· Everpop
The Related Video link — shown under your channel handle in the Shorts player — is the clickable route you can add to a Short you already posted. A Short cut with YouTube's own tool is linked back to its source video instead. YouTube makes URLs in Shorts descriptions and comments non-clickable, so the pinned comment and the closing line are signposts, not links.
Most writing about the Shorts funnel argues about whether the crossover to long-form happens at all. That debate has its own home in do Shorts help your channel grow. This post is about the plumbing underneath it: which exits from a Short exist, which of them a thumb can actually tap, and what has to be true of your channel before they show up.
Can you put a clickable link in a YouTube Short?
Not in the description, and not in a comment. YouTube's own reference on clickable links states: "To reduce spam and scam attempts, URLs placed in YouTube Shorts comments and Shorts descriptions are non-clickable."
The same page sorts every surface into clickable and non-clickable. On the clickable side it lists Related Videos in Shorts links, mentions and hashtags in Shorts comments, channel profile links, and Green screen and Remix attribution links. On the non-clickable side, first item: URLs in Shorts comments and descriptions.
This matters because of what it does to a real viewer. Paste the full URL of your podcast episode into the description of a Short and it renders as plain grey text. Someone watching on a phone, mid-swipe, would have to select it by hand and carry it to a browser. Nobody does that. The link is there, it is legible, and it goes nowhere.
How do you add a Related Video link to a Short?
This is the exit built for the job. YouTube describes it plainly: "A related video allows you to showcase your Videos, Shorts, and Live in the Shorts player," and "Viewers will see a clickable link below your channel handle" (Add a related video to your YouTube Shorts).
The steps on that page:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- Select Content from the left menu.
- Click the Short you want to edit.
- Choose a Related Video from your channel.
- Click SAVE.
Two requirements sit on it. The destination must qualify — "The video you select has to be public or unlisted and must follow our Community Guidelines" — and so must your channel: "Adding a related video is only available with advanced feature access."
That second line is where a lot of creators stall. YouTube's feature eligibility page describes three tiers. Intermediate features come from verifying your phone number. Advanced features come from established channel history or identity verification with a valid ID or video, and the advanced list is where "Add a Related Video to your YouTube Short" appears. So a creator who verified their phone, went looking for the Related Video field in Studio, and could not find it is not hitting a bug. They are at the intermediate tier, and the field is one rung above.
Does a pinned comment send anyone to your long video?
Not as a link. The policy above covers Shorts comments as well as descriptions, so the URL in your pinned comment is the same dead text as the one in your description. Pinning is also itself an advanced feature — the eligibility page lists "Pin comments on videos and posts" alongside the Related Video entry.
A pinned comment still earns its place, but as a name rather than an address. Write the exact title of the long video, spelled the way it appears on your channel, so a motivated viewer can search it directly instead of guessing. A mention of your own handle helps too: YouTube lists mentions and hashtags in Shorts comments on the clickable side, and a mention lands the viewer on your channel, where your uploads and your profile links live.
So the honest version of the pinned-comment tactic is a two-hop: the comment names the episode, the mention carries them to the channel, and the channel does the rest.
What should the end of the clip actually do?
The closing seconds are the one part of this funnel that depends on nothing — not a tier, not a policy, not a Studio setting. It is your footage, so it is yours to control.
Two things belong there. Say the destination out loud, by name, in the final line of the cut. And put it on screen, because a spoken line reaches only the viewers who have the sound on, and a spoken cue nobody hears is not a cue.
The common failure is quieter than a bad hook. A clip ends on a laugh or a strong sentence, the moment lands, and then it just stops — no name, no next step, nothing for a viewer who wanted more. The clip performed. The funnel did not exist.
That is exactly what a review pass is for. Everpop is review-first by default — it proposes cuts and nothing posts until you approve, with Autopilot an opt-in setting — so the moment you watch a proposed clip end cold is the moment to reject it and take a cut that keeps the closing line. Word-by-word burned captions carry that line for anyone watching with the sound off, and three free re-renders per clip mean fixing the ending costs nothing.
Should you use YouTube's own "Edit into a Short" tool?
It is worth knowing about, because it solves the attribution problem by construction. YouTube's page on creating Shorts from your videos says: "Shorts you create from your videos are linked back to your original video, giving new viewers a chance to discover your content."
