YouTube viewers will now get authentic Shopify ads in videos with sponsored segments. Google has announced a partnership with Shopify and created the YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
YouTube to get Shopify ads as promotional messages with new partnership
YouTube is one of the most popular online destinations. Moreover, the crowd-sourced video-sharing platform also commands a high retention rate. This makes it a prime online destination for advertisements, promotions, and affiliate programs.
Google has officially announced the YouTube Shopping affiliate program. As the name indicates, it is essentially a partnership with Shopify to promote its merchandise.
This is the next big step in the ‘shop while you watch’ era of commerce.
Today, all eligible @Shopify Plus and Advanced merchants in the US can sign up for the @YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
Shopify merchants can now work with thousands of YouTube creators who then can… pic.twitter.com/rRddUGPaFd
— Harley Finkelstein (@harleyf) August 20, 2024
Specifically speaking, Shopify Plus and Advanced merchants can sign up for the affiliate program. Retailers who sign up for the program will benefit with exposure, promotions, and affiliate links in videos.
Several YouTubers talk about products and regularly tag merchandise. The YouTube Shopping affiliate program offers enhanced visibility. More importantly, this program does away with affiliate links in video descriptions.
How does the partnership benefit YouTubers and viewers?
The YouTube Shopping affiliate program is essentially a safer alternative to web links YouTubers leave in the description or comments section. Consequentially, viewers are exposed to authentic links for products that lead them directly to Shopify.
Many YouTubers curate a list of products they talk about and subsequently hunt for listings during their research. To help YouTube content creators place Shopify ads, Google has also created a Chrome extension.
While a YouTuber is looking at a partner retailer’s web store, this extension automatically stores shortlisted products. This list is automatically pulled up by YouTube Studio. This makes tagging products a lot quicker and simpler.
YouTube 🤝 @Shopify
Eligible merchants get ready to sign up for the YouTube Shopping affiliate program and …🛒 Showcase products at scale with verified creators
📈 Learn what products, videos, & creators are moving the needle for your business by tracking program analytics in… pic.twitter.com/eIO9aBMysy— YouTube Advertisers (@YTAdvertisers) August 20, 2024
The YouTube Shopping affiliate program would surely help many YouTubers. However, several viewers have expressed concern about the growing number of ads on the platform. Some reports suggest this program might increase “sponsored segments” in many more videos.
YouTube has been battling ad-blockers and modified app installers that block sponsored segments, for quite some time. The platform has been aggressively suggesting viewers opt for YouTube Premium if they want to skip ads and gain new features and functions. It would be interesting to see how YouTube’s partnership with Shopify impacts viewers.