How-To

How to Add Links to a YouTube Description

Updated 10 min read
Illustration of a grey widescreen video frame above blank description lines, with an emerald link chain attached to one line, with the title 'How to Add Links to a YouTube Description'

Adding the link is easy: paste the URL into the video’s description and save. Getting viewers to click it is the catch. URLs in long-form descriptions are clickable only once your channel has YouTube’s advanced features, and a URL typed into a Shorts description never is. Checked against YouTube Help: Learn about feature access for YouTube Creators Checked against YouTube Help: Sharing links with your audiences

Below: how to add links to a YouTube description on a computer or phone, how to make them clickable, and what a Short gets instead. Links are one task in our YouTube channel plan.

Table of Contents

Edit the video’s details, paste each URL into the description and save. You can write the description while uploading or change it later; these are YouTube’s steps for a video that’s already up:

On a computer: YouTube Studio:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Content.
  3. Click a video's title or thumbnail.
  4. Set the video's settings and select Save.

On any device: YouTube Studio app (Android and iPhone/iPad variants identical):

  1. Open the YouTube Studio app.
  2. From the bottom Menu, tap Content.
  3. Select the video you want to edit.
  4. Tap Edit.
  5. Edit the video settings and tap SAVE.

On any device: YouTube app (Android and iPhone/iPad variants identical):

  1. Open the YouTube app.
  2. Tap your profile picture.
  3. At the bottom, tap Your videos.
  4. Next to the video that you'd like to edit, tap More > Edit.
  5. Make changes to your settings and Save.

Checked against YouTube Help: Edit video settings.

A description holds about 5,000 characters. YouTube Help gives the limit in characters, while YouTube’s API counts 5,000 bytes, and accented letters and most emoji take more than one byte each. Checked against YouTube Help: Upload YouTube videos (Computer)

Two habits help: write a short label before each URL so people know where it leads, and put the link that matters most near the top. To start from a template, our free YouTube description generator lays out the opening lines, chapters, links and hashtags with a character count.

Because clickable links in long-form descriptions are one of YouTube’s advanced features. Until your channel has advanced access, a URL you paste won’t be clickable. Checked against YouTube Help: Learn about feature access for YouTube Creators Check where you stand:

On a computer:

  1. On a computer, sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Click Channel.
  4. Click Feature eligibility.

Checked against YouTube Help: Learn about feature access for YouTube Creators.

Features you have show “Enabled”. Advanced access takes phone verification plus either enough channel history or an ID or video check; the ID or video check isn’t available to every creator, and only the primary owner can do it. YouTube says most active channels already have enough channel history. Checked against YouTube Help: Get access to intermediate and advanced features The full route is in our guide to verifying your YouTube account.

On a Short, no setting fixes it; see the next two sections.

Long-form descriptions and comments, channel profile links and end screens are on YouTube’s clickable list; Shorts descriptions and Shorts comments aren’t. YouTube says it made Shorts URLs non-clickable “to reduce spam and scam attempts.”

Where the link appearsClickable?
URL in a long-form video descriptionYes, with advanced features
URL in a comment on a long-form videoYes, with advanced features
Channel profile linksYes
End screensYes
Related video link on a ShortYes, to your own content
Link to a brand’s site on a brand deal ShortYes
YouTube Shopping affiliate linksYes
URL in live chatOn horizontal live streams, not the app’s vertical live feed
URL typed into a Shorts descriptionNo
URL in a Shorts commentNo

Mentions and hashtags in Shorts descriptions and comments still work as links.

Checked against YouTube Help: Sharing links with your audiences.

Use the Related video field: it puts a clickable link to one of your own public or unlisted videos, Shorts or live streams below your channel handle in the Shorts player. It needs advanced features and can’t point to another site. YouTube’s steps are for YouTube Studio:

On a computer: YouTube Studio:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left Menu, select Content.
  3. Click the Short you'd like to edit.
  4. Select a Related Video from your channel.
  5. Click SAVE.

Checked against YouTube Help: Add a related video to your YouTube Shorts.

