When your brand partner activates a brand deal link through YouTube, you can add this clickable external link to your brand deal Shorts. This link directs your audience to the brand’s site or a specific product page, and appears as a sticker on your Short, in the video description, or both.
How brand deal links work
To add brand links, your brand partner or their authorized agency must report the partnership to YouTube through the YouTube Creator Partnerships (YCP) API or YouTube Creator Partnerships within Google Ads. You can accept brand deal link requests sent by YCP API partners regardless of your YouTube Partner Program (YPP) status.
If the campaign is not yet reported, you can still publish your Short. You will get a notification to add the link once your partner completes submission.
To keep the platform safe, all brand deal links undergo an automated safety scan. This check can take up to 20 minutes. If a link is found to be unsafe, it may be removed automatically while your video stays live without a strike to your channel. Links that are rejected or removed for safety reasons do not result in a Community Guidelines strike.
Add a brand deal link to a Short
You can only add a brand deal link to your Short if your brand partner or their authorized agency has reported both the partnership and also the external link to YouTube. Then, you can accept and add the link during the video upload process or to a video that is already live.
- Open the YouTube Studio
or YouTube
app.
- Tap the
to upload a Short, or find a published video and tap Edit.
- Under the “Add details” page, tap Paid promotion & brands.
- Tap Find your brand partner.
- If you see the partner in the list, tap Select to choose that partner.
- If you don’t see the brand associated with the campaign, you will not be able to add a link. If you believe this is an error, please reach out to your brand deal contact.
- Review the share agreement and then tap Share.
- You can choose to show the link in your Video description, Video player, or both.
- Tap Done to add the link to your video.
How to manage a link on a Short
- Sign in to YouTube Studio
- Go to the Short you’ve added a link for your Brand Deal campaign.
- Under the upload or edit, tap Paid promotion & brands
.
- Tap More
next to the brand partner to access the following options:
- Edit link to the brand's site: You can control your visibility by toggling the "Video description" or “Video player” on or off.
- Stop sharing video with a brand: This option allows you to discontinue video sharing.
- Then tap Done.
You can still post your video even if the deal has not been reported or the link has not been reported or passed safety checks. You will receive a push notification asking you to accept brand partner access and add the brand deal link.
Manage link removals & policy violations
If a previously added brand deal link is removed due to an external link policy violation, your channel won’t receive a Community Guidelines strike or warning. Safety-related removals don’t penalize your account standing since the link is provided directly by your brand partner.
To replace a removed link, you must reset the partnership for that Short by selecting Stop sharing video. From there, contact your brand or agency partner to have them submit a new, policy-compliant link. Once the new link is approved, you can reconnect the brand partner and add the updated link to your Short through the Brand Partner Access flow.
YouTube’s policies on links
- The link must directly lead to the website of the brand you are partnered with.
- It must comply with YouTube’s Branded Content policy.
- It must follow our Community Guidelines.
We do not allow links that violate our policies, such as links to malware, phishing sites, or content that is otherwise prohibited.