Media Arbitrage vs. Brand Arbitrage

Recently I sat across from a popular fintech creator/Podcaster (episode drops in December), and he asked me about the SEO Apocalypse article I wrote for The Free Toaster a couple of months ago.

In that article, I shared that publishers like NerdWallet and Bankrate are seeing their organic traffic evaporate like venture capital in a rising rate environment.

While pontificating about why the SEO Apocalypse happened and what publishers should do about it, it hit me:

Most of the fintech lending industry has only been playing 50% of the marketing game.

Let me back up and explain before you close this tab to go optimize your Facebook campaigns.

What Became Clear While Trying Not to Sound Like an Idiot on a Podcast

Here's what I realized mid-conversation (and then spent all evening refining because apparently I can't help myself):

There are only two ways to arbitrage attention in fintech marketing. That's it. Two. Not seventeen different growth hacks or forty-three channels in your attribution model. Just two.

Media Arbitrage: Buying attention for less than you can monetize it for. Clicks costs $1, but I can monetize them at $2, so I pocket the difference and update my LinkedIn to say "Growth Hacker Extraordinaire." This is asking for the close. Direct response. The instant gratification that makes VCs nod approvingly during board meetings and makes your CFO high-five you at the water cooler.

Brand Arbitrage: Giving so much value that people actually remember you exist when they're not actively shopping for financial products. This is the long game. The patient game. The game that makes your performance marketing team break out in hives. This “arb” is less popular with VCs and CFOs, at least in fintech lending.

Asking and giving. The only two ways to arbitrage attention.

And here's the thing that made me pause mid-sentence on this podcast:

Many fintech companies don’t invest at all in the second one (brand arbitrage / giving), and many aren’t aware of the liability that creates.

Why Your "Organic" Traffic Is Neither Organic Nor Yours

Let me drop a little bomb that the host's question made painfully clear:

—> There's no such thing as organic traffic.

I know, I know. You're looking at your Google Analytics right now, pointing at that beautiful green "Organic Search" segment. But that traffic? It's either:

• The compound interest from years of content creation (that you probably stopped investing in because "it doesn't scale")

• Brand spillover from your paid campaigns (people Googling you after seeing your TV or Credit Karma ads 47 times)

• A temporary algorithm blessing that's about as stable as the newest meme-coin’s stock ticker

The host asked me if SEO traffic would come back for these publishers. You know what I should have said? "Sure, right after WeWork becomes profitable and crypto becomes boring."

A Confession About My Own Business (That Should Scare You)