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Google search now supports live streams with Indexing API, structured data

Do you live stream video content? Here is a new way to get more exposure for that content in Google Search and Google Assistant.

Barry Schwartz on December 5, 2018 at 2:52 pm

Google announced it now supports better discovery of livestreams in Google Search and Google Assistant. These live streams can show up in the search results in a carousel and have a live label like the older live blog posts feature Google had back in 2015.

Livestream structured data. To have your livestreams show up in the Google search results, you need to mark them up with the new Livestream structured data. The livestream feature adds a live badge to video thumbnails in search results. This structured data will tell Google when the video is live or when the stream begins.

What type of content is this for? Here are examples Google has given for what type of content to live stream: Sporting events, awards shows, influencer videos and video games.

Indexing API. Since live streams are “live” and thus real-time, Google needs a way for you to communicate when the livestream is live. To expedite indexing of this content, Google has opened up its Indexing API for this type of content. Google said using this API will “ensure that Google crawls your livestream quickly.” You can learn more about how that works for live stream content over here.

The Indexing API is also used for job posting URLs.

Why it matters. If you publish livestreams, be it sporting events, award shows, video games or other events — you will want to look into this new structured data and Indexing API to get your videos more exposure in Google Search and the Google Assistant.

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on SEM topics.