Create and verify your YouTube channel

Creating and verifying your YouTube channel establishes your real, official presence on the platform, with verification unlocking key features like longer thumbnails and external links that unverified channels cannot use.

Verification genuinely unlocks features foundational to a real YouTube strategy, and an unverified channel signals less legitimacy to viewers.

How to do it

1. 1
   Create your channel with your real business identity

   Consistent naming with your other properties.
2. 2
   Complete the real verification process

   Typically requires a phone number, following YouTube's actual process.
3. 3
   Confirm verified features are genuinely unlocked

   Check that custom thumbnails and other verified-only features are available.