If the player is built correctly in video search, videos can be played without additional clicks and click-throughs, which makes it more convenient for users. Information about user viewing behavior is used to determine how relevant the video is to the search query.

    To be part of the mobile search, you must transmit information about the correctHTML5 player building method on the video search results pages. That way you can retain your viewers and improve your site's ranking in mobile search results.

    To learn more about transferring data for building the video player, see Player requirements.

3. Post a user agreement on your site

Starting January 2022, Yandex video search shows site players using embed (iframe) technology (without opening the source site) if one of the following conditions is met:

  1. The site owner confirmed that the site's user agreement allows showing its player to third-party sites using embed (iframe) technology.
  2. The site owner and Yandex signed a cooperation agreement about the use of information.

We recommend signing this agreement (or adding the relevant clauses to the user agreement). In that case, your site player is displayed directly on the Yandex search results page and videos are played without going to your site, which helps the user get what they need more quickly. This will rank your site higher and make it appear at the top of search results more often.

Videos from sites with no agreement signed are also included in the search, but are not played on the search results page: to watch them, the user has to go to the source site. For most users, this is less convenient than watching a video on the search results page, so these sites are ranked lower and may be missing from the search results altogether.

Attention.

If your site only uses video embedded from other sites, you don't need to sign a cooperation agreement with Yandex about the use of information or send a link to your user agreement. The player from these sites isn't shown in the search results.

You can include provisions that allow third parties to display your site player on third-party resources using embed (iframe) technology in your user agreement.
Content requirements and sample text

The text of the user agreement (or EULA) must include the consent of users who upload video materials to the Service's site with the following terms:

  • The right of a third party to show the user's content on their sites using embed (iframe) technology through the player of the Service.
  • The right of the third party displaying the user's content on their sites using embed (iframe) technology through the player of the Service to create temporary technical copies of the user's content.
  • The right of the third party displaying the user's content on their sites through the player of the Service with the help of embed (iframe) technology to create, by automatic means, previews of the user's content.
  • The obligation of a user to upload to the Service and make publicly available only the content for which the user is the author or copyright holder.
Example
Transferable rights to third parties

By posting your video content through the use of our services, you grant us and each user of the Service a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to access and use your Content to the extent permitted by the functionality of the Service, including displaying it on third-party websites through the Service's player and embed (iframe) technology, and you authorize the creation of temporary technical copies of content and video previews of such content by such third-party websites if needed.

If such provisions are present in your user agreement, you don't need to sign another agreement with Yandex. But Yandex reserves the right to make signing an agreement a prerequisite for displaying content using embed (iframe) technology for the following site categories:

  • Large sites (by the share of impressions in video search results).

  • Sites with a lot of user-generated content (UGC).

  • Sites with a lot of licensed content.

  • Sites that copyright holders have filed a complaint against.

For us to make sure that you have indeed made these provisions, paste the URL of your user agreement in the form below.