// publisher strategy

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Sep 9

Why the Times Is Flooding You With Notifications

The New York Times has increased the frequency of push notifications for routine stories, moving away from reserving alerts for genuine breaking news. The shift reflects the Times' growing reliance on notifications to drive traffic and subscription conversions as organic search traffic declines. Google search has become less useful as a discovery mechanism due to AI summaries, Reddit rankings, and algorithmic decay. With that funnel shrinking, media outlets are adopting more aggressive direct engagement tactics, degrading the reader experience. The traditional media distribution model is under pressure, forcing publishers to choose between sustainable audience-building and short-term metrics chasing.

theme-brand content strategy publisher strategy discoverability

Aug 6

Publishers need three discoverability channels, not just search traffic

Source: Search Engine Journal

Publishers can no longer rely on algorithmic discovery through search alone—they need owned channels (email, apps, memberships), active strategies (social, partnerships), and passive discovery (SEO, feeds) working together. The core problem shifts from "how do we rank" to "how do we own the relationship with readers across multiple surfaces." Publishers who invest in direct audience relationships and product diversity outperform those doubling down on content alone.

theme-commerce monetization publisher strategy traffic economics

Jul 28

AI Search Referrals Drive Higher Engagement Than Traditional Search

Source: Search Engine Journal

While AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity send a fraction of the traffic that Google does, their users engage with content at substantially higher rates—a gap that inverts the usual calculus of audience scale. Publishers optimizing purely for volume now face real pressure to capture these smaller but more attentive audiences, especially as the redirect-through-AI model fragments where reader attention concentrates. The monetization question is whether publishers can capture revenue from engaged audiences that bypass traditional ad-supported or subscription funnels entirely.