YouTube creators can now tag Amazon products in their videos and earn from it. With the new feature, creators will receive commission on sales when they tag Amazon products during Shorts, long-form videos and live streams. YouTube said the opportunity will initially be available to selected creators living in the United States.

Until now, under YouTube's shopping affiliate programme, creators promoted products from various companies and earned commission on sales. For that, creators had to add Amazon Associates links in their video descriptions, and commission was earned only when viewers clicked the link and bought the product. Under the new system, products can be tagged directly inside the video, so viewers no longer need to go looking for product links in the description. On top of that, with Amazon's vast product catalogue now included, creators will be able to present many more products to viewers more easily.

YouTube said Amazon will provide a curated list of high-demand and popular products, from which creators can tag products in their videos. If a needed product is not on the list, creators can contact YouTube's help centre to request that it be added. There is also an option to automate the product-tagging process. However, the detailed breakdown of which product or which video earned how much commission will not be visible in YouTube Studio; creators will only see their total daily earnings there. If a viewer returns a purchased product, the commission earned from that sale will be deducted from the creator's account.

The new earning feature is currently being rolled out in the United States, but viewers in other countries will also be able to see the product tags added to videos by US creators. On this, YouTube said that if a viewer abroad is interested in a tagged product, YouTube can automatically show a product from a trusted local seller. Creators will receive commission even if that product is sold. If a suitable product is not available from a local seller in a country, the viewer will be sent to Amazon's US website, and once the purchase is completed there, commission will be paid for that sale.

Source: TechCrunch