YouTube Shopping has two distinct routes: connect your own store to sell your products, or—if your channel qualifies—tag products from participating retailers and potentially earn commissions. Start by choosing the route that fits your goal; eligibility and setup are different for each.
Choose the right YouTube Shopping route
| Route | What viewers can buy | What you need to do | How you earn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Own-store selling | Products from your connected merchandise store or retailer. | Confirm your channel and store are eligible, connect the store in YouTube Studio, then allow time for product review. | Sales of your own products, subject to your store or retailer’s checkout and terms. |
| Creator affiliate tagging | Products offered by participating retailers. | Meet YouTube’s affiliate eligibility requirements, enroll through Studio, and tag relevant products. | Potential commissions on eligible purchases, under the product- and retailer-specific offer terms. |
| Merchant affiliate participation | A merchant’s catalog, which eligible creators may tag. | Merchants follow the documented Shopify and Google Merchant Center setup requirements. | Google’s merchant guidance says merchants pay when creators drive product purchases; it does not establish a universal fee or commission rate. |
Creators can use own-store selling, affiliate tagging, or both if they qualify for the relevant features. Shopify’s merchant setup is a separate path for making a catalog available; it does not replace creator eligibility.
Check creator affiliate eligibility
YouTube Help’s affiliate program overview says creators must be in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and meet the applicable YPP subscriber threshold. The official overview points to the threshold but does not establish one number for every feature and location. Check the current YPP requirements and your channel’s YouTube Studio → Earn area rather than relying on an old threshold.
As of October 3, 2026, YouTube’s listed countries for the general affiliate criteria are Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam. Country coverage and pilot criteria can change; YouTube notes that a pilot may use different requirements.
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Under the general criteria, music channels, Official Artist Channels, channels associated with music partners, and channels set as Made for Kids—or with a significant number of Made for Kids videos—are excluded. YouTube determines eligibility, so use the Earn tab for the status of your account.
For official eligibility details, see YouTube Shopping affiliate program overview and eligibility and YouTube’s affiliate eligibility information.
Connect your own store in YouTube Studio
- Confirm your store route. Your channel must be eligible, and your store must use a platform or retailer supported by YouTube. Check YouTube’s current store connection guidance before starting.
- Open Shopping setup. On a computer, sign in to YouTube Studio and go to Earn → Shopping. Start setup or choose Connect new store, then follow the on-screen instructions to connect your official merchandise store. Button wording may differ by account or device.
- Wait for product review. Products are checked against YouTube and Google Merchant Center policies. YouTube says review typically takes a few business days; a connection does not guarantee every product will be approved.
- Check rejected items. Review the store or Merchant Center status. YouTube says disapproved products can be appealed through the merchandise retailer or the store administrator in Merchant Center.
See Connect, manage, and disconnect your store on YouTube for the current connection flow and requirements.
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Shopify merchant setup: a separate, specific route
Google Merchant Center’s documented setup for Shopify merchants has substantial requirements. These are the criteria for that affiliate-program route, not universal requirements for every YouTube store integration.
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- A Shopify Advanced or Plus plan.
- A Merchant Center account targeting the United States and a US billing address.
- The Google & YouTube app connected to Merchant Center, with automated product sync.
- Conversion tracking and auto-tagging enabled, and the store currency set to US dollars.
- No Shopify headless commerce; most third-party feed providers are not eligible under this documented route.
The affiliate-program card appears only for eligible merchants. See Google’s YouTube Shopping affiliate program setup for Shopify merchants to confirm the current merchant requirements and catalog status.
Where products appear and how to arrange them
Products connected to a channel may appear in its store, video descriptions, product shelves, Shopping buttons or stickers, and collections. Some products can appear automatically after connection. Creators can arrange products and tag or reorder up to 60 items for an individual video or Short.
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What a viewer can see depends in part on shipping availability and their location. YouTube may localize affiliate product matches for viewers in other regions based on relevance, retailer reliability, price, and availability. Paid product placement tags are not localized in the same way described for affiliate tags. Details are in Manage products from your store on YouTube.
Enroll in affiliate tagging and tag relevant products
- Check for access. In YouTube Studio, open Earn and look for the affiliate program invitation or section. If it is available, review and accept its terms. The exact label can vary by account or device.
- Choose a product that genuinely belongs in the content. Use YouTube’s tagging guidance: the item should be easy to identify, prominent, meaningfully related to the video, and shown or explained clearly enough that viewers can understand why it is included.
- Tag the product in the eligible content workflow. Use Studio’s product-tagging controls for the video or Short and select the matching retailer product. Check the result rather than assuming the tag is accurate.
- Review how the tag will appear. In long-form video, tags may be available through a Shopping button. In Shorts, the first tagged item is surfaced as the product sticker unless you change the order.
Before publishing, check each tag against this list:
- Is the product actually featured in the content?
- Can viewers identify it clearly?
- Does the video explain or demonstrate its relevance?
- Is it being used as intended and safely?
Remove a tag if the answer is no. Product tagging is not permission to attach unrelated items to a video. Read YouTube’s product-tagging guidance for current behavior and requirements.
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How sales, commissions, and disclosures work
Own-store purchases are sales of your products through the connected store or retailer. Affiliate earnings are different: you may receive a commission when a viewer makes a purchase that qualifies under the applicable offer. A viewer may also buy other products on the retailer’s site after following a tag, subject to the program terms.
There is no single commission rate or attribution period that applies to every tagged product. Rates and attribution conditions are specific to the seller, product, and offer shown to the creator. Retailers provide product information, availability, prices, warnings, and purchase terms, which can change. Review the current offer and retailer terms in Studio; do not assume a tag guarantees a sale or commission.
Use YouTube’s paid promotion and endorsement disclosures whenever applicable, and follow the advertising rules that apply where you publish and where your audience is located. YouTube’s “affiliate partnerships boost” is a separate, limited-access feature: opted-in creators allow tagged sellers or brands to use their videos in campaigns and may earn from qualifying purchases. YouTube says it is not globally available and is offered only to a small creator group; it is not standard affiliate access. See Use affiliate partnerships boost.
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Policies and common setup problems
- The affiliate option is missing: Check the channel’s YPP status, subscriber-threshold eligibility, country, and channel type in YouTube Studio’s Earn area. A feature may also be unavailable under the criteria for a particular pilot.
- The store connection is unavailable: Verify that the channel and store platform meet YouTube’s current requirements, then follow the supported connection flow in Studio.
- A product is disapproved: Review the policy and feed status in Merchant Center or through the store administrator. If appropriate, appeal through the retailer or Merchant Center administrator.
- A viewer cannot see a product: Check product approval, shipping availability, and the viewer’s location; a product’s presence on your channel does not mean it is purchasable everywhere.
- A tag feels weak or misleading: Remove it unless the content clearly features the product and shows it being used appropriately.
Connected products must comply with YouTube’s Terms of Service, monetization policies, Community Guidelines, paid product placement and endorsement policy, and Google Shopping policies, including its prohibited content policy. Violations can result in loss of Shopping features or account termination. Recheck the Studio Earn and Shopping tabs and the relevant official help pages because availability, retailer participation, offers, and interface details can change.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
