YouTube announced on Thursday that eligible creators in the US can now tag Amazon products in their content and receive a share of sales. Creators can link to Amazon products in their shorts, long videos, and live streams.
The update turns product recommendations into a more direct revenue stream for creators, and for Amazon, the move places its massive online marketplace inside one of the most popular video platforms.
Although YouTube already runs a Shopping affiliate program with participating retailers, adding Amazon’s vast catalog essentially allows creators to recommend a variety of products through a native integration. By adding Amazon to the Shopping Affiliate Program, creators no longer need to paste Associate links into the video description and then expect viewers to copy the link when they make a purchase.
Instead, YouTube says Amazon will provide you with a curated catalog of trending and highly sought-after products that creators can tag in their videos. If a creator can’t find a specific product they want to tag, they can request to add it by contacting YouTube support.
The feature also includes auto-tagging support. If enabled, YouTube systems can automatically review a creator’s recent uploads to identify and tag eligible Amazon products.
YouTube notes that creators won’t see breakdowns of specific products or individual videos in their analytics, but will see their overall daily earnings in YouTube Studio. If a viewer ends up returning an item, that commission will be deducted from the creator’s balance.
While currently only eligible US creators can tag Amazon products, those tags can be seen around the world. YouTube says it can automatically match a tagged product with a trusted local merchant offer to allow creators to earn commissions on eligible international purchases. If a local merchant is not available, the tag will direct visitors to Amazon’s US website, where a commission will be earned if a purchase is completed on the US site.
To be eligible, creators must be enrolled in YouTube Shopping Affiliate and Partner programs, have an active Amazon Influencer or Associates account, and link it to their YouTube channel.
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