Service over revenue
Through the Google partnership, Wirecutter readers can peruse the collection of gifts to find the perfect item, then purchase the product in-person. Items selected for the list are a mix of best-sellers and those most likely to be readily available, according to Levy.
The collaboration runs counter to the traditional logic governing affiliate marketing, in which publishers and their retail partners seek to convert shoppers on-site. This allows publishers to prove that they delivered a sale directly from their content, which entitles them to a small cut of the resulting transaction.
In this case, if a Wirecutter reader uses the Google Shopping button to find a store where they can purchase an item in-person, neither the publisher nor the platform will generate any revenue from the transaction.
Both parties still have plenty to gain from providing a useful recommendation, of course. Users’ on-site behavior, such as clicking the Google Shopping button, still gets captured and is valuable data to Wirecutter. Meanwhile Google reinforces the notion that its platform is the ultimate starting point for any shopping journey, according to Google’s senior director of global commerce marketing Stephanie Horton.
“This partnership with Wirecutter is one of many across our broader holiday shopping campaign,” Horton said, “which is all about showing how with Google, people can shop every store in one place to find the perfect gifts and deals.”
The integration is part of a broader Wirecutter ethos that prioritizes the needs of its audience over its own commercial imperatives, according to Levy.
“There are a lot of things that Wirecutter does where we don’t make any money,” Levy said. “It’s service journalism. We want to be helpful to our audience.”
Of course, the advertising campaign subsidizes the loss of these potential earnings, which makes the altruism easier to justify on a balance sheet. The creative includes a Dear Google video series that tapped real consumers asking for gift-shopping advice, as well as custom crossword puzzles spotlighting Google Shopping.
It also benefits The Times to maintain a close relationship with Google, which plays a dominant role in the affiliate marketing landscape, according to Martech Record’s McNerney. In recent months, changes to the Google algorithm targeting affiliate sites have upended the billion-dollar industry.