YouTube is giving creators better tools to show certain product ads exactly when they want to in their videos. According to an announcement on Wednesday, YouTube creators will be able to add timestamps to products they tag in their videos so that a shopping button appears at an opportune moment while you’re watching.
Get ready to see a lot more product ads in YouTube videos
Creators are going to be able to add timestamps to products they tag in their videos.
Creators are going to be able to add timestamps to products they tag in their videos.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
It’s a little thing, but it could make things easier for companies and creators that are working together on a video. I imagine both a creator and a sponsor will be happy about giving the creator control over when the shopping button appears. (Creators might also appreciate the controls given that YouTube is taking some other ad options away starting in November.)
YouTube is giving creators a few other new features for shopping, too. Creators will be able to bulk tag affiliate products in their video libraries, which YouTube says could “help you earn revenue from older content that still gets high traffic.” And YouTube Studio will be able to show creators which affiliate products bring them the most revenue beginning sometime “in the coming weeks.”
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