Use a Short’s clickable Related Videos link to point viewers towards relevant live content. If your stream is already live in vertical format, viewers using the YouTube app can pause a Short and tap Live to enter the vertical live feed; scheduled streams do not appear there.
That gives you two distinct routes, not a promise of conversion: a link attached to a Short, and in-app discovery of a vertical stream that is live now. For scheduled broadcasts, use advance promotion and channel surfaces instead. A URL in a Short’s description or comments is not clickable.
Choose the route that matches your stream
Start by deciding what you want the viewer to reach: an ongoing vertical broadcast, a scheduled event, or a channel page where they can find more information. Each has a different path. Avoid writing a Short as if every destination behaves like a tappable link.
For an already-live vertical stream, YouTube documents a specific in-app path: a viewer pauses a Short and taps Live to browse the vertical live feed. This is a discovery surface for streams that are live, not a way to open a future event. A horizontal or scheduled stream should not be presented as though it will be entered through that same route.
For a Short that should lead to a video or other relevant content, use its Related Videos link where the intended destination is available. YouTube says this link is clickable. Check what destination YouTube Studio lets you select for your Short rather than assuming that every live URL can be attached or that the viewer will be taken directly into a live broadcast.
A scheduled stream needs an advance path. Share its event link in places where YouTube supports links, make the event easy to find from your channel, and give a clear start time. If the broadcast is part of a continuing channel, an always-available public archive or a suitable channel video may be a useful intermediate destination. You can also review how to schedule a YouTube Live stream that plays videos automatically when planning the event itself.
| Viewer destination | Supported route to explain | What not to imply |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant video content | Clickable Related Videos link on the Short | That every live event URL can be selected |
| Vertical stream already live | Pause the Short and tap Live in the YouTube app | That this opens a scheduled stream |
| Scheduled broadcast | Advance promotion and supported channel surfaces | That it appears in the vertical Live feed |
| General channel information | Clickable channel profile links | That a URL in a Short description or comment is clickable |
The difference matters to someone watching a Short on a phone. If the action you describe does not match the surface they can tap, they may not find the broadcast even if they are interested. YouTube’s Help page on sharing links with your audiences describes which link surfaces are clickable.
Add a Related Videos link to the Short
A Short should give viewers a reason to continue and an obvious next step. Use a relevant moment from the live channel as the Short’s subject: a bhajan that returns each evening, a short extract from a study session, a local update, or a recognisable part of an ambience stream. Then make the destination meaningful. A viewer who enjoyed a particular song or topic is more likely to understand why the linked content relates to it than if the Short is simply a generic advert for a channel.
YouTube identifies the Related Videos link as clickable. Use the feature in YouTube Studio to associate a relevant video with the Short, then check that the intended item is selected. The official guidance establishes that the link is clickable; it does not guarantee that every creator can attach every kind of live URL, nor does it promise a particular number of viewers. Treat the feature as a supported route to relevant content, and verify the destination YouTube actually offers you.
If the available destination is a channel video or archive rather than the live event itself, be plain about that in the Short. For example, say that the linked video shows the channel and that the live session runs at a stated time, if that is accurate. Do not suggest that tapping the link will join an event when the selected item does not do that.
You can also use the channel profile as a broader navigation point. YouTube says channel profile links are clickable and permits up to 14 links on the channel page. That can help viewers who want a schedule, channel information, or a suitable landing video, but it is one step removed from entering the live broadcast. Keep the most useful destination easy to recognise; a long set of unrelated links makes a simple route harder to follow.
For a repeatable channel, make the Short’s promise specific. A study channel might show one solved step and identify the live revision session. A devotional channel might use a short excerpt and tell viewers when the full programme is on. A local news loop might preview a recurring bulletin rather than implying that a clip is breaking news. The content should match the linked destination so that viewers do not arrive somewhere materially different from what the Short led them to expect.
When you use recorded material to preview an ongoing broadcast, check the source and rights before publishing. YouTube’s livestream terms require creators to have the necessary rights for their live content, including music licensing rights. This is particularly relevant for channels that use devotional recordings, background music, or material supplied by another person. See YouTube’s livestreaming terms and check the current official guidance for your circumstances.
Understand the vertical Live feed
The vertical Live feed is the second route to explain accurately. YouTube says a viewer in the app can pause a Short and tap Live to access the feed of vertical livestreams. This is useful when your broadcast is already live in a vertical format and the viewer is using the relevant app experience. It is not a general button that sends every Shorts viewer to any live stream on the channel.
