The latest articles on DEV Community by Nazmul Hasan Fahim (@buildbyfahim). https://dev.to/buildbyfahim https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3950118%2F660b9f54-d7aa-424d-a507-4350dfb43552.png https://dev.to/buildbyfahim en Nazmul Hasan Fahim Mon, 25 May 2026 07:01:26 +0000 https://dev.to/buildbyfahim/i-scanned-47000-affiliate-links-across-a-2200-video-youtube-channel-1-in-3-were-broken-5256 https://dev.to/buildbyfahim/i-scanned-47000-affiliate-links-across-a-2200-video-youtube-channel-1-in-3-were-broken-5256 <p>A creator reached out to me a few months ago. 194,000 subscribers, 2,200 videos, been doing YouTube for 6 years.</p> <p>He thought his affiliate income had dropped because his niche was getting competitive.</p> <p>I ran a full scan of his channel. Here's what we found:</p> <ul> <li>Total links across all descriptions: 47,000+</li> <li>Broken or dead links: 15,000+ (roughly 32%)</li> <li>Cause: Amazon ASIN changes, goo.gl shutdown, expired brand deals, discontinued products</li> </ul> <p>He had been silently losing affiliate commissions for years. Every time someone clicked one of those 15,000 dead links — nothing. No commission. Just a 404 page.</p> <p><strong>The math is brutal:</strong></p> <p>If those 15,000 dead links were getting even 5 clicks/month each = 75,000 lost clicks/month. At a 3% conversion rate and $15 average order = ~$33,750 in lost commissions. Every. Single. Month.</p> <p>He had no idea. YouTube doesn't tell you when a link dies.</p> <p><strong>Why this happens to almost every older channel:</strong></p> <ol> <li>Amazon restructured their link system → old amzn.to links broke</li> <li>Google shut down goo.gl → millions of YouTube links went dead overnight</li> <li>Brand deals end → landing pages go offline, links stay in descriptions forever</li> <li>Products get discontinued → product pages 404, affiliate links still live in old videos</li> </ol> <p>For channels older than 2 years, expect 10-30% of affiliate links to be broken.</p> <p><strong>How we fixed it:</strong></p> <p>Bulk replaced all dead links across hundreds of videos automatically. No manual editing. Took about 20 minutes total.</p> <p>Happy to answer questions about the process or the data. Has anyone else checked their old videos recently? Curious how common this actually is.</p> analytics automation marketing productivity