How to Add Links to Your YouTube Channel (and Which Goes First)

Your YouTube channel has room for 14 links, but only one of them sits next to the Subscribe button. This guide shows how to add links to your YouTube channel on a computer or a phone, and how to choose the one that earns that spot.

In this guide:

• How to add links to your YouTube channel on a computer
• How to add links on your phone
• How to edit, reorder or remove channel links
• Which link should go first
• Why links in YouTube Shorts are not clickable
• How to make links in video descriptions clickable

How to add links to your YouTube channel on a computer

Adding links to your YouTube channel on a computer takes about a minute in YouTube Studio. YouTube Help gives these steps:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. In the left menu, select Customization, then Profile.
3. Under Links, click Add link.
4. Enter a title and the URL.
5. Click Publish.

Older guides call the Profile tab "Basic info." It is the same screen. Give each link a plain title that says what the viewer gets, such as "Get an email when I upload."

You can add up to 14 links. YouTube Help says "your first link will be prominently displayed in the profile section near the subscribe button." The rest appear only when a viewer opens your full list of links. Every link must follow YouTube's external links policy, which bans links to content that breaks the Community Guidelines.

How to add links to your YouTube channel on your phone

To add channel links on a phone, use the YouTube Studio app. YouTube Help lists the link steps for the Studio app on both Android and iPhone:

1. Open the YouTube Studio app.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top right.
3. Tap Edit next to your channel description.
4. Under Links, tap Edit.
5. Tap Add, then enter the title and URL.
6. Tap Done, then Save.

The same 14-link limit applies. On phones, your first link appears above the Subscribe button, and the rest show up when a viewer taps to see more links.

How to edit, reorder or remove YouTube channel links

You edit, reorder and remove YouTube channel links on the same screen where you added them. On a computer, go to Customization, then Profile, and scroll to Links. Change a title or URL in place, drag a link to a new position, or delete it, then click Publish.

In the YouTube Studio app, tap your profile picture, tap Edit next to your description, then Edit under Links. Make your changes, then tap Done and Save. Nothing changes on your channel until you publish or save.

Order is the setting that matters most here. Whatever sits at the top of the list becomes the link next to your Subscribe button.

Which link should go first on your YouTube channel?

Put the link that brings a viewer back for your next video in the first spot. For most creators, that is an email signup for upload alerts, not another social profile.

A link to Instagram or TikTok sends a fan into another feed, ranked by another algorithm. A link to your email list puts your next upload in their inbox.

That matters because YouTube's own alerts no longer cover every subscriber. YouTube Help says subscribers who chose All but "haven't watched or engaged with the channel in a while" will "only receive notifications for that channel inside the app." YouTube also caps alerts at three per channel in 24 hours. Our guide to the 2026 bell change for creators explains the full impact.

Email fills that gap. beehiiv's State of Newsletters 2026 reports newsletter open rates "hitting 41%+."

No email signup page yet? Sublark gives your channel one at sublark.com/your-channel. Fans enter their email once and get an email alert when you upload, usually within the hour. It is free for fans, and your dashboard lists every subscriber by email address. Open any channel page, such as Marques Brownlee's, to see what your fans will see.

Fill the other 13 slots in order of value: your website or shop, then the social profiles where you post most, then everything else.

Why links in YouTube Shorts are not clickable

Links in YouTube Shorts descriptions and comments are not clickable. YouTube Help says: "To reduce spam and scam attempts, URLs placed in YouTube Shorts comments and Shorts descriptions are non-clickable." The change took effect on August 31, 2023, as TubeBuddy reported at the time.

Two paths still work from a Short:

• The Related video link. You can attach a Related video link to a Short. It sends viewers to another YouTube video, so it cannot carry an outside link.
• Your channel links. A viewer who taps your name on a Short lands on your channel, where your first link sits by the Subscribe button. Say it out loud in the Short: "Link on my channel page."

For a creator who mostly posts Shorts, the first channel link is the only outside link most viewers will ever find. That makes the order of your channel links even more important.

How to make links in video descriptions clickable

Links in long-form video descriptions and comments are clickable only if your channel has access to advanced features. YouTube Help says: "To add clickable external links, you must enable your channel's access to advanced features."

Advanced features need phone verification plus one more step: channel history, a valid ID or a short video verification, per YouTube Help. ID and video verification are not available to every creator, and reviews usually take about 24 hours. To check your status, open YouTube Studio and go to Settings, then Channel, then Feature eligibility.

Once your links work, put your signup link in the first line of each description and in a pinned comment. Our guide to building an email list from YouTube covers every placement, and how to announce a new video covers the upload-day plan.

The bottom line

Learning how to add links to your YouTube channel takes a minute. Choosing the first link takes more thought, because it is the only one most visitors see. Make it the link that brings fans back: an email alert for every upload.

Your subscriber count is not the audience you can reach, as our reachable audience reality check shows. So give the fans who click a way to hear from you every time. Claim your channel, copy your page link from the dashboard, and put it at the top. The creator's guide to email covers the full playbook.

Frequently Asked Questions