Keep the distinction between vertical and horizontal streams clear in your planning and wording. A channel may have a horizontal 24/7 stream, a vertical live session, or both. The cited YouTube guidance describes browsing vertical livestreams in the app. Do not tell viewers that an ongoing horizontal stream will necessarily be presented in that feed simply because it is live.
Scheduled livestreams and Premieres do not show up in the vertical Live feed, according to YouTube’s guidance. That means a Short published before a scheduled event cannot rely on this discovery surface to carry the viewer to the event page. A future stream needs its own promotion plan, described in the next section.
YouTube also notes a link limitation that matters once viewers are watching: links in live chat may be clickable for horizontal live streams, but are not clickable when viewed in the mobile app’s vertical live feed. Do not make a chat URL your main route for people arriving through the vertical feed. If the viewer needs to find an event, schedule, or channel page, explain a supported path that works in the surface they are actually using.
The feed is an opportunity for discovery, not a guarantee that a viewer will see your stream. YouTube’s documentation describes how the entry point works, but does not promise placement, audience volume, or a particular rate of movement from Shorts to Live. Keep the Short useful on its own, and treat entry into the feed as one possible next action rather than the only measure of whether the Short has done its job.
The guide to running a 24/7 Radha Krishna bhajan channel is useful background for thinking about the ongoing broadcast as a destination with a consistent subject and listening experience. The traffic route still depends on what format is live and what YouTube surface the viewer can access.
Promote scheduled streams before they start
A scheduled stream is an event viewers need to find before it begins. YouTube recommends sharing the stream link at least 48 hours before going live. Use that lead time to share the event through supported channel surfaces, give viewers a clear start time, and publish a Short or teaser that describes what the scheduled broadcast contains. The recommendation is a planning prompt, not evidence that a particular promotion window will produce attendance.
Make the channel page useful to someone who arrives from a Short. YouTube recommends using the channel Live Section to help viewers find live content. Check that the scheduled event is visible from the channel and that the title and description explain what is happening. If you change the schedule, update the relevant channel information and reminders so that a viewer is not left with an outdated start time.
A teaser works best when it sets an accurate expectation. For example, show a short sample of the topic or programme, state the scheduled time in a way your audience can understand, and point viewers towards the channel surface or event link where they can find details. Do not rely on a Shorts comment or description URL to provide that route; those URLs are non-clickable. The Short itself can still direct attention through its Related Videos link, provided the selected destination is relevant and available.
| Planning question | Scheduled event | Already-live vertical stream |
|---|---|---|
| When does discovery happen? | Before the start, through advance promotion and channel surfaces | While the broadcast is live, including possible vertical Live feed discovery |
| What should the Short make clear? | Subject, start time, and where to find the event | What is happening now and how to enter the Live feed in the app |
| What should you not rely on? | Appearance in the vertical Live feed | A scheduled-event link in chat for vertical-feed viewers |
After a broadcast, keep a useful public archive where appropriate and reuse selected highlights to introduce future viewers to the subject. YouTube describes public archives as a way to increase future reach, but that is not a guarantee of discovery. It also describes eligibility conditions for certain mobile livestream Short highlights: the stream must be vertical, between 10 minutes and 12 hours long, streamed through the YouTube mobile app, and have chat enabled. Some streams, including screencasts and Made for Kids streams, are excluded. Check YouTube’s current Help page before building a workflow around this feature, because it is specific to a qualifying mobile stream rather than a general method for clipping any 24/7 broadcast.
For planning the broadcast format and its channel destination, how to run a continuous YouTube stream with multiple audio tracks covers a different operational question: the viewer experience once they reach a long-running stream. Keep the promotion plan separate from the technical plan. A well-prepared event can still need reminders and a clear entry point.
Avoid non-clickable Shorts URLs
Do not put the main call to action in a URL in the Short’s description or comments. YouTube lists URLs in both of those Shorts surfaces as non-clickable. You can write an address there, but viewers should not be expected to tap it and open the stream. Asking someone to copy and paste an address is an awkward workaround on a phone and is not the supported clickable path described here.
That restriction does not mean Shorts cannot lead viewers onward. Use the Related Videos feature for a relevant destination, and use channel profile links for broader navigation. In the Short itself, say what the viewer should do in plain language, such as visiting the channel profile or using the Related Videos link. Keep that instruction consistent with the actual destination and with whether the stream is live now or scheduled.
