Clicks > Clout: PR in the Algorithm Age
Vol: 206 - Let's do a deep dive.
HelloZ
It’s like Wu-Tang said, “Cash Rules Everything Around Me.” No truer words have ever been spoken. Unless of course, you’re a 40-something perimenopausal woman. Then you’re ruled by mood swings, stubborn belly fat, and monthly existential crises. And THOSE are truer words that have ever been spoken. But I digress.
Remember when “getting press” meant crafting the perfect pitch, wooing a journalist, and praying your story made it into tomorrow’s paper? Fast-forward to 2025: the media world is now run by algorithms, affiliate links, and CPC (Cost-Per-Click) campaigns. Clout used to be about who you knew. Now, it’s about who’s clicking.
Following my last post about Linkby, there have been a lot of questions popping into my inbox about CPC campaigns and how they relate to PR, how the media landscaping is changing, and what happens next.
In today’s paid post (C.R.E.A.M, remember?), I’m going to break it all down for you. But first, speaking of MONEY and BREAKDOWNS, can you even handle the internewz (internet + newZ)??
Okay really. LFG now.
CPC 101: Pay to Play, Literally
At its core, CPC means you’re paying for performance: every time someone clicks your ad, you pony up a few cents (or dollars, depending on your targeting). Unlike old-school advertising, you’re not paying for space or time—you’re paying for action. Whether it’s a Google Search ad, a sponsored Instagram story, or a shiny “We Love This Product!” article on your favorite blog, CPC is the currency that powers today’s attention economy.
CPC campaigns flip the old advertising model on its head:
You’re not paying for ad space; you’re paying for results.
Every time someone clicks, you pay a fee—whether it’s $0.25 or $5.
It’s performance-driven, trackable, and (best of all for brands) predictable.
In a world where attention spans are shorter than a TikTok clip, CPC campaigns give brands what they want most: measurable ROI.
PR + Affiliate Marketing = A Blurry Line
The line between editorial and advertising has pretty much disappeared. Many top-tier publications have affiliate teams now, choosing which products to cover based on the commission they’ll earn from each sale. Public relations used to be all about earned media: getting that coveted “as seen in” logo to slap on your website. But here’s the thing—earned media is harder to get and even harder to measure. Yes, your placement was definitely part of the consumer journey path to purchase, but if you can’t prove it… did the bear really go in the woods?
Enter CPC campaigns, which blur the line between editorial coverage and advertising. Many publications now run affiliate-driven content, where writers only cover products that offer a kickback for every sale. If your brand isn’t in the affiliate network, you might not make the cut, no matter how newsworthy your story. This is NOT news to us, people. I’ve been talking about it since 2017.
Let’s keep going.