Most tech reviewers stack four retailer links at the top of every description and wonder why none convert. Fewer links and better placement fix that.
Open any tech review on YouTube and scroll to the description. You'll probably see something like this:
Buy on Amazon: [link] Buy on [retailer 2]: [link] Buy on [retailer 3]: [link] Buy on [retailer 4]: [link]
Four retailer links, no context, no reason to pick one over another. The viewer reads none of them and keeps scrolling.
This is how most tech channels handle affiliate links, and it quietly costs them money on every single video.
In 2000, researcher Sheena Iyengar ran an experiment at a grocery store. One display showed 24 varieties of jam. Another showed 6. The large display attracted more people, but only 3% bought anything. The smaller display converted 30% of shoppers. Ten times the conversion rate, just by offering fewer options. (Iyengar & Lepper, 2000 - Columbia University)
The same thing happens in a YouTube description. When someone finishes your camera review and wants to buy, they open the description and see four competing links. They don't know which one you actually recommend. They don't know if there's a price difference. They have to think about it, and thinking kills impulse purchases.
One link with a reason to click it will outperform four links sitting there like a phone book.
On desktop, about 100-150 characters of your description are visible before the "...more" button. On mobile it's even less, roughly 80-100 characters. The full description holds up to 5,000 characters, but most viewers never expand it.
So if your first two lines look like this:
Buy on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3x... Buy on [other store]: https://bit.ly/4f...
You've used your most visible real estate on a link dump that nobody reads. Those first lines should carry your single best link with a clear reason to click.
Not all programs pay the same, and Amazon isn't always the best option. What's available depends on where your audience buys.
Amazon Associates pays around 4-5% on electronics, with a 24-hour cookie. Commission rates dropped hard in 2020 and haven't recovered. But Amazon has massive reach in both North America and Europe. Note that Amazon runs separate affiliate programs per country (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, etc.), each with its own signup and commission structure. If your audience is split across regions, you'll need to join multiple programs or use a tool like Geniuslink that auto-routes clicks to the right Amazon storefront.
B&H Photo (US-based, ships internationally) pays 2-8% depending on volume, with a 60-hour cookie. Strong pick if your audience skews toward photography, video production, or pro audio gear.
Thomann is the largest music and audio equipment retailer in Europe. If you review microphones, audio interfaces, studio monitors, or instruments and your audience includes European viewers, Thomann's affiliate program is worth joining. Many European buyers prefer it over Amazon for pro audio gear because of the specialist selection and customer service.
Coolblue (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany) runs an affiliate program for consumer electronics. If you have a meaningful Benelux or German audience, it converts well because those buyers already trust the brand.
Direct brand programs like Lenovo (2-6% via Impact) work globally and sometimes offer review units to affiliates generating real volume. Apple's Performance Partners program only covers services like Apple TV+ and Apple Music, not hardware. Don't bother with it for product reviews.
The point: match the program to where your audience actually shops. A 3% commission on a link people click beats a 5% commission on a link nobody trusts. Check your YouTube analytics to see where your viewers are, then sign up for the programs that serve those regions.
Put one link in the first two lines. Attach a concrete reason to click.
Bad:
Check it out on Amazon: [link]
"Check it out" says nothing. There's no reason to click right now instead of later (which means never).
Better:
Lowest price I found for the Sony A7IV (free shipping): [link]
This works because it answers two questions at once: where to buy and why this link specifically. The viewer doesn't have to compare options.
If you genuinely want to include alternative retailers, put them below the fold under a heading like "Other places to buy." The people who care will scroll. The people who don't care won't get confused by four links competing for attention.
A working layout:
Lowest price I found for the Sony A7IV (free shipping): [link] I earn a commission on purchases at no extra cost to you.
In this review: autofocus test, low-light samples, comparison with the A7III...
OTHER PLACES TO BUY [Retailer 2]: [link] [Retailer 3]: [link]
One primary link up top. Disclosure right there. Alternatives buried for the people who want them.
If you earn money from a link, you have to say so. This is the law in every major market your audience lives in.
In the US, the FTC's Endorsement Guides require "clear and conspicuous" disclosure near the endorsement itself. Their Disclosures 101 guide for influencers is a short, plain-language read worth bookmarking.
In the UK, the ASA and CMA enforce similar rules. Affiliate content must be clearly labeled. In the EU, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive requires transparency about commercial relationships, and individual countries (France's ARPP, Germany's media regulators) enforce it locally.
The practical rule is the same everywhere: if your affiliate link is above the fold, your disclosure should be too. A short line is enough:
I earn a commission on purchases at no extra cost to you.
Skipping disclosure doesn't just risk a regulatory complaint. It erodes trust with the fraction of your audience that notices, and those tend to be your most engaged viewers.
Most affiliate dashboards show you total clicks and total earnings. That's not enough. You need to know which videos drive clicks and which sit dead.
Tag your links with UTM parameters so you can trace clicks back to specific videos or playlists. A simple pattern:
?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=sony-a7iv-review
Compare across your catalog. You'll usually find that a handful of videos generate most of your affiliate revenue. Those are the descriptions worth optimizing first. The rest can wait.
If you're running different programs on different videos, track which retailer converts best for each product category. You might find that Amazon wins for cheap accessories but B&H wins for cameras over $500. That data is worth more than any commission rate table.
The hard part isn't fixing one description. It's fixing a hundred of them and keeping them consistent when you switch affiliate programs or negotiate better rates.
If you have a large back catalog, Sendari lets you update affiliate links across your entire video library at once and track clicks per video, so you can see which descriptions actually convert without tagging every link manually.
