How to Put Links in Your YouTube Description (Clickable)

To put a link in a YouTube description, paste the full web address into the description box of a long-form video in YouTube Studio and save. The link only becomes clickable if your channel has access to YouTube's advanced features, which most active channels already have through their channel history. Others can verify a phone number and then, where offered, their ID or a short video. Links in Shorts descriptions are never clickable, so Shorts need a different approach.

Check that your channel can post clickable links

YouTube treats clickable external links in long-form descriptions and comments as an advanced feature. Its help center puts it plainly: "To add clickable external links, you must enable your channel's access to advanced features." Without that access, a URL you paste shows up as plain text.

To see where you stand:

1. Open YouTube Studio on a computer.
2. Click Settings, then Channel.
3. Click Feature eligibility.

Features you already have are marked Enabled. If advanced features are enabled, skip to the next section.

If they are not, there are three ways in. Phone verification comes first in every case, and it unlocks intermediate features:

1. In Feature eligibility, click Intermediate features, then VERIFY PHONE NUMBER.
2. Enter your number and type in the code YouTube sends by text or voice call.

After that, advanced features open up through one of these:

For ID or video verification, go to Settings, Channel, Feature eligibility, Advanced features, ACCESS FEATURES, then choose Use your ID or Use video verification and click Get email. Open the email on your phone, tap Start verification and follow the steps. The birthdate on your ID has to match the one on your Google Account.

A few things trip people up here. Only the primary owner of a channel can verify, and on a Brand Account the primary owner's status decides access for everyone who manages it. ID and video verification aren't offered to every creator; if you don't see them, keep posting and let your channel history build. After a second rejected attempt you have to wait 30 days to try again.

Add the link in YouTube Studio

Once advanced features are on, adding a link takes a minute. Copy the address straight from your browser's address bar so nothing gets cut off.

On a computer:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. Select Content in the left menu.
3. Click the video's title or thumbnail.
4. Paste the link into the Description box, with a few words before it saying what it is.
5. Select Save.

In the YouTube Studio app:

1. Tap Content in the bottom menu.
2. Select the video.
3. Tap the Edit icon.
4. Add the link to the description.
5. Tap SAVE.

In the regular YouTube app:

1. Tap your profile picture.
2. Tap Your videos.
3. Tap More next to the video, then the Edit icon.
4. Add the link to the description and tap Save.

Descriptions can hold up to 5,000 characters. On a computer you also get bold, italic and strikethrough buttons at the bottom of the box, which help a "Links" heading stand out.

Why your links aren't clickable

If a link shows as plain text, it is almost always one of these:

• No advanced features yet. Check Feature eligibility as described above.
• It's a Short. URLs in Shorts descriptions and Shorts comments are not clickable for anyone, whatever your access. YouTube made the change starting August 31, 2023, to cut spam and scams.
• The link breaks policy. YouTube's External links policy bans links to content that breaks its Community Guidelines, such as pornography, malware, phishing pages, sites offering paid content without authorization, and sites selling regulated goods. Links YouTube can't verify may also be removed.

The policy also applies to tricks like writing "dot com" instead of the real address. A violating URL in a video or its metadata can get the video taken down. The first violation usually brings a warning, repeat violations can lead to a strike, and three strikes within 90 days can end in the channel being terminated. You can read the full External links policy on YouTube Help.

Where to put links when you make Shorts

Shorts can't carry a clickable description link, but YouTube gives you other places that do click:

• Related Video. A clickable link below your channel handle that sends Shorts viewers to one of your own videos, Shorts or live streams. In YouTube Studio, go to Content, click the Short, select a Related Video from your channel and click Save. It needs advanced features, and the linked video must be public or unlisted.
• Channel profile links. You can show up to 14 links on your channel page, and they are clickable. Our guide on how to add links to your YouTube channel walks through setting them up.
• Long-form descriptions. If a Short sends people to a longer video through the Related Video link, the full set of links can live in that video's description.

YouTube's sharing links help page lists every placement and whether it clicks.

Add timestamps and chapters

Timestamps in a description split a long video into chapters people can jump between. To set them up:

1. In YouTube Studio, open Content and select the video.
2. In the description, list each timestamp with a title, one per line.
3. Start the first one at 00:00, and add at least three in ascending order.
4. Make each chapter at least 10 seconds long.
5. Click Save.

Chapters you write yourself override the automatic ones YouTube sometimes adds. If you don't have chapter access yet, you can apply for advanced features, the same access that turns your links on.

Keep the description short with one link page

A description with a dozen links tends to bury the one you care about. A simpler pattern is one or two links tied to the video, like the product you mention or the full recipe, and then a single page that holds everything else: your shop, newsletter, socials, booking page and latest releases. That page stays the same across every video, so you update it once instead of editing hundreds of descriptions when something changes.

Olaa is built for this. You get one short link, olaa.im/yourname, opening a page with all your links, and it takes a few minutes to set up with no code. The free plan includes unlimited links, music and video players that play right on the page (YouTube included), featured cards, social icons and 7 days of analytics. Olaa Pro, at $8 a month or $72 a year, adds products with photo and price from Stripe, Etsy, Shopify or Gumroad, email signups sent to Mailchimp, scheduled links and up to 10 pages. You can see what's included on the features page or start a page for free.

The same link works in your channel's profile links and your other bios, so viewers who find you on Instagram land in the same place. If you also promote videos there, see how to add a YouTube link to your Instagram story.

FAQ

Why are links in my YouTube description not clickable?

Either your channel doesn't have advanced features yet, or the video is a Short. Check Settings, Channel, Feature eligibility in YouTube Studio on a computer. Links in Shorts descriptions are not clickable on any channel.

Do I need 1,000 subscribers to add clickable links?

The requirement YouTube lists is advanced feature access. You get it through enough channel history, or by verifying your phone and then, where offered, your ID or a short video.

How many links can I put in a YouTube description?

The limit YouTube publishes is on length: the whole description can be up to 5,000 characters. Your channel page can show up to 14 profile links on top of that.

Can I put a clickable link in a YouTube Short?

Not in the description or comments. You can add a Related Video, which shows a clickable link below your channel handle, though it only points to your own videos, Shorts or live streams. Viewers can still reach your profile links from your channel page.

Can I add links from my phone?

Yes. In the YouTube Studio app tap Content, pick the video, tap the Edit icon, add the link and tap SAVE. In the YouTube app, go through your profile picture, Your videos, More and the Edit icon.

Can a link in my description get my video removed?

Yes, if it points to content that breaks the Community Guidelines. YouTube can remove the video, and repeat violations can lead to strikes. A first violation usually brings a warning only.