What to Ask Before You Sign: Evaluating Distribution Partners

Stacker’s all about getting great content read by more people. And while there are distribution partners out there, not all distribution partners are created equal. More than 90% of content gets zero organic traffic from Google. Breaking through to new audiences requires a more strategic approach to distribution– an approach with impact to back it up.

And though it may sound like it, not all “content distribution tools” actually do the same thing.

Walking into a sales meeting with a potential vendor can be a slippery slope if you’re not equipped with the right questions to evaluate whether their tool will actually solve your company’s needs.

This repeatable prep guide can help you make the most of the first call. Bookmark it for your next vendor evaluation.

Read on for:

• What internal data to pull before your first call
• Which questions actually separate real earned media distribution from repackaged syndication
• The answers that should disqualify a vendor on the spot

What Data Should I Pull Before the Vendor Call?

Come in with numbers. Before you talk to any vendor, get clear on:

• Baseline visibility — Where do you currently stand when it comes to the KPIs that matter to your organization: Organic traffic, share of voice, existing media placements. Where do you want to be?
• Budget — What's your realistic range, and what does success need to justify it?
• Goals — Are you building trust, awareness, or pipeline? Do you have sales-tied metrics, or brand metrics? Know the difference before anyone asks.
• Audience — Who are you trying to reach?
• Internal resources — What does your team own vs. what you need a partner to carry?

While you don’t want to share all this info on an initial call, it’s worth having a solid sense of how feasible it is to scale your brand visibility efforts and exactly what you’re trying to achieve, top of mind.

What Questions Should I Ask to Separate Real Distribution from Repackaged Syndication?

Come to the call armed with questions and your own research. Take a few minutes to review their recent placements, client case studies, and any public data on their network before you hop on.

These four buckets of questions will make sure you’re asking the right ones that provide depth and go beyond a canned response or sales pitch.

On reach and network quality:

• What does your distribution network look like? (Listen for breadth, outlet diversity, and editorial credibility — not just raw numbers.)
• What's your average reach per placement?
• How do your outlets vary by industry? Do you have outlets that meet my target audience?

On content standards:

• How do you evaluate content before it gets distributed? (See if they have established real editorial standards: Do they distinguish between original editorial, listicles, press releases, and clickbait? If they accept all content, their network quality is likely suffering. Good networks have gatekeepers to maintain that editorial trust with quality publishers.)
• What types of content perform best on your platform?
• What type of customer support do you have?

On attribution and tracking:

• How do you ensure our original piece gets credit and traffic when a story gets picked up and republished? (If they don't mention canonical tags, run.)
• What metrics can you track — and which ones do you think matter most for a business like ours?
• How are you tracking media performance on AI platforms and in AI-generated citations?

Research indicates that AI search engines treat syndicated content on reputable news sites as more authoritative than the original brand site, Stacker uses these third-party sites as the canonical attribution

On fit and efficiency:

• Are you currently working with companies similar to ours in size, revenue, or industry?
• What does the production timeline look like from brief to distribution?
• Walk me through what the back-end experience looks like for our team day-to-day.

Red Flags to Listen For 🚩🚩🚩

A vendor doesn't have to lie to mislead you. Here are a couple of tell-tale signs to watch for:

• Low-credibility outlets — placements in publications your audience doesn't read or trust
• Vanity metrics as the headline — heavy emphasis on impressions or advertising value equivalent (AVE), signal they're not measuring what matters
• Fuzzy or inflated numbers — if the reach figures seem too good or too vague to verify, they probably are
• Guarantees — legitimate partners name their unknowns. Anyone who promises specific results without caveats isn't being straight with you.
• No mention of AI visibility — if they're not talking about GEO and how content performs in AI-generated answers, they're behind
• Clunky production or tooling — if the workflow demo feels manual and opaque, that's what scaling will feel like too
• Your gut — Do you trust them? Do they seem to understand where earned media is going, not just where it's been?

Why Content Leaders Choose Stacker

Building a high-quality, high-authority media network from scratch takes years of relationship-building and editorial rigor. Most content teams understandably don't have the time or resources to forge these publisher relationships one by one on-top of their day-to-day work — and buying access through cheap syndication networks only damages your brand's SEO footprint.

Content leaders work with Stacker because we treat brand content with the same journalistic integrity as a traditional newsroom would. We’re not in the business of pushing links to a dormant network, instead, we craft data-driven, highly engaging stories that top-tier publishers actually want to run.

Working with Stacker guarantees that real editorial standards are being met and your content is getting the canonical attribution it needs to gain authority.

As AI search continues to prioritize high-trust domains, securing placements on reputable news sites through Stacker acts as a multiplier for your brand's visibility, turning otherwise unvisited articles into content with an undeniable footprint.

Coleman Walsh is a seasoned partnerships and business development leader with a track record of driving revenue growth and building strong client relationships. At Stacker, he leads enterprise sales strategy and account management, helping brands amplify their reach through trusted media. With experience across startups and media tech, Coleman brings analytical thinking, cross-functional collaboration, and a deep understanding of how to scale strategic partnerships.

Photo Illustration by Stacker // Canva