📊 Every month, YouTube creators lose thousands in affiliate commissions because links in their old videos have died, expired, or broken.
A creator with 300 videos might have 1,500+ links scattered across descriptions. Highlighting these missed opportunities is your unique selling position.
This edition shows you how to build a YouTube Link Checker SaaS that scans entire channels for broken links, expired affiliate URLs, and slow-loading pages.
Featured Business - Beehiiv
Beehiiv is the #1 email newsletter platform, trusted by over 25,000 people.
They make it simple to design, automate, and analyze your emails—not to mention, you can earn income passively with their signature Boost feature!
Use our link to get a 30 day trial and +20% off for 3 months.
Advertise your business or website here.
Today’s Idea
What it does: Automatically audits every link in a creator's channel (video descriptions + About section) to identify broken, expired, or problematic URLs.
How it works: Connects via YouTube Data API → Scans all video descriptions → Tests each link → Delivers prioritized report showing which videos have issues and estimated revenue impact.
The opportunity: A creator with 100K subscribers might discover $200-500/month in lost affiliate revenue from their back catalog. Endless value here.
Available Domain: LinkScan.ai
Ideal Customer
Tech/finance YouTubers with 50K+ subscribers → 200+ videos with outdated tool recommendations killing affiliate commissions
Product review channels → Time-sensitive affiliate links in electronics, software, fashion where products expire fast
Educational creators → Hundreds of videos referencing external resources that need to keep working for credibility
YouTube agencies/MCNs → Managing 10-50 channels, need scalable monitoring without manual work
Affiliate marketing specialists → Travel, fitness, personal development niches where broken links = lost revenue
Corporate YouTube channels → SaaS companies, e-commerce brands where broken product links damage revenue and reputation
Why It Will Succeed
Massive blind spot: Creators obsess over thumbnails and SEO but ignore link rot. TubeBuddy's checker is basic, Geniuslink only does Amazon. Gap = opportunity.
Instant ROI: Discover $300/month in broken links → $29/month subscription pays for itself in 3 days.
Viral panic moments: "I have 47 broken links in my top 20 videos!" → Creators immediately share this in Discord/Reddit/Twitter communities.
Sticky retention: Fix links once, need ongoing monitoring forever. Links break constantly as companies rebrand or shut down.
Clear expansion path: Start with detection → Add link optimization → Add tracking analytics → Become full affiliate link management platform.
Agency goldmine: $199/month to monitor 20 channels when each creator loses hundreds to broken links = easy B2B sell.
Low competition, huge market: 2 million+ monetized YouTube channels, tiny fraction served by existing tools.
Getting Started and Building an MVP
Core Features
Channel scanning: Connect via YouTube Data API → Pull all video descriptions + About section → Extract and catalog every URL
Link health checks: Test for 404s, redirects, slow loads, SSL issues, expired affiliate patterns (especially Amazon Associates)
Prioritized reporting: Rank broken links by video view count → Show which dead links cost the most money
Bulk export: CSV reports with video URLs, broken links, issue types for efficient YouTube Studio updates
Automated monitoring: Weekly/monthly re-scans → Email alerts when new broken links detected
Analytics dashboard: Total links scanned, issues by type, estimated traffic impact, fix tracking over time
Fix guidance: Step-by-step instructions for updating video descriptions in YouTube Studio efficiently
No-Code/Low-Code Tech Stack
Backend & Automation: Make.com → Handles YouTube API calls, orchestrates link checking, manages recurring scans ($9-29/month)
Frontend: Softr.io → User dashboard, reports, account management connected to Airtable ($49/month Starter)
Database: Airtable → Store users, channels, scan results, link history ($20/month Plus)
Link Checking: Apify Broken Link Checker Tool
YouTube Integration: YouTube Data API v3 → Free tier: 10,000 quota units/day (scan 30-40 channels daily with 200 videos each)
Email Notifications: SendGrid → Scan alerts and broken link notifications (Free: 100 emails/day, $15/month for 40K)
Payments: Stripe via Make.com → Subscription billing (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction)
Scheduling: Make.com's scheduler → Trigger automated weekly/monthly channel scans
Total MVP cost: $35-40/month
Build Steps
Hint - Use ChatGPT if you get stuck
1. Set Up YouTube Data API and Apify Account
Create project in Google Cloud Console and enable YouTube Data API v3
Generate API credentials for YouTube
Sign up for Apify free account (includes $5 in platform credits)
Get your Apify API token from Integrations settings in Apify Console
Test YouTube API: Pull sample channel data and video lists
Optimize for quota limits: Batch 50 videos per call using comma-separated IDs
2. Create Link Extraction Workflow in Make.com
Build Make.com scenario that accepts YouTube channel URL input
Use YouTube Data API to extract channel ID and retrieve all video descriptions + About section
Create regex module to extract all URLs (http/https links) from text content
Design Airtable base with tables: Users, Channels, Videos, Links
Store extracted links with metadata: video ID, title, views, publish date, link URL
Test with real channel to verify all links captured correctly
3. Integrate Apify Broken Link Checker
Add Apify HTTP module to Make.com workflow
Configure API call to Apify's Broken Link Checker Actor (jancurn/find-broken-links)
Set up POST request to
https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/jancurn~find-broken-links/runswith your API tokenFor each video, send extracted links as input parameter
baseUrlarrayParse Apify's JSON response to identify: 404 errors, 301/302 redirects, slow loads (>3 seconds), SSL issues
