When it comes to watching YouTube videos, users often stumble upon new products, experiences, individuals, and accounts they've never encountered before. It's a world of discovery where the unknown beckons, and curiosity is boundless. However, YouTube is introducing changes to how we navigate content on the platform, and it's a mixed bag for both creators and users.
Now, for the update: YouTube is tweaking the linking experience. Here's the scoop:
First, the not-so-great news: YouTube Shorts, those addictive bite-sized videos, is undoubtedly a successful platform with an impressive audience of two billion monthly logged-in users. However, this popularity has attracted the attention of scammers and information thieves who seek to exploit the vibrant online community.
Links placed in comments and various other locations have emerged as a significant concern, serving as a potential conduit for promoting phishing scams. In response, YouTube has taken decisive measures to limit their usage. Clickable links in Shorts video descriptions and comments will be a thing of the past.
So, what does that mean? Well, if a creator drops a link to a product or anything else mentioned in the video, users won't be able to access it with a simple tap. The convenience of swiftly exploring related content is about to take a backseat.
In a bid to combat spam and scam attempts, YouTube is gearing up for a significant change set to roll out gradually, starting August 31st. The alteration centers around the removal of clickable links, a move aimed at safeguarding the user experience.
As part of this initiative, YouTube has already taken action as of August 10th by eliminating the banner links that used to grace the top of a channel's home page. Previously, creators could insert up to five handy links in this section, offering viewers easy access to their crucial resources, like social media profiles.
Now, for the exciting part: YouTube is rolling out some positive changes for creators! They'll now have the opportunity to showcase up to 14 links on their channel page, conveniently located in the profile section right alongside the subscribe button. The first link will grab the viewer's attention, with the rest neatly tucked away until clicked.
This space is a goldmine for creators to share a variety of essential resources, including social media profiles, websites, online stores, merch sites, and more. Creators can start setting up these links within their Creator Studio, and viewers will get to see them in action publicly starting from August 23rd.
But that's not all! YouTube has another ace up its sleeve: by the end of September, they're introducing a feature that allows creators to effortlessly redirect their Short video audiences to other YouTube content. Imagine a clickable link within a Short that leads viewers to the long-form video counterpart.
This handy feature has the potential to be a game-changer for creators, boosting engagement and visibility for their long-form content through the Shorts format. And for viewers, it means easy access to content they're genuinely interested in, creating a win-win situation for all parties involved. Get ready for an enhanced YouTube experience!
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