As soon as the creation of YouTube is available, YouTube will enable eligible creators to make money from their videos; they can add Amazon products directly to their videos and earn commission on them when viewers make a purchase of products they choose to purchase with them (and make money by posting products on Amazon products in YouTube to earn money through their content) and earn commission from it.
And it develops furthers the momentum in YouTube’s growing emphasis on shopping and affiliate commerce in making money from the new channel is a big step forward for it to share product recommendations with its audiences and get paid for it and to make money from the promotion on YouTube as well, and the content creators can now make money from their content so they can earn money from viewers’ buying.
The feature is particularly useful for creators who are likely to use it in their videos and have well-crafted product recommendations, reviews, tutorials, comparisons, unboxings, lifestyle and buying guides. Instead of having to search for products in a video separately from a video you just made, eligible creators can then make products mentioned in a video easier to discover through YouTube’s shopping tools. When viewers touch the tagged products and complete qualifying purchases, creators will receive a commission under the affiliate arrangement and program terms of the affiliate program.
Amazon has long been one of the best affiliate ecosystems on the internet, while YouTube has become a huge platform for product discovery. The combination of the two creates a potentially powerful channel for creators who influence purchasing decisions through video. A viewer watching a smartphone review, for example, may be able to find the featured device or related accessories through product tags rather than leaving the video to search for them independently.
In fact, for creators, the opportunity goes beyond just advertisements around their videos. Traditional advertising revenue is determined in part by views, audience engagement, audience interest and advertiser demand. Affiliate shopping is another line of business that can be even more lucrative than that because earnings from affiliate shopping can be linked to actual qualifying purchases. That might be especially beneficial to smaller or specialized channels where customers may get really excited about products which are very much interested in what you’re selling when they don’t have large views, even if the channel does not generate huge numbers of views.
The expansion is also indicative of the wider changes within entertainment and e-commerce. Social media sites and video services are now where customers research products before buying them. Product demonstrations, reviews, and personal recommendations are all important to help users determine what to buy. YouTube can use shopping functionality to make the journey from product discovery to purchase much more seamless.
However, the Amazon tagging opportunity is not available to all YouTube creators. The eligibility criteria are applicable to YouTube Shopping and affiliate programs, such as channel, geography and policy-related eligibility. So creators need to look at their YouTube Studio and program information to see if they can use the feature on their accounts and what products or markets are supported.
One other area of transparency is that of transparency. If you are a business partner of an affiliate program, you should be crystal clear on all commercial relationships you have and disclose them in your recommendations to your customers. Audiences are increasingly demanding that creators distinguish between independent opinions, sponsored content and recommendations that can generate money.
The feature could also prompt creators to rethink how they structure product-oriented videos. Instead of mentioning a product only in passing, creators might produce more detailed buying guides, product comparisons, tutorials and demonstrations to help identify the product and make it easier for a viewer to see where to look. The best product recommendations are likely to be in the product recommendations, and not in videos created only to generate affiliate sales.
For viewers, integrated product tagging could make shopping from YouTube more convenient. Someone watching a cooking video could potentially find featured kitchen equipment, while a technology channel could provide access to devices and accessories discussed during a review. Beauty, fashion, home improvement, gaming and hobby channels could similarly benefit from product discovery tools, depending on program availability and eligible products.
The move also highlights the increasing importance of the creator economy. Creators don’t have to depend on one form of revenue. Advertising, memberships, sponsorships, merchandise, fan support and affiliate commerce can all be part of a much broader monetization strategy. Adding Amazon products to the ecosystem may give eligible creators another way to make money from content that has already attracted viewers to purchase products.
From the perspective of YouTube's ability to connect eligible creators with Amazon products, it is just one step to link video content with online shopping and Amazon products even further. For content creators who may earn commission through specific recommendations, for example, and for viewers the search for products in videos. As creator-led shopping gets more and more popular, product tagging can be a very important part of how consumers discover, evaluate and buy products online.
