Create a YouTube channel for your business

Open youtube.com and sign in.

YouTube runs on a Google account, there is no separate sign up. The only question to settle is which account to use.

• If your business already has a Google address, the one that manages your Google Analytics for example, use that one.
• Otherwise your personal account will do to get started. The next step is precisely what protects your private identity.

On a computer ideally. Creation works on a phone, but dressing up the channel, and above all sharing it, goes far better on a big screen.

This is the step that makes all the difference. Do not skip it.

Click your photo at the top right, then Settings. In the Account section, click Add or manage your channels, then Create a channel.

The shortcut. The address youtube.com/account takes you straight to that screen.

YouTube asks you for a name. Enter your company name, not your own. By confirming, you create a Brand Account, a channel that lives under the company name and accepts several managers.

Without that Brand Account, the only way to hand over the channel would be to give away your Google password. Exactly what you must never do.

One useful detail. Brand Accounts created since 2021 carry the label YouTube only. That is normal and has no consequence for you, it simply means they serve YouTube and not the other Google services.

2 things not to confuse.

• The channel name, the one your visitors see. Your company name, short and readable.
• The handle, the short address starting with an at sign, such as @yourcompany. It is the link you will give out on your business cards and in your emails.

Take the same handle as on your other networks, when it is free. A brand written the same way everywhere is remembered, and above all found again.

Both can be changed later from YouTube Studio, under Customisation. The handle has a limit on how often it can change over a given period, so it is worth getting it right first time.

Go to YouTube Studio, then Customisation. 3 settings are enough.

• The picture, your logo. Upload a square image 800 pixels a side, that is the recommended format. YouTube shows it inside a circle, so keep your logo well centred.
• The banner, the wide image at the top of the channel. 2048 pixels by 1152, 6 megabytes maximum. It shows on phones, computers and televisions, and the crop changes each time. Put the essentials inside a central rectangle of 1235 by 338 pixels, that is the only area visible everywhere.
• The description, which explains what you do and what your subscribers will find here. Add the link to your website and your other networks.

The description template, to copy and complete.

[Company name], [what you do] in [town].
On this channel you will find [type of videos], every [rhythm].

Our website.     your-company.co.uk
Contact us.      test@test.com
Telephone.       00000 000000

Use the same contact details as on your website and your Facebook business page. That consistency is what lets Google and the AI assistants understand it is the same business.

A small technical step, and it takes only 2 clicks.

Since 2024, YouTube has been gradually replacing the old Brand Account sharing with a finer system, channel level permissions, managed directly in YouTube Studio.

Open YouTube Studio, then Settings, then Permissions.

• If you see a list of people with an Invite button, it is already done. Move on to the next step.
• If you see a link along the lines of Add or remove managers, your channel has not switched yet. YouTube then offers you a button to move to the new system. Accept, it is risk free and your videos do not move.

⚠ The labels change. This screen has had several names in 3 years, Managers, Permissions, Channel access. The path itself does not move, it is always Settings then the section that mentions access or permissions.

Here is the reward for everything above. You invite someone by their Google address, and they manage the channel from their own account.

Under Settings, then Permissions, click Invite. Enter the person's email address, choose their role, and confirm.

The 6 roles, from the broadest to the most limited.

• Owner, every right, including deleting the channel. Keep it for yourself.
• Manager, manages the content and the permissions of the others. That is the one we need to run the channel end to end.
• Editor, uploads, edits videos and replies to comments.
• Editor (limited), the same thing, without seeing the revenue.
• Viewer, looks at the statistics without changing anything.
• Viewer (limited), the same thing, without the financial data.

The invitation stays valid for 30 days. If it expires, you send another one from the same screen, in 1 click.

You remove an access whenever you like, from that same list. Your personal Google account never leaves your hands, and neither does your password.

A channel on its own runs no advertising. To turn your videos into ads, it has to be linked to a Google Ads account, which carries the budget and the billing.

The link is made from Google Ads, in the section that manages linked accounts. There you add your YouTube channel, and you approve the request from YouTube Studio, under Settings then Channel.

The whole procedure for opening that access without sharing your login details is set out in our guide on linking your Google Ads account to your agency. Your payment method stays with you, from start to finish.

And if you are not advertising yet, do nothing more. This link takes 5 minutes to add the day you need it, and it is undone just as quickly.