There’s one external exception. For a Short in a reported brand deal campaign, you can add one link to the partner brand’s website, shown on screen with a sticker and in the Shorts description to organic viewers on mobile. It must lead directly to the brand’s site, and it doesn’t show on paid impressions. Checked against YouTube Help: Add a link to a brand's site to your Short

In YouTube Studio, under Customization, then Profile, then Links. A channel can show up to 14 links on its Home tab, and the first appears near the Subscribe button.

On a computer: YouTube Studio:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Customization > Profile.
  3. Under Links, click Add link and enter the title and URL of your site.
  4. Click PUBLISH.

Checked against YouTube Help: Manage your YouTube channel's profile (Computer).

Channel links are also where a Shorts viewer can still find your site.

How do you add timestamps and chapters?

Type a list of timestamps and titles into the description, starting with 00:00. YouTube needs at least three timestamps in ascending order, and each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long:

On a computer: YouTube Studio:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Content.
  3. Click the video that you'd like to edit.
  4. In the Description, add a list of timestamps and titles. Make sure that the first timestamp you list starts with 00:00. Your video should have at least three timestamps listed in ascending order. The minimum length for video chapters is 10 seconds.
  5. Click SAVE.

Checked against YouTube Help: Video Chapters.

Chapters need advanced features too, and they aren’t available if the channel has active strikes or the content may be inappropriate for some viewers. Your own chapters override automatic chapters. Checked against YouTube Help: Video Chapters YouTube allows automatic chapters by default on new uploads. Checked against YouTube Help: Video Chapters

Any link to content that breaks YouTube’s Community Guidelines, such as malware, phishing or pirated paid content. The External links policy covers clickable URLs, URLs shown as text in videos or images, obfuscated URLs (writing “dot com” instead of “.com”) and verbal directions alike. If YouTube can’t verify that a link is safe, it may remove it. A first violation usually brings a warning, then strikes, and three strikes in 90 days may terminate the channel. Checked against YouTube Help: External links policy

Affiliate links are allowed: YouTube says affiliate content doesn’t violate its Terms of Use, though excessively posting affiliate content in dedicated accounts may break its spam policies. Checked against YouTube Help: External links policy

In the US and the UK, yes, and a vague catch-all line won’t do. The FTC revised its Endorsement Guides in 2023. Checked against eCFR: 16 CFR Part 255 — Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising The FTC’s FAQ (June 2023) Checked against FTC: FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking says a YouTube reviewer should disclose affiliate links both in the video and next to the links in the description, and that “affiliate link” alone isn’t adequate while “paid link” right next to the link should be. Checked against FTC: FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking

UK guidance from CAP and the CMA (3rd edition, 2023) treats links that pay you for clicks or sales as advertising, and says a general disclaimer that “some” links “might” earn commission is not sufficient. Checked against CAP and CMA: Influencers' guide to making clear that ads are ads (3rd edition, 2023), p. 5

On YouTube itself, a video that contains branded content, a sponsorship or an endorsement also needs the paid promotion declaration, which adds a disclosure label at the start of the video. Checked against YouTube Help: YouTube Branded Content Policies This is general information, not legal advice. YouTube’s own affiliate route is covered in YouTube affiliate marketing.

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YouTube documents two reasons. URLs in long-form descriptions are clickable only once your channel has advanced features, which you can check in YouTube Studio on a computer under Settings, Channel, Feature eligibility. And if the video is a Short, a URL typed into its description is never clickable: YouTube made those links non-clickable to reduce spam and scam attempts.

Not in the description or comments. Instead, a Short can show a Related video link to one of your own public or unlisted videos, Shorts or live streams, which needs advanced features. A Short in a reported brand deal campaign can also carry one link to the partner brand’s website.

In the YouTube Studio app, tap Content, select the video, tap Edit, change the description and tap Save. In the YouTube app, tap your profile picture, then Your videos, then More next to the video, then Edit. The link will be clickable only if your channel has advanced features.

How do I add timestamps to a YouTube description?

List timestamps and titles in the description, starting with 00:00. YouTube needs at least three timestamps in ascending order, and each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long. Chapters are an advanced feature, and chapters you add override automatic ones.

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