XMP Metadata in transcodes

We do not maintain metadata from video files. We have seen for example that chapter information breaks streaming from Flash Media Server, so we strip all metadata from video files and do not import metadata from the video files into the the video metadata either.

So the title, description, tags, etc that are entered in on the BOTR dashboard under Audio/Video properties are not used?

They are used as metadata for e.g. players, playlists, syndication etc. They are not encoded into the video files though.

Okay, I am obviously a noob on this.

I was wondering for video SEO purposes.

All the lists of things to do at reelseo.com say use appropriate metadata. I enter it in the dashboard, does google see it?

Thanks.

We have a script to generate a Google Video Sitemap, which allows you to actually push the correct metadata to Google. Please see this article:

http://www.longtailvideo.com/support/bits-on-the-run/15974/submit-your-videos-to-google

Thanks, now I understand that all this metadata isn't in the video file itself but in a sitemap file that I must generate.

A suggestion: In Audio/Video properties General tab make a note that this information will also be used in their video sitemap which the user must generate manually, and that the information will not be encoded into the file itself. I am sure this is obvious to experts and it is included in your submit-your-videos-to-google page but it would help novices understand the process.

I notice that your sitemap generator doesn't include some optional tags such as <video:category>. I plan to generate the sitemap, edit the optional tags and upload it as a static XML file. Any problem with this other than it won't update when I upload new content?

Just a note that at the end of the submit-your-videos page:

"To see if your videos are actually getting indexed by Google, you can do a video search for only your website, by inserting site:www.yoursite.com in the Google search box (example). "

clicking on the example shows that the videos in your sample sitemap aren't being indexed and this may confuse people who think that having a sitemap automatically means their videos will be indexed and they will show up in search results. From http://www.google.com/webmasters/videositemaps/howsitemapshelp.html:

"Google will use your Video Sitemap to crawl your website and identify your videos. We may then add them to our index, so that they appear in search results. While a Video Sitemap helps Google find content on your site that we might not otherwise discover, we don't guarantee that all videos included in a Sitemap will appear in our search results. "

Thanks again for your support, I hope these suggestions aren't taken as insults.

I notice that your sitemap generator doesn't include some optional tags such as <video:category>. I plan to generate the sitemap, edit the optional tags and upload it as a static XML file. Any problem with this other than it won't update when I upload new content?

That would be correct.

As for your other suggestions: while strictly speaking what you say is correct, all those explanations would largely result in clutter and our experience is that how more text you put in, the less people will actually read, so it is better to keep it sparse and answer questions that may arise than to write a lot more copy that most users will overlook.