Affiliate Marketing on YouTube: Links, Rules, Disclosure
Affindly editorial team · Published 10/20/2026 · 6 min read
Affiliate marketing on YouTube means recommending a product in your videos and sharing a tracked link, usually in the description, so you can earn a commission on sales. Three sets of rules apply at once: YouTube's policies, the affiliate program's terms and the FTC's disclosure guidance.
This article summarizes what the official sources say. It is not legal advice.
Where can you put affiliate links on YouTube?
YouTube's help page on sharing links explains that only some links are clickable. Three points matter for affiliates:
- According to YouTube Help, URLs in YouTube Shorts comments and Shorts descriptions are non-clickable, to reduce spam and scam attempts.
- Clickable external links in long-form video descriptions and comments require access to your channel's advanced features.
- All links must follow YouTube's external links policy.
So the usual setup is a long-form video with the affiliate link in the description. For Shorts, plan another route, such as pointing viewers to a clickable link elsewhere. Link features change, so check the current help page.
What do YouTube's policies say?
YouTube's external links policy page says it does not allow links that send users to content that violates the Community Guidelines. The spam, deceptive practices and scams policies also apply to external links in your content. In short, your link destination, titles, thumbnails and descriptions must not mislead people.
When do you use the paid promotion setting?
YouTube's help page on paid product placements, sponsorships and endorsements says that if you feature branded content, sponsorships, endorsements or other commercial relationships in your videos, you have to let YouTube know. You do this with the paid promotion option in the video details. When you select it, YouTube adds a disclosure label that appears at the beginning of your video.
Read the page's current wording on affiliate links and free products before you decide whether an affiliate-only video needs the setting. The page also says that you and the partners you work with are responsible for understanding and complying with all applicable legal requirements. If you are unsure, ask a lawyer.
What does the FTC expect?
The FTC's guidance for influencers, Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers, says to disclose any financial, employment, personal or family relationship with a brand. That includes affiliate commissions, because you earn money when someone buys. Key points from the FTC:
- Place the disclosure where it is hard to miss, alongside the endorsement.
- For video, the disclosure belongs in the video itself, not only in the description. Saying it aloud and showing it on screen helps, since some viewers watch muted.
- Do not rely only on a platform tool. Add your own clear disclosure.
- Do not hide it in a block of hashtags or links, or behind a "more" link.
- For live streams, repeat the disclosure periodically.
The practical result: say it in the video, for example "the links below are affiliate links, so I may earn a commission", and repeat it in the description. See our guide to affiliate disclosure and the FTC.
Does the program allow video promotion?
Each affiliate program sets its own rules for traffic sources. Some accept YouTube promotion, some limit it, and some have extra rules such as banned keywords or required wording. Read the terms before you publish. Two programs to compare are the Amazon Associates overview and the TikTok Shop program page, which have different conditions.
What should you check before your first video?
Work through this list before you publish a video with an affiliate link. Work through this list before you publish a video with an affiliate link.
- Confirm your link access. Check that your channel can post clickable links in long-form descriptions. Remember that Shorts descriptions stay non-clickable.
- Read the program terms. Look at what they say about video, social media and link formats, and note any banned keywords or required wording.
- Test the link. Click it and check that the click appears in the program dashboard before the video goes public.
- Write two disclosures. Prepare a spoken one for the video and a written one for the description. Place the written one near the top of the description, not behind a "more" link.
- Check the paid promotion setting. Decide whether the video also needs it, for example if a brand paid you or sent you a product, and follow YouTube's help page.
- Keep titles and thumbnails honest. They must not mislead viewers about what the video or the link leads to.
- Save the terms. Keep a copy of the program terms with the date you accepted them, so you can look up the rules later.
Other platforms have their own rules. See, for example, our guide to affiliate marketing on Instagram.
If you do not have a website yet, our guide to affiliate marketing without a website shows which channels programs may accept. No platform or program guarantees income.
Sources
- Add paid product placements, sponsorships & endorsements, YouTube Help (retrieved 10/20/2026)
- Sharing links with your audiences, YouTube Help (retrieved 10/20/2026)
- External links policy, YouTube Help (retrieved 10/20/2026)
- Spam, deceptive practices, & scams policies, YouTube Help (retrieved 10/20/2026)
- Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers, Federal Trade Commission (retrieved 10/20/2026)