YouTube
App links for YouTube, with installs per video
Last updated
Put a Jumper link in your video description and pinned comment. iPhones go to the App Store, Android phones go to Google Play, and computers go to your website or a page for your app. Give each video or sponsorship its own link, and you see which one brings installs: taps in Jumper the same day, downloads per campaign in App Store Connect.
How to set it up
- Make your app’s link. Paste your App Store or Google Play link at app.jumper.to/new.
- Add one link per video. On your app’s page, add an install link with the channel YouTube, the medium description and the video’s short name as the campaign.
- Put it in the description and a pinned comment. Near the top of the description, so it shows before “more”, and again in a comment you pin.
- Show the QR code for TV viewers. Download the link’s QR code and place it in a corner of the video while you talk about the app.
Where links work on YouTube
YouTube allows links in more places than TikTok or Instagram, but not everywhere.
Links on YouTube
Where a link can be clicked, and what to do where it cannot.
| Place | Clickable? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Long video description | Yes | Put the link in the first two lines, before “more”. |
| Pinned comment | Yes | Repeat the link; many viewers read comments before the description. |
| Channel links | Yes | Your main link, for people who visit your channel. |
| Community posts | Yes | Announce updates with the same link or a new one. |
| Shorts description and comments | No | Say the address out loud and show it on screen. |
| End screens and cards | Only your own approved website | Point to the description instead. |
YouTube changes these rules from time to time; YouTube Studio is the final word.
One link per video
Every link of an app opens the same store pages. What differs is the campaign name it carries to the stores. Name each link after its video and keep the names short: Apple joins the channel and the campaign with a hyphen and keeps only the first 30 characters.
Three videos, three links
The campaign names you choose, and what App Store Connect shows for each.
| Video | Campaign you type | App Store Connect shows |
|---|---|---|
| Your launch video | launch | yt-launch |
| A how-to video | howto-1 | yt-howto-1 |
| A creator’s sponsored review | review-maya | yt-review-maya |
Google Play gets the same channel and campaign as tags, which your analytics shows under the install’s source.
Sponsorships and creators
Paying a creator to show your app? Give them their own link, not your main one. Then you see what their video brought, separately from your own videos. If several creators talk about your app, each one gets a link. The page about creator links explains how to name them so App Store Connect shows each creator.
People watching on a TV or a computer
Many people watch YouTube on a TV or a laptop, where they cannot install a phone app. A computer that opens your link goes to your website, or, if you set none, to a landing page for your app: icon, name, the official store buttons, a QR code and a form that sends the link to their phone.
For TV viewers, put the link’s QR code on screen for a few seconds. They scan it with their phone, and the phone goes to its own store. The QR code holds the link, so you can change where it points later without editing the video.
What happens on a phone
The YouTube app opens links in its own browser view, which hands store links on to the App Store and Google Play. Jumper recognises that view and sends people straight to the store, without a page in between. Your stats list YouTube as the in-app browser, so you see how many taps came from the app.
What it does not do
YouTube is not yet part of our dated phone tests; we add it to the public test results when we test it on real phones. Jumper cannot make Shorts links clickable or put a link on an end screen.
Jumper counts taps; Apple and Google count installs, and Apple hides campaign numbers that are too small. The link does not open your app when it is already installed, has no deferred deep links and does not follow people inside your app. It is a marketing link and its numbers, not an attribution platform.
Make your YouTube link
Paste your App Store or Google Play link. 3 free credits: each link or page uses one. Nothing to install in your app.
- 3 free credits: each link or page uses one.
- Nothing to install in your app
- No credit card
Questions
Where can I put an app link on YouTube?
In the description of a long video, in a pinned comment, in your channel’s links and in community posts. YouTube does not make links clickable in Shorts descriptions and comments.
Can I see installs for each video?
Yes. Give each video its own link with its own campaign name. App Store Connect counts downloads per campaign, and Google Play passes the campaign to your analytics. Jumper shows the taps per link the same day.
Can I put the link on an end screen or a card?
No. YouTube lets end screens and cards link only to your own approved website, so a Jumper link cannot go there. Use the description and a pinned comment.
What about people watching on a TV or a computer?
A computer goes to your website or to a landing page for your app with a QR code. On a TV, show the link’s QR code in the video: people scan it with their phone and land in the right store.
What does it cost?
3 free credits: each link or page uses one. Free credits renew every year. After that: $2 a credit a year, 10 credits for $10, 100 credits for $20. Taps are unlimited and there are no ads.
Will the link open my app if it is already installed?
No. A Jumper link always goes to the store, which shows an “Open” button when the app is installed. Opening a screen inside your app needs Universal Links and App Links on your own domain.