Why Your Clicks Are Down But Your Impact Might Be Up

If your affiliate traffic feels fragmented and you're wondering whether to panic about AI search, this episode cuts through the noise. Ewen Finser, CEO of ScaleVisible, shares battle-tested insights from managing over 100 websites through Google's algorithm upheavals and into the AI era. Lee-Ann and Ewen discuss why Reddit threads now outrank traditional reviews, how zero-click searches create hidden value for brands, and why YouTube might be your smartest investment right now. This conversation reveals a counterintuitive truth: the scariest disruptions often create the biggest opportunities for those willing to adapt strategically.

Talking Points Include:

• The payment partnership that signals where AI search is heading and why PayPal's integration with Perplexity matters more than most affiliate managers realise for the future of attribution
• Why your editorial placements are already providing AI value and the exact framework for describing citation impact to justify budgets when traditional clicks decline
• The three-platform strategy that influences multiple AI engines simultaneously from YouTube rankings in ChatGPT to Reddit dominance in Google's AI Overviews

Listen to Find Out More About:

• Why some de-indexed spam blogs are suddenly ranking in ChatGPT and what that means for content strategy in the short term versus long term
• The exact correlation overlap between top 10 Google rankings and ChatGPT citations (hint: it's shockingly low at around 15 percent)
• How ReddVisible pivoted from affiliate publishing to Reddit reputation management to AI visibility strategy through three distinct market disruptions
• Why query fan-out matters more than individual keywords when optimizing for AI search engines that personalize every response
• The specific metrics Ewen tracks to demonstrate AI visibility impact when traditional attribution falls short
• How trust signals accumulate across Reddit, YouTube, and third-party blogs to influence AI recommendations without generating direct clicks

Key Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:

[16:03] The real-world shopping journey example that illustrates search fragmentation across Which, Google, YouTube, ChatGPT, and Amazon

[20:43] Why PayPal's Perplexity partnership signals the zero-click future and what affiliate managers should watch for next

[32:39] Original content versus AI-generated spam: what works now versus what will work as AI engines develop their own web spam teams

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Why Trading Programs That Move Fast Break Everything (And How Slow Growth Built a 115-Country Empire)

If your affiliate program chases explosive growth with aggressive spend and flashy campaigns, this episode reveals why you might be building on sand. Yana Ivanova and Nir Iter from Exness share how they scaled from 18 to 115 countries not through brute force marketing, but through something radical in trading: patience. Lee-Ann and her guests discuss why daily payouts matter more than commission rates, how localisation means hiring humans who actually understand regional nuances, and why the Latin American market demands emotional connection before transactional relationships. This conversation reveals a counterintuitive truth: sometimes slow and steady really does win the race.

Talking Points Include:

• The payment infrastructure breakthrough that built trust faster than any marketing campaign and why waiting until month-end to pay affiliates destroys credibility in emerging markets
• Why treating LATAM as a single homogeneous market is the fastest path to failure and the exact localisation strategy that transformed passive content into community engagement across culturally distinct countries
• The team structure that prevents cannibalisation when 11 account managers chase global traffic and how individual KPIs combined with team goals create collaboration instead of internal competition

Listen to Find Out More About:

• How Exness structures team KPIs to prevent account managers from fighting over global affiliates while maintaining healthy competition
• The buddy program that integrates new team members without creating hierarchical friction in an 11-person global team
• Why the company prioritises quality over quantity now, deliberately slowing growth to ensure sustainable partnerships
• The specific data points Exness analyses constantly to identify which markets deserve localised attention versus broad global treatment
• How mobile measurement platforms become essential tools for LATAM affiliates where phone traffic dominates
• The real reason trading affiliate programs traditionally used CPA models and how Exness diversified beyond that constraint

Key Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:

[08:17] The long-term mindset explained through hotel guest analogies and why three-year plans beat quarterly targets

[16:29] Daily payment implementation and the risk mitigation strategy that made it viable without enabling fraud

[20:34] Team scaling from a handful to 11 professionals and how specialisation by region prevents global chaos

[33:03] Honest advice for newcomers: pick your niche, build community, trust your data

Latin America: The Opportunity Ahead

For affiliates considering Latin America in 2026, both guests offered clear direction. Yana's focus centres on local communities, as the region values authentic, community-driven marketing over impersonal automation. Nir emphasised mobile optimisation, noting that with young, mobile-first audiences, ensuring your tracking, creatives, and user experience are optimised for phones is non-negotiable. Tools like AppsFlyer or other mobile measurement platforms are essential.

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Guest: Katie King, Author of AI Strategy for Sales and Marketing: Connecting Marketing, Sales and Customer Experience

If you've been treating AI like a search engine or worrying you're falling behind, this episode cuts through the noise. Katie King, who's been tracking AI developments since 2019 and advises major brands like O2, Arsenal, and Virgin, joins Lee-Ann Johnstone to reveal why 80% of AI success depends on people, not tools. She shares the strategic frameworks that turn scattered experiments into measurable business impact, explains why board-level resistance creates organizational AI imposter syndrome, and demonstrates how affiliate marketers can build competitive advantage through ethical implementation and agile adoption.

Talking Points Include:

Why AI projects fail without frameworks – how creating AI champion groups, weekly strategy meetings, and clear codes of conduct transforms random tool adoption into systematic competitive advantage

The ethics gap that threatens customer trust – why transparency, attribution clarity, and responsible governance must be designed into affiliate programs before regulation forces it

Strategic agility over early adoption – how building continuous learning and due diligence into your operations prepares you for agentic AI and quantum computing without burning out your team

Listen to Find Out More About:

• The exact prompt engineering techniques that teach AI your brand voice without requiring technical skills or expensive custom models
• Why Circle and Mighty Networks platforms fail for community building while simple weekly Zoom calls succeed, and how this same principle applies to AI tool selection
• The six-month AI implementation roadmap Katie uses with clients that balances quick wins with sustainable capability building
• How affiliate marketers should approach AI differently than other marketing channels because of the trust dynamics and partnership relationships at stake
• Why China leads in AI patents, Europe leads in ethical frameworks, and what that geopolitical split means for international affiliate programs
• The specific metrics beyond sales that reveal whether your AI adoption creates genuine business value or just impressive-looking dashboards

Key Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:

[12:35] Why you don't need technical skills for AI success, and the hospitality management principles that make AI adoption feel natural instead of overwhelming

[18:51] The reality check on organizational AI maturity: why even brands with impressive case studies struggle with board-level adoption and what that reveals about implementation gaps

[27:42] Ethical AI requirements for affiliate marketing specifically, including transparency obligations, attribution clarity, and avoiding black-box decisioning that erodes partner trust

[34:20] Katie's final advice for marketers who haven't started their AI journey: why strategic agility matters more than early adoption, and how to build frameworks that prepare you for what comes next

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