TikTok´s Donte Murry Reveals Why Affiliate Links Are the New Search Triggers

TikTok users don’t treat affiliate links as simple checkout prompts anymore. After Donte Murry, TikTok’s North America director of beauty, wellness and personal care, spoke at the Glossy Beauty Pop event, one point stood out: affiliate content now pushes users to search, compare, validate and then buy. For brands, TikTok Affiliate Marketing now connects directly to search behavior.

Key Takeaways: What Brands Should Learn From TikTok’s Affiliate Link Behavior

• 77% of users search for more information after seeing affiliate content on TikTok.
• Affiliate links now act as discovery triggers, not just buy buttons.
• Comments can influence the first purchase more than polished product copy.
• Tutorials, ingredient explainers and “why it works” content help turn first-time buyers into repeat customers.
• TikTok, Google SEO and website UX now need to work together inside one Social Commerce Strategy.

The 77% Rule: How Affiliate Content Drives Off-Platform Search

The key figure from Murry’s comments is hard to ignore: 77% of users immediately search for more information after seeing affiliate content on TikTok. That changes how brands should read affiliate performance. 

A creator shows a product. Maybe it’s a serum, supplement, fragrance, hair tool or skincare routine. Some viewers click the affiliate link. Many don’t. Instead, they search the product name, read comments, check other videos, compare prices or look for proof that the product does what the creator says it does.

That makes the affiliate link a trigger.

The link doesn’t just say “buy this.” It says “look this up.” And once that search starts, the user moves through a much wider path. TikTok Search plays a role. So does Google. So do Reddit threads, retailer pages, brand websites, product reviews and creator follow-up videos.

This creates a new funnel for TikTok search behavior. It’s messier than a clean click-to-checkout journey, but it probably reflects how people actually shop.

A user may see an affiliate video on Monday, search the product on Tuesday, read comments on Wednesday and buy directly from the brand site on Friday. If the brand only tracks last-click affiliate sales, it misses part of the story.

That’s the strategic mistake. TikTok affiliate content can drive demand before it drives the sale.

Beyond the Click: Reverse-Engineering the Comment Section

Murry also pointed to comments as a major force behind first purchases. That should make brands rethink how they brief creators.

The comment section often carries the real persuasion. A creator can make the product look good, but users still want answers. “Does this work for sensitive skin?” “How long did it take to arrive?” “Is it better than Brand X?” “Does it smell strong?” “Can I use it every day?”

Those questions are buying signals.

Murry told Glossy:

“Brands should then think about what you want to reverse engineer in the comments. What kind of conversation do you want to start that can help influence that first purchase?”

That advice gives brands a more practical way to think about reverse-engineering comments.

Before a campaign goes live, teams should map the conversation they want to create. What objections will users raise? What comparisons will they make? Which claims need proof? Which creator responses could push someone closer to purchase?

Then the brand can turn those comments into content. FAQ sections. Product-page copy. Creator follow-up videos. Search landing pages. Tutorial clips. Paid social angles.

The comments already show what buyers care about. As TikTok Shop’s growth pushes more product discovery into social feeds, brands need to read those comments properly and turn them into content that answers real purchase questions. 

From “First Purchase” to “Lifer”: The Role of Tutorials and Science

First-purchase content and repeat-purchase content don’t perform the same job.

Affiliate content creates the hook. It gets the product in front of the user and gives them a reason to care. But retention needs more than a quick creator mention. Users need to understand the product, use it correctly and believe it fits into their routine.

Glossy reported that TikTok has seen traction from:

“specifically videos that share insights into why something works, the science behind it, the ingredients that power it and why these things result in overall value.”

That’s where educational content earns its place.

A short affiliate video may convince someone to try a product once. A tutorial can help them use it better. A science-led explainer can make the value clearer. An ingredient breakdown can reduce doubt before the second purchase.

For beauty, wellness and personal care brands, that distinction matters. The first buy often comes from curiosity. The second buy comes from confidence.

Affiverse’s Perspective: The Era of “Search-First” Social Commerce

Brands shouldn’t treat TikTok as a separate channel anymore. If 77% of users search after seeing affiliate content, then SEO, website UX and product pages already play a role in TikTok performance.

For 2026, brands should focus on six practical moves:

1. Connect TikTok with search: Affiliate posts can trigger Google searches, TikTok searches and product comparisons.
2. Prepare product pages before campaigns go live: Users should find clear claims, proof, reviews and pricing when they search.
3. Use comment questions as content prompts: Turn common TikTok comments into FAQs, landing-page copy and creator follow-up videos.
4. Keep creator claims aligned with the website: If a creator explains one benefit, the product page should support that same message.
5. Make mobile UX part of the campaign: Slow pages, thin copy or unclear checkout flows can waste the demand creators create.
6. Measure more than direct clicks: A post with low affiliate clicks may still drive branded search, product-page visits and later purchases.

TikTok doesn’t just create social attention. It can create search demand. The brands that understand that will plan TikTok, affiliate, SEO and UX as one connected buying path.

Final Takeaway for Brands in 2026

TikTok affiliate links now start the search as much as they chase the clicks. Brands should track branded searches after affiliate posts, build product pages around real comment questions, use tutorials to support repeat purchases and make sure TikTok, Google and website UX tell the same story.

The post gets the user curious. The search decides what happens next.