How to update affiliate links in old YouTube video descriptions

To update affiliate links in old YouTube videos, you either edit each description in YouTube Studio, use a bulk find-and-replace tool such as TubeBuddy, automate it with the YouTube Data API, or replace the individual links once with a single link you control. The last option is the only one you don't have to repeat every time a product changes.

Before changing anything, find out which links actually need updating: paste a description into the free affiliate link checker and it lists every broken, out-of-stock or untagged link.

What YouTube Studio can and can't do

YouTube Studio lets you edit a video's description one video at a time, under Content, then the video, then Details. It also has a bulk edit: select several videos in Content, choose Edit, then Description, and apply a change to all of them (YouTube Help).

What it doesn't do is find one link inside many different descriptions and replace it with another while leaving the rest of each description alone. That's the job most creators actually need, and it's why the options below exist.

Option 1: edit by hand, most-viewed first

Free and safe, but slow. To make it manageable:

1. In YouTube Studio, open Content and sort by views.
2. Work down from your most-viewed videos, because that's where broken links lose the most.
3. Fix the links in each description, then check the video's pinned comment too.
4. Keep a list of what you replaced, so you can spot the same link in other videos.

This works for a few dozen videos. Past that, it becomes a weekend job you'll have to repeat.

Option 2: bulk find and replace

TubeBuddy's Bulk Find, Replace & Append tool finds videos whose description contains a piece of text and replaces it, or adds text before or after it, across all your videos, a playlist or a hand-picked set (TubeBuddy). Browser extensions such as BrokenTube combine this with a scan for broken links.

These are much faster than editing by hand. The catch is that you still have to know which links broke and what to replace them with, and you'll be back the next time a product is discontinued.

Option 3: automate it with the YouTube Data API

If you or someone on your team writes code, the YouTube Data API can read every video's description and write an updated one. Automation tools such as n8n can wire this up without much code.

Know the limits before you start. Updating a video costs 50 units of the API's daily quota, and a project gets 10,000 units a day by default, so roughly 200 video updates a day before you hit the cap (YouTube Data API quota costs). An update also replaces the description you send, so a bug can overwrite hundreds of descriptions at once. Back everything up first.

Option 4: replace the links once, then never edit descriptions again

Every option above edits descriptions again each time a product changes. The alternative is to replace the list of product links with a single link to a page you control, then make future changes on that page.

With Setup101, that page is a setup: the gear you used in the video, each product with your affiliate link (affiliate links are on the Pro plan, $15 a month). The setup's link stays the same forever. When a product is discontinued, you swap it in the setup, and the video's description, which you never touch again, still leads to the right gear.

You still do one round of edits to put the setup links in, using any of the options above. After that, it's done.

Checklist before any bulk change

• Back up your descriptions. Copy them into a document or spreadsheet before running any bulk tool or script.
• Test on one video first. Check the result on the live video page, not just in Studio.
• Check your tags. Make sure the new links carry your affiliate tag. The link checker shows the Amazon tag on every link.
• Mind the pinned comments. Bulk description tools don't touch comments, so update pinned comments separately.
• Keep a record. Note which links you changed and when, in case a retailer queries a commission.

Frequently asked questions

Can I edit descriptions on multiple YouTube videos at once?

Yes. YouTube Studio's bulk edit applies a description change to every video you select. To replace one specific link inside many different descriptions, you need a find-and-replace tool such as TubeBuddy or a script using the YouTube Data API.

Does editing a video description affect its ranking?

Changing links in a description is a normal edit. Avoid rewriting titles and descriptions wholesale in one go purely to change links, and keep each video's existing text apart from the links you're updating.

How do I find which old videos have broken affiliate links?

Paste each description into the affiliate link checker, starting with your most-viewed videos. For a whole channel, scanning extensions such as BrokenTube check every description.

What's the best way to avoid updating links in the future?

Put one link per set of gear in each video, pointing to a page you control, and update the page instead. A Setup101 setup does this: swap a product in the setup and every video that links there shows the change.