What Happens When You Connect
When you connect your YouTube channel, Lasso scans your video descriptions and imports the links it finds.
If Link Cloaking is enabled (which it is by default) Lasso replaces supported Amazon links in your descriptions with lasso.to short links.
Your monetization remains in place. Viewers still land on the same Amazon products. The visible URL changes, but the destination does not.
The lasso.to link acts as a small redirect that lets Lasso add tracking, optimization, and management features to your existing links.
With this lasso.to Link Cloaking enabled, Lasso can:
Show you which links and videos are getting clicked in your Analytics.
Apply higher commission rates when available through Boosting. (More on this below.)
Add mobile deep linking, so viewers on mobile can open the product directly in the Amazon app when it's installed.
Let you fix or update a link once from your Lasso Dashboard and automatically update it across every video where it appears.
Alert you when links are broken or products are out of stock before you lose potential commissions.
Everything is reversible. You can turn Link Cloaking off at any time to restore your original Amazon URLs.
What Is Boosting?
Boosting allows Lasso to automatically apply higher commission rates when eligible.
When Boosting is enabled, Lasso checks for a higher commission rate through the Lasso Marketplace at the time of the click.
If a higher rate is available, the viewer still goes to the same exact ASIN on Amazon. Lasso simply applies the tracking needed to earn the higher commission, and those earnings are paid through Lasso instead of at the lower Amazon Associates rate.
If a higher rate isn't available, you continue earning through Amazon Associates as normal.
Your Primary Destination URL stays the same. Boosting doesn't swap the product you're promoting. It checks for commission opportunities at the time of the click and uses the appropriate tracking to maximize your potential payout on the exact same product.
How to Turn Off Boosting
Boosting is automatically disabled if you turn off Link Cloaking.
If you'd like to keep Link Cloaking but disable Boosting:
Go to Settings → Preferences.
Find Link Preferences.
Turn off Boost Links.
Your lasso.to links will remain, so you'll continue receiving the other benefits of Link Cloaking without Lasso applying higher Marketplace commission opportunities.
How to Turn Off Link Cloaking
If you'd prefer to keep your original Amazon URLs visible in your YouTube descriptions, you can disable Link Cloaking.
To turn it off:
Go to Lasso → YouTube → Channels.
Click the pencil icon beside your channel.
Toggle off Link Cloaking.
Lasso will begin reverting the lasso.to links in your descriptions back to the original URLs that were there before connecting your channel. This typically happens within 24 hours.
What Happens With Link Cloaking Turned Off?
You can still use Lasso with Link Cloaking disabled.
New links you add to your YouTube descriptions will continue to import into Lasso. This allows Lasso to monitor your links and help identify problems such as broken or out-of-stock products, which you can then replace in your descriptions.
However, because Lasso is no longer managing the live link through lasso.to, features that depend on the redirect (such as automatic updates, Boosting, and mobile deep linking) will no longer be applied.
Summary
Connecting your YouTube channel to Lasso doesn't change the products you're promoting or remove your existing monetization.
By default, Lasso replaces supported Amazon URLs with lasso.to links so it can add analytics, mobile deep linking, centralized link management, link-health monitoring, and optional commission Boosting to ensure you're earning as much as possible.
If you'd rather keep your original Amazon URLs in your descriptions, you can turn off Link Cloaking at any time. Lasso will restore those URLs, typically within 24 hours, while still allowing you to monitor your links from Lasso.
Need Help?
If you have questions, the Lasso team is here to help. Click that chat bubble in the bottom right corner, or send an email to [email protected] anytime. We're here for you!