If you rely on YouTube for affiliate income, product reviews, or link-based promotions, then broken links hidden inside your video descriptions can silently kill your earnings.
Most creators don’t even realise when:
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Their Amazon links stop working
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Brand URLs expire
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Shortened links break
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They accidentally pasted a wrong URL
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A product page returns 404 Not Found
And because older videos stay live for years, you might be losing revenue without ever noticing it.
That’s exactly why creators are now using tools like BrokenTube — a modern YouTube broken link checker tool that automatically scans YouTube video descriptions and detects every dead, unavailable, or invalid link.
Let’s walk through everything clearly.
Why Broken Links in YouTube Descriptions Matter
Most creators focus on video content — but the real money is often inside the description.
Broken links can:
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Reduce affiliate conversions
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Block commissions from high-performing videos
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Damage brand trust
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Lower CTR on important URLs
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Waste thousands of potential visitors
The worst part?
YouTube does not warn you when a description link stops working.
If you have 100+ videos, checking descriptions manually becomes impossible.
Why Manual Checking Never Works
Manually testing every link requires:
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Opening each video
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Scrolling to the description
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Clicking every link
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Waiting for the website to load
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Checking if it's 200 OK or 404 Not Found
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Repeating this hundreds of times
This process is too slow, time-consuming, and unrealistic — especially for channels with dozens or hundreds of uploads.
That’s why most creators now Sign up for free and let automation handle everything.
How to Find Broken YouTube Links Automatically
The easiest and fastest way is to scan your YouTube channel using BrokenTube.
Unlike generic link checkers, this tool is built specifically for YouTube creators.
BrokenTube automatically:
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Scans your entire YouTube channel
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Collects all video descriptions
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Extracts every external URL
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Tests each link for availability
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Identifies 404, invalid, redirected, or unsupported links
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Generates a clean list of all broken links
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Shows which video contains which dead link
It's the fastest way to protect your affiliate income.
Helpful internal links:
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View all features: See all features
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Chrome extension: Check links while watching
How BrokenTube Works (Step-by-Step)
Here’s the exact workflow:
Step 1: Create a free account
Step 2: Add your YouTube channel
BrokenTube automatically gathers:
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All videos
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All descriptions
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All external links
No website URL or WordPress access required.
Step 3: Automatic link health check
BrokenTube detects:
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404 Not Found links
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Invalid/malformed URLs
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Redirected URLs
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Expired product links
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Affiliate links that no longer work
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Hidden/unformatted URLs
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Unsafe/suspicious URLs
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Broken shortlinks
Step 4: View your full report
You get:
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A list of all broken description links
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The exact video where the link is found
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Status codes (404, timeout, redirect, blocked, etc.)
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Recommendations on how to fix them
Step 5: Fix your links
Simply replace or update the dead URLs inside your YouTube Studio.
This helps you recover lost clicks + affiliate sales almost instantly.
How to Prevent Future Broken Links
You can avoid broken URLs by using a smart link shortener — especially for affiliate and product links.
The Creator Plan includes:
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Click tracking
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Real-time health check
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Automatic link monitoring
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Update destination URL anytime
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Trackable links
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Redirect control
Check it here:
👉 Smart Link Shortener
👉 Trackable links
This ensures your links never stop working — even if platforms change the URL.
Best Practices for YouTube Link Health Monitoring
Follow these guidelines:
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Scan your channel every 10–15 days
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Use the BrokenTube Chrome Extension while watching videos
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Use shortlinks instead of direct URLs
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Avoid copy-pasting long URLs from Amazon
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Replace expired brand links
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Bulk update old video descriptions at least once a year
These simple steps protect your revenue long-term.
FAQ — People Also Ask
How do I check if my YouTube description links are broken?
Manually checking them is slow and impractical. Tools like BrokenTube scan your entire channel and automatically detect any broken or 404 links inside your video descriptions.
What causes broken links in YouTube videos?
Expired affiliate URLs, removed product pages, redirected websites, formatting mistakes, or shortened URLs expiring. These cause viewers to land on 404 or invalid pages.
Does BrokenTube check deleted YouTube videos?
No. BrokenTube checks links in video descriptions, not the video’s availability.
Can it scan my blog or website?
No. BrokenTube is designed specifically to scan YouTube descriptions, not websites or WordPress embeds.
How often should creators scan their links?
Weekly or bi-weekly is ideal, especially for affiliate-heavy channels.
Conclusion — Fix Broken Description Links Before They Cost You Money
Broken description links silently destroy your affiliate income.
But fixing them doesn’t have to be difficult.
With BrokenTube:
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Your entire channel is scanned automatically
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Every broken link is detected
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You fix everything quickly
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You protect your earnings and credibility
Start today.
👉 Stop losing revenue today
👉 Scan my channel now
Your YouTube channel deserves clean, healthy, working links — always.
