How to add links to your YouTube channel (Instagram, TikTok, website)

To add links to your YouTube channel, sign in to YouTube Studio, choose Customization > Profile in the left menu, click Add link under Links, enter a title and a URL, and click PUBLISH. On a phone, do the same in the YouTube Studio app: tap your profile picture, tap Edit next to your channel description, then Edit under Links. YouTube lets you show up to 14 links, and the first one appears next to your Subscribe button.

Those links are the only clickable links that sit on your channel page itself, so they are worth a few minutes of thought. Below are the exact steps for computer and phone, where viewers actually see the links, what YouTube allows, and how to set up the other direction: getting people from Instagram and TikTok to your channel. The steps and limits were checked against YouTube Help in November 2026; YouTube changes Studio menus now and then, so labels may differ slightly in your version.

Where channel links appear

Channel links (YouTube Help calls them channel profile links) live in the header of your channel page, under your name and description. According to YouTube's article on managing your channel's profile:

• You can showcase up to 14 links on your channel's Home tab.
• The first link in your list is shown prominently in the profile section, near the Subscribe button.
• The other links appear when a viewer clicks to see more links.

That second point matters most. Most visitors only ever see the first link, so its position in the list is a real decision, not a formality.

Old guides say "5 links on the banner"

If you have read that only five links fit on your banner, or that the links sit on the banner image in the bottom-right corner, that describes an older channel layout. In the current layout, links are shown in the profile section under your description, not on the banner art, and the limit YouTube Help gives is 14. Some older articles also send you to a Basic info tab; Studio now calls it Profile.

How to add links to your YouTube channel on a computer

1. Go to studio.youtube.com and sign in with the account that owns the channel.
2. In the left menu, click Customization.
3. Open the Profile tab.
4. Scroll to Links and click Add link.
5. Enter a title (what viewers see, for example "Instagram" or "My website") and the URL.
6. Repeat for each link you want, up to 14.
7. Click PUBLISH in the top right.

In current versions of Studio you can reorder the links by dragging them, so put the one you care about most at the top. To remove a link, delete it from the list and click PUBLISH again. Nothing changes on your channel until you publish.

Paste the full address, including https://, and open each link once after publishing to check it goes where you expect.

How to add links to your YouTube channel on iPhone or Android

YouTube Help documents the phone steps for the YouTube Studio app, which is a separate free app from the regular YouTube app. The steps are the same on iPhone, iPad and Android:

1. Open the YouTube Studio app and tap your profile picture in the top right.
2. Next to your channel description, tap Edit (the pencil icon).
3. Under Links, tap Edit.
4. Tap Add, then enter the title and URL of the site.
5. Tap Done, then tap Save.

Some versions of the regular YouTube app also let you edit your channel's links from the channel page, but the menus vary between app versions. If you cannot find it there, use the Studio app or the desktop steps above.

What links YouTube allows on your channel

Channel links can point to any website, as long as it follows YouTube's external links policy. In short, the link must not lead to content that would break YouTube's Community Guidelines, such as sexual content, malware, phishing or sites that sell fake engagement. YouTube says violations can lead to a warning, strikes or removal of the channel.

YouTube's overview of clickable links lists channel profile links as clickable without the extra "advanced features" step that clickable links in long-form video descriptions and posts need (as of November 2026). In other words, you should not need to unlock anything first.

You can add the same kinds of links in a video description, but those work differently: they show under one video, not on your channel, and links in Shorts descriptions are not clickable. If that is what you are after, see how to add clickable links to a YouTube description.

Which links to add, and in which order

There is no right list for everyone, but a few rules hold for most channels:

1. Put your main goal first. The first link is the only one most visitors see. If you sell something, that is your shop. If you are building an audience elsewhere, it is that profile. If you have a newsletter, it may be that.
2. Use clear titles. "Instagram", "TikTok", "Shop", "Newsletter" read better than a long URL or a slogan. Viewers decide in a second whether to tap.
3. Only add profiles you actually use. A link to an empty or abandoned account costs you more trust than it earns.
4. Keep the list short. Fourteen is the maximum, not a target. Four to six links that each have a clear purpose usually work better than a long wall.
5. Use your own domain where you have one. If you have a website, linking to it (rather than to a third-party page) keeps the link stable if you ever change tools.

Adding your Instagram or TikTok

There is no separate "connect Instagram" switch for the channel header: you add Instagram or TikTok as an ordinary link. Copy your profile address (for example instagram.com/yourname or tiktok.com/@yourname), paste it as the URL and give it a title such as "Instagram". YouTube may show the site's icon next to the link.

Adding a business email

Next to Links, the same Profile tab has a Contact info section where you can add an email address for business enquiries. It is not one of the 14 links, so it does not take up a slot.

The other direction: links from Instagram and TikTok to your channel

Adding Instagram to your YouTube channel is half the job. The visitors you most want to win are usually on Instagram and TikTok already, and they reach your channel through the link in your bio.

That link has a known problem. When someone taps a youtube.com link inside Instagram or TikTok, it usually opens in that app's built-in browser. Most people are not signed in to YouTube there, so they cannot subscribe without logging in first, and many give up.

A Ytgo short link helps here. Paste your channel link into the YouTube channel link shortener to get a short link and a QR code, free and without an expiry date. When it is tapped inside Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, it asks the phone to open your channel in the YouTube app, with a browser fallback if the app is not installed. The YouTube link for your Instagram bio page covers the Instagram case step by step.

To be clear about what Ytgo does not do: it only shortens YouTube links. The links on your YouTube channel that point out to Instagram, TikTok or your website are ordinary links, and Ytgo plays no part in them.

Not sure which channel address to shorten? How to find your YouTube channel link shows every format and where to copy it. For the bigger picture of where to post and where links are clickable on each platform, read how to promote your YouTube channel on social media.

If your links do not show up

• You did not publish. On a computer, changes are saved only after you click PUBLISH. In the app, tap Save.
• You are looking at a cached page. Reload your channel, or open it in a private window, signed out. It can take a little while for changes to appear everywhere.
• The link was removed or rejected. Links that break the external links policy can be removed. Check the address and the site it leads to.
• You only see one link. That is expected: the other links appear only when a viewer opens the full list from the first one.

Frequently asked questions

How many links can I add to my YouTube channel?

YouTube Help says you can showcase up to 14 links on your channel. The first link is shown next to the Subscribe button in your channel header, and the others appear when a viewer clicks to see more links. This was the limit as of November 2026.

How do I add links to my YouTube channel on my phone?

Use the YouTube Studio app. Tap your profile picture, tap Edit next to your channel description, then Edit under Links. Tap Add, enter a title and URL, then tap Done and Save.

How do I add my Instagram to my YouTube channel?

Add it as a channel link. In YouTube Studio, go to Customization, then Profile, click Add link under Links, enter "Instagram" as the title and your Instagram profile address as the URL, and click PUBLISH.

Why can people see only one of my links?

In the current channel layout, YouTube shows the first link in your list next to the Subscribe button and shows the rest only when a viewer clicks to see more links. Move the most important link to the top of the list in Customization, then Profile.

Do I need to be verified or have a minimum number of subscribers to add channel links?

YouTube Help does not list a subscriber minimum or verification for channel profile links, and its clickable links overview does not mark them as needing advanced features (as of November 2026). Clickable links in long-form video descriptions are different and do need advanced features.

Can I add links to my YouTube banner image?

Not as clickable areas on the image itself. Channel links are shown in the profile section under your description, not on the banner art. Any text you put on the banner image, such as a handle, is just part of the picture.