Cost estimate: ~$1 per 1,000 links checked on Apify's platform credits
Store results in Airtable with issue classification, timestamps, and priority scores based on video views
4. Build Creator Dashboard with Softr
Create Softr app connected to Airtable with user authentication
Design dashboard showing: total links scanned, issues by type (404s, redirects, timeouts), health score percentage
Build prioritized fix list sorted by video traffic impact (high-view videos with broken links first)
Create detailed report view: Group broken links by video with direct YouTube Studio edit links
Add CSV export: Columns for Video URL, Title, Views, Broken Link, Issue Type, HTTP Status, Recommended Action
Include visual charts: Link health trends over time, traffic impact estimates, fix completion tracking
5. Automate Monitoring and Payment Integration
Schedule recurring Apify scans via Make.com: Weekly for Pro users, monthly for Basic tier
Build conditional logic: Only run Apify checks on new/changed links to minimize credit usage
Set up SendGrid email workflow triggered when Apify finds new broken links
Email includes: Summary of issues, links to affected videos, direct YouTube Studio URLs
Integrate Stripe via Make.com for subscription management
Connect subscription status to Softr permissions (free vs paid features)
Test complete flow: Signup → Connect channel → Auto-scan → Results → Subscribe → Monitoring alerts
Monetization Strategies
One-Time Audits
$29-49 for single complete channel scan + detailed report
Perfect for testing value before subscribing
Promote during Black Friday and Q4 optimization periods
Individual Creator Plans
Basic: $9/month → 1 channel, monthly scans
Pro: $29/month → 1-3 channels, weekly scans, priority alerts, API access
Premium: $49/month → Unlimited channels, daily monitoring, Slack integration, advanced analytics
Target $29 Pro tier as default for monetized creators
Agency & MCN Tiers
Starter: $199/month → 10-20 channels, white-label reports, team access
Enterprise: $499/month → Up to 100 channels, API access, Slack support, custom scheduling
Affiliate Partnerships
Partner with ShareASale, Impact, PartnerStack
Earn 10-20% referral fees when creators update broken affiliate links
You're driving traffic back to affiliate platforms
Done-For-You Services
Link fixing service: $99-299 depending on channel size
High-margin add-on for busy creators
Package as quarterly maintenance for enterprise YouTubers
API Licensing
License infrastructure to vidIQ, Social Blade, other creator tools
$199-999/month based on usage volume
B2B revenue without user acquisition costs
Marketing Strategies
Creator Partnership Program
Find 5-10 channels (50K-500K subs) in business/finance/tech niches
Offer free annual premium for review video or tutorial
Expect 2-5% conversion from quality creator endorsements
Cost: $0 (free accounts) → Potential: 1,000-5,000 signups per video
Free Viral Audit Campaign
Landing page: Submit channel for free one-time audit
Limit to first 1,000 channels to create urgency
When results show big issues, creators share panic moments organically
Email sequence: Results → Free tips → Paid monitoring pitch
Budget: $0 → Expected conversion: 15-25% to paid
YouTube Creator Community Infiltration
Join 20+ Discord servers, Reddit communities (r/PartneredYouTube, r/NewTubers)
Provide genuine value: answer questions, share link health tips
Drop tool mentions naturally when relevant
Be helpful first, promotional second
Time investment: 5 hours/week → Steady organic signups
SEO Content Strategy
Target keywords: "youtube broken links," "affiliate link checker," "youtube link audit"
Create tools: Free single-video link checker on homepage
Write guides: "How to Fix Broken YouTube Links in Bulk"
Case studies: "How [Creator] Recovered $2K/Month in Lost Commissions"
Budget: $0 (DIY) or $500-1K/month (freelance writers)
Paid YouTube Ads
Target channels: TubeBuddy tutorials, vidIQ reviews, affiliate marketing guides
Video ad: "Are broken links costing you money? Find out in 60 seconds"
Lead with free audit offer
Budget: $500-1K/month → Test and scale based on CAC
Email Outreach to Agencies
Build list of 200+ YouTube MCNs and creator agencies
Personalized emails: "Your creators might be losing $X from broken links"
Offer free agency trial for 5 channels
Include case study showing ROI
Close rate target: 5-10% → 10-20 agency customers
Referral Program
Give creators 30% recurring commission for referrals
Affiliates earn $9-15/month per referred subscriber
Build into product: Easy share links in dashboard
Creators promote tools they use to their audiences naturally
Expanding and Improving
AI-powered link replacement → Automatically suggest working alternatives when affiliate links break (detect product, find current merchant link)
Link tracking analytics → Show click-through rates per video link, identify which affiliate links perform best, optimize based on data
Automated link updates → One-click bulk update broken links across multiple videos via YouTube API (requires creator OAuth permissions)
Chrome extension → Check links directly in YouTube Studio while editing descriptions, real-time validation as you type
Integration with link management tools → Connect with Bitly, Rebrandly, Pretty Links for centralized link tracking and updating
Multi-platform expansion → Scan Instagram bios, TikTok profiles, Twitter threads for creators managing links across platforms
Competitor affiliate intelligence → Show what affiliate programs competitors use, suggest better-converting alternatives based on niche
Mobile app → iOS/Android for on-the-go link monitoring, push notifications for urgent broken link alerts
Thanks for checking out another edition of Easy Startup Ideas!
If you have any comments or suggestions on how to improve this newsletter, please let us know by commenting below.
As an Amazon Associate and affiliate of various partnership programs, the owner of this publication may receive commissions to linked products or services in this newsletter at no additional expense to the reader.