Content Matters: Are Publishers Driving More Conversions Than Attribution Shows?

The consumer journey (and all the ways marketers and their trusted marketing software can revolutionize it) is something I usually like to write about on the Marketing Manager blog.

However, recent research from Partnerize offered up some fascinating intel on that journey that is of particular interest to publishers, who were found to be driving twice as many conversions as their attribution was capturing.

“[People] still read GQ’s style guides, trust Wired’s tech reviews, and follow Allure’s beauty recommendations, but they don’t always click links to reach this content anymore,” says the Clickless Affiliation Index Report, which analyzed hundreds of thousands of customer journeys involving nearly 200 brands, uncovering a “hidden layer of affiliate influence that traditional attribution misses entirely.”

(Source: Partnerize)

AI-assisted research essentially replacing a click and a cookie is credited for upending a buyer’s journey that was already convoluted, as the report says. With cookies gone and publishers providing a steady diet of content, AI answers are shaping decisions and informing marketers in numerous direct and indirect ways.

“The publishers that invested in editorial quality and subject matter expertise are winning this shift,” says the report. “Their content gets cited, their recommendations get surfaced, and their influence compounds.”