Permanent links
One link per setup. It never goes stale.
Put one Setup101 link in your video instead of a list of product links. When a product is discontinued or you upgrade your gear, change it in the setup, and the link in every old video still leads to the right products, with your affiliate links.
The problem: videos last for years, product links don't
A good video keeps getting views long after you post it. The products in its description don't keep still: they're discontinued, go out of stock, get replaced by a new model, or the service behind the link shuts down. Each time, a viewer who wanted the product hits a dead page, and the commission goes nowhere. Fixing it means finding and editing every description.
How it works
How permanent setup links work
- 01
Make a setup
A setup is a page for one set of gear: your desk, your camera bag, the kit in one video. Add each product with a photo, a short note and, on Pro, your affiliate link from any retailer.
- 02
Share its link once
Put the setup's link in the video description, your bio or your show notes, instead of a list of individual product links.
- 03
Change the products, not the link
When a product is discontinued, goes out of stock or gets replaced by a better one, edit the setup. The link stays the same, so every video that points to it shows the current gear.
On Pro
Broken-link alerts, before your viewers notice
On Pro, Setup101 checks the product links in your setups and tells you when one stops working: a page that's gone, a product that's unavailable, or a link that's slow or timing out. Swap it in the setup and every video that points there is fixed. Want to check links you already have? Try the free affiliate link checker.
Placement
Where to put your setup link
- YouTube video descriptions and pinned comments
- TikTok and Instagram bios, and Instagram story link stickers
- Podcast show notes and newsletter footers
- Your Setup101 profile, which doubles as a link in bio for all your setups
Honest limits
What permanent links don't do
- It doesn't replace your affiliate programs. You still earn through your own Amazon Associates, Impact or other accounts, using the links you paste in.
- It can't change links already in old videos. Swap those once for your setup link, and from then on you won't need to edit them again.
- If you delete a setup, its link stops working. Edit or archive products instead.
Alternatives
Compared with the alternatives
| Approach | How it works | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Editing descriptions by hand | Open each old video in YouTube Studio and replace the link. | Free, but slow, and you repeat it every time a product changes. |
| Bulk find and replace (e.g. TubeBuddy) | Replace one URL with another across many video descriptions. | Faster, but you still need to know which links broke, and it's YouTube-only. |
| Smart links per product (e.g. Geniuslink) | Each product gets its own redirect link that you can repoint. | Keeps single links alive and can route by country, but there's no page showing the whole kit. |
| A page on your own website | Link to a gear page you maintain yourself. | Full control, but you build and update it by hand. |
| A Setup101 setup | One link per setup; swap products inside it. | One link covers the whole kit and works on every platform. Free to start; affiliate links on Pro ($15 a month). |
More detail: Setup101 vs Geniuslink, Setup101 vs Bitly. Already have links in old videos? See how to update affiliate links in old YouTube descriptions.
Questions, answered
Common questions
What happens to the link when I swap a product?
Can I use my existing affiliate links?
Do I have to change my old videos?
Is it free?
How do I find links that are already broken?
Make your first setup
Free to start, on the web, iOS and Android. See pricing for what Pro adds.