YouTube Launches @username Handles To Help YouTubers Drive Traffic

The video-sharing site YouTube is rolling out handles and supports @username format tagging on channel pages, in Shorts, and in comments to help YouTubers drive more traffic to their channel.

Part of the email sent by Google to YouTubers, reads: 

We’re writing to let you know that over the coming weeks YouTube will be introducing handles to make it easier for members of the community to find and connect with each other. Your handle will be unique to your channel and will be how people mention you in comments, community posts, and more.

Here is what you need to know:

"We’re gradually rolling out the ability to choose a handle for all channels over the coming weeks, and you will receive another email and a notification in YouTube Studio when you’re able to choose yours. In most cases, if you already have a personalized URL for your channel, we’ve reserved this for you as your handle. If you want a different handle from the one we’ve reserved, you can change it. If you don’t already have a personalized URL today, you’ll also be able to choose a handle for your handles

"Starting on November 14, 2022, if you haven’t yet selected a handle for your channel, YouTube will automatically assign you a handle, which you can change in YouTube Studio if you’d like.

Last week, YouTube announced that it was introducing handles for people to easily find and engage with creators and each other on YouTube. Every channel will have a unique handle, making it easier for fans to discover content and interact with creators they love.

So, YouTube has started informing creators when they can choose a handle for their channel. In most cases, if a channel already has a personalized URL, that will automatically become their default handle, or they can opt to change the handle for their channel as soon as the notification in YouTube Studio comes through.

When a creator chooses their handle, YouTube will also create a matching URL (ex: youtube.com/@handle) so creators can easily direct people to their content when they’re not on YouTube. If a channel already has a personalized URL, there’s no need to update links: they’ll automatically be redirected to the new, handle-based URL to create a better, more unified presence for creators on YouTube.

If you are a creator, you need to start thinking of what your handle will be. Hope it is not taken before it is time for you to create yours.