Share a short message or link with viewers using customizable annotation links. Annotation links can be used to direct viewers to another webpage, a specific timestamp in the video, or other content.
Note
Annotation links cannot be added to audio files.
Add an annotation link to your video
On your video's manage page, click "Customize" and open the "Annotation links" tab. In that modal, you can add annotation links and configure the start and end times, display text, URL, position, and color theme for the link.
You can enter timestamps manually in the "Start" and "End" fields, or adjust them in the customization timeline. Drag and drop the annotation marker to the desired time or click and hold either side of the marker to expand and shorten its duration.
Click "Add annotation link" to add a separate annotation to the same video. Manage multiple annotation links by collapsing or expanding each link title.
Tip
While you can add as many annotation links as you’d like to your video, too many might distract viewers from the video.
Use annotation links without a URL
Annotation links don’t necessarily need to redirect viewers to another page; perhaps you just want to add a quick comment to your video. In that case, enter your message in the text field and leave the URL field empty.
Use annotation links to skip to parts of your video
You can also configure annotation links to direct viewers to a specific point of the same video—think Netflix’s “Skip Intro” button. To generate a link to a specific point in your video, plug your video’s unique hashed ID into the snippet below:
#wistia_(HashedID)?time=0s
Enter that snippet into the URL field to point the annotation link to the specified timestamp. For example, the following snippet will lead viewers to the 20-second mark of the selected video: #wistia_a62xl92vp9?time=20s
For videos over a minute or an hour long, adjust the timestamp to include minutes or hours (i.e., ?time=00h00m00s).
Play the video below to interact with a live annotation link example:
Track annotation link engagement
To see how many of your viewers clicked on your annotation links, navigate to the media's analytics page, open the "Engagement" tab, and click "Show Details". The number of annotation link clicks will be listed in the "Actions" row.
To learn more about tracking viewer actions, check out our Average User Engagement Analytics article.