The trade is real in both directions. You get an automatic tie back to the source, with no tier requirement and no Studio field to find. You also work inside that tool's limits — the page has you select up to 60 seconds of your video — and you give up the framing, caption and export control you would have if you cut the clip yourself from your own file. For a quick pull it is a fine option. For a clip you want to caption, reframe and hand to an editor, it is not.
Which exits actually work?
| Exit | Can a viewer tap it? | What it needs | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|---|
| Related Video link | Yes | Advanced feature access; destination public or unlisted | Below your channel handle in the Shorts player |
| URL in the Short's description | No — non-clickable by policy | — | Description, as plain text |
| URL in a pinned comment | No — same policy | Pinning is an advanced feature | Comments, as plain text |
| Mention of your handle | Yes, per YouTube's clickable list | — | Shorts comments; lands on your channel |
| Spoken and on-screen closing line | Not a link; a name to search | Nothing | The final seconds of your cut |
| Short created in YouTube's own tool | Not stated — YouTube says only that such Shorts are "linked back to your original video" | Selection capped at 60 seconds | Attribution to the source video |
How do you tell whether the handoff worked?
By reading what the Short actually did, not by how it felt. Views on the Short and traffic to the long video are separate questions, and the gap between them is its own diagnosis — the same gap behind views but no subscribers.
This is where a durable record beats a screenshot. Everpop issues a signed prediction before a clip publishes, then pulls 48-hour and 7-day figures from YouTube Analytics into a link a third party can open. It documents what happened, including the clips that went nowhere. The prediction is a pre-commitment the measured numbers then judge, not a promise of what a clip will do.
Claims table
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| "To reduce spam and scam attempts, URLs placed in YouTube Shorts comments and Shorts descriptions are non-clickable." | YouTube Help — clickable links |
| Clickable list includes Related Videos in Shorts links, mentions and hashtags in Shorts comments, channel profile links | YouTube Help — clickable links |
| "A related video allows you to showcase your Videos, Shorts, and Live in the Shorts player." | YouTube Help — related video |
| "Viewers will see a clickable link below your channel handle." | YouTube Help — related video |
| "The video you select has to be public or unlisted and must follow our Community Guidelines." | YouTube Help — related video |
| "Adding a related video is only available with advanced feature access." | YouTube Help — related video |
| Studio steps: Content → the Short → Related Video → SAVE | YouTube Help — related video |
| Intermediate tier comes from phone verification; advanced from channel history or ID/video verification | YouTube Help — feature eligibility |
| "Add a Related Video to your YouTube Short" and "Pin comments on videos and posts" are advanced features | YouTube Help — feature eligibility |
| "Shorts you create from your videos are linked back to your original video, giving new viewers a chance to discover your content." | YouTube Help — create Shorts from your videos |
| Selection of up to 60 seconds of the source video in that tool | YouTube Help — create Shorts from your videos |
| "Your video has to be at least 25 seconds long to have an end screen." | YouTube Help — end screens |
| Review-first approval; word-by-word burned captions; three free re-renders; a signed pre-publish prediction, plus 48h and 7d YouTube Analytics figures | Everpop product behaviour |
Frequently asked questions
- Why is the link in my Shorts description not clickable?
- Because YouTube makes it that way. Its clickable-links page states that to reduce spam and scam attempts, URLs placed in YouTube Shorts comments and Shorts descriptions are non-clickable. No subscriber count or verification step changes it.
- Can I add an end screen to a YouTube Short?
- YouTube documents one clickable link in the Shorts player, and it is not an end screen: the Related Video link, which viewers see below your channel handle. YouTube's end-screen page describes the long-form player and does not address Shorts at all. Set up the Related Video link instead — it is the exit built for the Shorts player.
- I verified my phone number but I still cannot find the Related Video option. Why?
- Phone verification grants the intermediate tier. Adding a Related Video to a Short is listed under advanced features, which come from established channel history or identity verification with a valid ID or video.
- Is a pinned comment worth writing if the URL will not be clickable?
- Yes, as a name rather than a link. Put the exact title of the long video in it so viewers can search it directly, and mention your own handle — YouTube lists mentions in Shorts comments as clickable, and that lands viewers on your channel.
- Does the Related Video have to be a long-form upload?
- No. YouTube describes the feature as a way to showcase your Videos, Shorts and Live in the Shorts player. The destination has to be public or unlisted and must follow YouTube's Community Guidelines.
- What is the one thing to fix first?
- The ending of the clip, because it depends on no tier and no setting. Name the destination out loud and on screen in the final line, then set up the Related Video link once your channel has advanced access.