is it ok to have affiliate link on youtube?

16 replies
if I put the link in description, is it ok?


thanks

david
#affiliate #link #youtube
  • Profile picture of the author BrianMcLeod
    Only if you put MY affiliate link in there...


    Yes, it's fine.

    Be sure to start it off with http:// or it won't be a hyperlink.

    Best,

    Brian
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[406802].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author pavondunbar
      It's OK to put your link in Youtube's video description...

      Also if you know how how to use certain video editing software...

      You can also put your link in the video itself...

      Hope this helps...

      Pavon
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[406807].message }}
      • {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[406857].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author pavondunbar
          Originally Posted by Corwinnx View Post

          Pavon,

          Care to share the name of said software?

          -Marcus
          Marcus...

          I know that there is a site called BubblePly.com that lets you put your link in the actual video itself...

          But it won't look all glamorous...the font will look plain, but you can click the link from the video...

          On YouTube, I've seen some videos with a link in the video...

          And the link looks like it was designed in Photoshop...very attractive...

          I don't know what software does that in particular...

          But I do know in Camtasia you can add title clips, etc...with your link and a watermark with your picture to authenticate it...

          Hope this helps...

          Pavon
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[406860].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
          Originally Posted by Corwinnx View Post

          Pavon,

          Care to share the name of said software?

          -Marcus
          You can do it with Camtasia (PC) or Screenflow (Mac).

          I'm sure there are others, but those are the main 2.

          I put BIG RED arrows on the top right of the new videos
          I make now with a call to action in big bold white text
          so it is pointing right next to where your hyperlink SHOULD BE
          in your description.

          Hope this helps
          Jason
          Signature

          "Human thoughts have the tendency to transform themselves into their physical equivalent." Earl Nightingale

          Super Affiliates Hang Out Here

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[407231].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Kevin Riley
            I never use a direct affiliate link. Much better is to use a short redirect, especially in the video (for type-in traffic).

            I use either a.gd or my own RileysPicks.com

            The a.gd service is fantastic, as it gives you a very short URL and has tracking stats in your account (free account). Fellow Warrior Rob O'Callaghan runs it and you can use it at:

            : Amendable Short URL Service
            Signature
            Kevin Riley, long-time Warrior living in Osaka, Japan

            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[407259].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author jhongren
              Originally Posted by Kevin Riley View Post

              I never use a direct affiliate link. Much better is to use a short redirect, especially in the video (for type-in traffic).

              I use either a.gd or my own RileysPicks.com

              The a.gd service is fantastic, as it gives you a very short URL and has tracking stats in your account (free account). Fellow Warrior Rob O'Callaghan runs it and you can use it at:

              : Amendable Short URL Service
              Hi Kevin, thanks for the resource.

              Is this same as tinyurl.com?

              Thanks in advance.

              John
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[407289].message }}
              • Profile picture of the author RDGatchel
                David,

                It's a GREAT idea to put your affiliate links into videos, but do follow the advice of the great folks here! And here are my suggestions:

                (1) Get a dedicated domain for your affiliate program and use a redirect to the affiliate link. Make the domain something easy to type, short and descriptive of the program / product.

                Example: If it's a golf product, get a domain like "supergolfsystem.com" or something like that.

                (2) You can use Camtasia or even Windows Movie Maker to put your affiliate link in the video (there is a little learning curve to it, but not too bad)

                But ... you could ALSO

                (3) Use YouTube's Annotation Feature to embed links or other text within the video itself. Its built RIGHT INTO YouTube and it's EASY to use. Look for the "Annotation" feature in your YouTube account.

                I was a bit skeptical about how well annotations would work, but they did pretty well in response

                AND OF COURSE

                (4) Be sure you put your link at the VERY beginning of the description of your video (as mentioned, be SURE to use http:// at the beginning ... when you do it becomes an active hyperlink)

                Seriously though ... if you don't want to mess with learning video editing programs to get something up QUICK ... use YouTube annotations to embed the link in your video.

                Hope this helps!
                {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[407333].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Sean A McAlister
      Originally Posted by LoudMac View Post

      Only if you put MY affiliate link in there...


      Yes, it's fine.

      Be sure to start it off with http:// or it won't be a hyperlink.

      Best,

      Brian

      I will offer you 50% to put half of my affiliate link in there!....lol

      ==========
      Yes you can as others have pointed out...just make sure it is cloaked.
      Also, You can Put it into your Video Production itself.
      Create a site and cloak your link that way.....
      Signature
      New Product Launches, Affiliate Marketplace

      Need More Sales? More Affiliates? LaunchBoards.com
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[408483].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author trueclickerdotcom
    I'm told it's completely ok
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[407749].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Natraj Jayaraman
    A simple domain redirect is a better idea than keeping affiliate links 'open' out there. Even a .info works cheap.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[407823].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Capwn
    Yea your fine
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[407852].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Dan Ambrose
    The more places you have your affiliate link the better.

    However I suggest you "cloak" it (and what I mean by that is to "hide" the fact that the link is an affiliate link)

    Here's how to cloak your link (source: my affiliates tools page)...

    <html>
    <head>
    <meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=http://www.AffiliateLink.com>
    </head>
    </html>

    Here's the same thing in PHP:

    <?php
    header("Location: http://www.AffiliateLink.com");
    ?>

    And again using Java Script:

    <html>
    <head>
    <script language="Javascript" type="text/javascript">
    <!-- Hide script
    //<![CDATA[
    window.location.href="http://www.AffiliateLink.com"
    //]]> End script hiding -->
    </script>
    </head>
    </html>

    To use any of the above codes / scripts, just go into your favorite text editor (like notepad), rename the file index.htm or index.php (or anything else), paste the code in the appropriate location, replace http://www.AffiliateLink.com with the link you want to redirect to, save it and upload it to your site in any directory you want to use.

    For example, placing the following code into a file named index.htm and uploading it to
    www.moremoney365.com/ would redirect to www.WarriorForum.com.

    <html>
    <head>
    <meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=http://www.WarriorForum.com>
    </head>
    </html>

    Hope this helps

    Daniel
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[408498].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author salesmanger
    nice post was wondering if you used this code i see where you put your affiliate link but where do you put the link where you want it to redirect to for example warriors.com

    where would i put that in your code
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[408631].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Corwinnx
      I am a bit confused by this. I make loads of videos, and I know about Bubbleply and Camtasia, and Annotations.

      From what I understand:

      Youtube disables any type of 'embed program to make a 'clickable link within the video. i.e., bubbleply.

      Annotations I have also not found to be 'clickable' (unless I'm using them incorrectly).

      Yet, I have seen actual clickable links in some Youtube videos (very few and far between).

      Is there an 'expert' with a 'definitive' answer?

      Thanks,
      Marcus

      P.S. I do use the abililty to 'hyperlink' in the description box
      and I do submit 'video' and 'text' replies to other videos because the replies are not 'no follows'.

      Thanks again.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[408978].message }}

Trending Topics