Before launching his own media company, Andrew Palermo spent years working in marketing, where he saw firsthand how affiliate deals between brands and publishers actually worked. That experience sparked the realization that many of the sites earning commissions weren’t producing especially helpful or original content. In 2018, he decided to test whether he could do it better, launching Prudent Reviews as a side project. He started with products he already owned, with a focus on detailed, hands-on reviews. Flash forward eight years, and Prudent Reviews is not only one of the most authoritative home appliance review websites, but it also reaches a half million subscribers across YouTube, Tiktok, and Instagram.

In a recent interview, Andrew explained how his background in affiliate marketing shaped his approach to building Prudent Reviews, why Google’s shifting algorithms and the rise of AI forced him to rethink his entire traffic strategy, and how video ultimately became the foundation of a more durable media brand, one that’s mostly protected from AI chatbots.