Will the Google Search Control flagged issues with URL redirects and missing video thumbnails in Webflow affect my site's SEO rankings, and how can I resolve them?
TL;DR
- Fix redirect errors by correcting 301 redirect rules in Webflow’s Hosting Settings and avoiding redirect chains.
- Add structured VideoObject schema in the page’s custom code to enable video thumbnail indexing, then validate with Google’s Rich Results Test and request re-indexing in Google Search Console.
URL redirect errors and missing video thumbnails in Google Search Console can negatively impact your site’s SEO visibility and user experience if not addressed properly. Here's how they affect SEO and how to fix them in Webflow.
1. Understand the SEO Impact
- Redirect Errors: Incorrect or excessive redirects can slow down page loading, confuse search engines, and cause crawl failures—reducing the effectiveness of your site's indexing.
- Missing Video Thumbnails: When video thumbnails are not indexable or missing schema markup, it reduces visibility in video search results or rich snippets, impacting engagement and clickthrough rates.
2. Fix URL Redirect Issues
- Go to Webflow’s Project Settings > Hosting.
- Scroll down to the 301 Redirects section and check your redirect rules.
- Ensure the "Old Path" and "New Path" format is correct (start paths with a forward slash, e.g.,
/old-page→/new-page). - Use permanent redirects only if the destination won't change again.
- Avoid redirect chains (URL A → B → C) which can dilute link equity and create crawl inefficiencies.
3. Address Missing Video Thumbnails
- Ensure videos are embedded using supported formats. YouTube or Vimeo videos embedded via Webflow's video element or embed block can be indexed, but sometimes the thumbnail metadata isn’t parsed correctly.
- Add schema.org VideoObject markup in a custom embed block to define details like
"thumbnailUrl","name","description", and"uploadDate". - To add this:
- Go to the Page Settings of the relevant page.
- Scroll to the "Before