Reviewed and updated October 31, 2026
Affiliate link checker for YouTube: how to audit and test your affiliate links
Use an affiliate link checker to audit the affiliate links in your YouTube descriptions: find dead or redirected links, test what matters by hand, and replace outdated links across many videos.
Current offers and important limits
Description Modifier provides true find-and-replace inside selected YouTube descriptions, not only text added at the start or end. Free includes 3 lifetime runs, up to 25 videos each, 4 saved blocks and one channel — no card needed; runs do not reset monthly.
The $5 one-time 48-Hour Pass provides 48 hours of the currently available Pro features for one channel, ends automatically and does not renew. Pro is $9/month. All current offers support one channel. New Agency sign-ups and new campaign scheduling are paused, with no promised return date. Existing Agency access and existing campaigns are preserved; campaign actions depend on browser availability and YouTube capacity.
AI features — coming soon. All AI tools are currently unavailable, with no promised return date.
Manual broken-link scanning is included on paid plans and is not AI; weekly automatic checks are paused. Scans can’t verify every commission or catch every problem. They do not verify commissions, offer eligibility or affiliate tracking; a working page is not proof of earnings. Verify important destinations and program details yourself. The rule-based disclosure checker is available on every plan, including Free, uses no AI credits and does not guarantee legal compliance.
Every plan shares YouTube’s daily editing allowance; paid access does not bypass it. No editing speed or whole-catalog completion is promised, including within a Pass’s 48 hours. Large jobs may span multiple days. Undo and existing campaign reversions use the same allowance. It resets at midnight Pacific; our request for more capacity is pending. Check the run summary and retry only unfinished videos. Read daily-limit help and current pricing.
Quick answer: An affiliate link checker visits the links in your content and flags the ones that fail. On YouTube, your affiliate links live in hundreds of video descriptions, so a proper audit means three steps: scan, test the important ones by hand, then replace what's broken everywhere it appears. Description Modifier does the scan and the true find-and-replace inside YouTube descriptions — something YouTube Studio's bulk edit can't do.
Why YouTube creators need to audit affiliate links
A video can keep getting views for years, but the links under it don't last that long. Products get discontinued, stores change their web addresses, programs close and tracking IDs change. The video keeps sending viewers to a dead page and you never hear about it. Auditing your affiliate links once in a while is the only way to catch this.
What an affiliate link tester can and can't tell you
An automatic check is good at spotting:
- Pages that no longer exist or return an error
- Links that redirect somewhere you didn't expect
- Links that don't respond at all
What it can't do is tell you whether the link still earns commission, whether the deal is still on, or whether the product page shows what you promised in the video. Some stores also block automated checks. That's why every audit ends with you clicking your most important links yourself.
How to audit affiliate links in your YouTube descriptions
- Load your videos in the Description Modifier extension for Chrome or Edge.
- Run the broken-link scanner. It checks supported links in the loaded descriptions and lists the ones that fail or redirect.
- Test the important links by hand — your top videos and your best-earning programs first. Check the product, the price and your tracking ID.
- Replace the old link everywhere. Paste the old link and the new one, preview the change line by line, then apply it to every video that contains it. You can undo it afterwards.
- Check your disclosures. The rule-based disclosure checker flags affiliate links that may be missing a nearby disclosure. It can't guarantee legal compliance. See our FTC disclosure guide.
Large channels: replacing links uses YouTube's shared daily editing allowance, so a big batch may take more than one day. Scanning itself doesn't use it.
Direct linking in affiliate marketing: why it breaks more often
Direct linking means sending viewers straight to the store's product page with your affiliate link, rather than through a page on your own website. It's the normal setup on YouTube, and it's simple — but it means every link sits separately in every description. When one product page moves, you have to fix it in each video. That's the job find-and-replace is built for.
Affiliate marketing link generators vs. link checkers
An affiliate marketing link generator (usually inside the affiliate program's own dashboard) creates your tracked link. A checker tests links you've already published. Use the program's generator to make the new link, then use Description Modifier to put it in place of the old one across your videos. We don't generate affiliate links or add tracking tags for you.
Where can I post my affiliate links for free?
Your own YouTube descriptions are one of the best free places, because each video keeps bringing in viewers. Pinned comments, community posts, your own website or newsletter also work. Follow each platform's rules and each affiliate program's terms, and always disclose. Wherever you post, the links need maintaining — which is why regular audits matter.
Is link building for affiliate sites the same thing?
No. Link building for affiliate sites is an SEO task: getting other websites to link to your blog so it ranks higher. Auditing affiliate links is about your outgoing links still working. If you run an affiliate site alongside your channel, both matter, but Description Modifier only helps with the second, on YouTube.
What it costs
The link scanner is on paid plans: the 48-Hour Pass ($5 once, nothing to remember to cancel) or Pro ($9/month). The Free plan lets you try find-and-replace with three lifetime runs of up to 25 videos. See pricing, or read how to find broken links in YouTube descriptions and how to audit expired affiliate links.
Try Description Modifier free
Find and replace text inside selected YouTube descriptions, with a preview and recent undo snapshots. 3 lifetime free runs, up to 25 videos each — no credit card required.