There is a separate caveat for live chat. YouTube lists links in chat as clickable for horizontal live streams, but not for viewers watching in the mobile app’s vertical Live feed. A chat message with a URL is therefore not a dependable route for someone who entered the vertical feed from a Short. If you have a vertical stream, put the needed information in the channel’s supported surfaces and in your spoken or on-screen explanation, rather than assuming that a chat link will solve navigation.
A short call to action can be both accurate and useful: “Tap the Related Video for the programme details,” if that is what the selected link opens; or “Open the channel and check the Live section for tonight’s event,” if the broadcast is scheduled and listed there. Do not say “tap the link in the comments” or imply that a future stream can be opened from the vertical Live feed. These small wording choices prevent a viewer from following an action the platform does not support.
For creators using a computer-based playlist workflow, the OBS launch and playlist setup guide addresses the broadcast side of an ongoing channel. It does not change Shorts link behaviour: promotion must still use the supported entry points, and the stream’s format determines what live discovery route may be available.
Measure the path without assuming conversion
Track what your channel actually observes rather than borrowing a conversion rate from another creator. YouTube’s published guidance here does not provide a benchmark for how many Shorts viewers enter a 24/7 stream. If you report a result, describe it as an observation from your channel and state what you counted, over what period, and which route was used. Do not turn an individual result into a general expectation.
In YouTube Studio, review Shorts performance and live analytics around the same publishing and broadcast periods. Look for changes in views, traffic sources, concurrent viewing patterns, and returning audience behaviour where the relevant reports are available. Those figures can provide context, but they may not prove that a particular person watched a Short and then joined the stream. Audience overlap is not the same as a measured click-through path.
A practical test is to change one element at a time. For one Short, use a Related Videos destination; for another, point viewers towards the channel Live Section for an upcoming event. Keep the subject and timing as comparable as you reasonably can, then note what changed in the reports. This is an editorial experiment, not a controlled study, and unrelated events such as topic interest or the time of publication may also affect what you see.
Check the destination itself as part of measurement. Confirm the Related Videos item is correct, open the channel page on a phone, check that a scheduled event is visible, and verify that the public-facing wording matches the actual stream format. A route can be technically clickable yet still lead to an archive, an event page, or a different video than the viewer expects. That is a useful finding to correct even before you have enough data to assess audience movement.
A 24/7 stream needs separate operational checks. YouTube’s setup material covers mobile, webcam, and encoder approaches and recommends testing the stream and monitoring audio and video quality. It does not establish a continuous uptime guarantee or a special recipe for broadcasting indefinitely. Treat a long-running channel as an operation to monitor: test the full publishing chain, check the live output, and decide how you will respond if the broadcast drops. For more on the trade-offs around a computer-free workflow, see how to run a 24/7 YouTube stream without leaving your PC on.
StreamNeo can remove the specific burden of keeping your own computer running to carry an uploaded video into a YouTube live broadcast, which can help when the live destination itself is meant to remain available while you focus on the Shorts and channel promotion. That does not change YouTube’s link rules or guarantee that viewers will find the stream; you still need to choose a relevant destination, check the live format, and monitor the audience path.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Can people tap a Short to join a live stream?
They can use the clickable Related Videos link to open the relevant destination selected for the Short. If a vertical stream is already live, viewers in the YouTube app can also pause a Short and tap Live to enter the vertical Live feed. Neither route guarantees that a viewer will join, and scheduled streams do not appear in that feed.
Can I put the stream URL in a Short’s description or comments?
YouTube lists URLs in Shorts descriptions and comments as non-clickable, so do not rely on them as the route into your broadcast. Use Related Videos for a relevant destination, or direct viewers to a channel surface where they can find the event. Check the current YouTube Help guidance because platform features can change.
Will my scheduled 24/7 stream appear in the vertical Live feed?
No. YouTube says scheduled livestreams and Premieres will not show up in the vertical Live feed. Promote a scheduled broadcast ahead of time through supported channel surfaces, share its event link where clickable, and state when it starts.
Does YouTube guarantee that a stream will run continuously?
The cited setup guidance describes streaming methods and recommends testing and monitoring, but it does not promise uninterrupted 24/7 uptime. Plan for checking the audio and video and for recovering if the broadcast drops. Use only content you have the rights to broadcast and check YouTube’s current rules.