In an age where publishers are looking to diversify revenue, few companies have as defined a mission as Purch.

The publisher changed its name from TechMedia Network in early 2014 in an effort to clarify that objective. Purch (as in, purchase) aims to connect buyers with products through its content. Sometimes that can mean linking to Amazon, but in more and more cases, the entire buying process is happening within the Purch ecosystem.

Its brands—primarily in the consumer tech space—were already recommending products, so ecommerce was a natural fit, says Antoine Boulin, Purch’s president of media.

“We had already taken them from discovery to consideration to a decision,” he says. “There was an expectation for us to complete the journey for them.” 

Purch had a few of the components in place after a small-scale ecommerce effort, but making large parts of its portfolio transactional has required a seven-figure investment in talent and technology. Getting ecommerce and editorial on the same page requires deft handling though, says Rob Britt, chief content officer at Purch.

“If people come in the door and expect they’re going to get good advice on, say, fitness trackers, and we send them off somewhere where they have a lousy buying experience, we’ve ultimately failed them,” he says. “Is that a responsibility of the editors? Of the ecommerce team? We think everybody should be paying attention to it. We’re not writing content for the store, but we do feel an obligation to help the reader find the best solution.”

The company is still ramping up for its big test in the fourth quarter buying season, but initial results have been positive, Boulin says. KPIs like fulfillment time (down to less than a day), customer complaint resolution (down to a few hours) and overall conversion rates are all trending positively. Plans are to roll out the platform on another one of its brands in the coming months, and as soon as 2016, the project will start realizing returns.