What is Search Arbitrage?
A digital marketing strategy in which advertisers purchase inexpensive web traffic—typically via paid search ads, social media, or content discovery platforms—and redirect it to pages (like search result feeds or landing pages) that contain higher-value ads or affiliate offers. The profit lies in the difference between the cost of acquired traffic and the revenue earned from users clicking those monetized ads.
How It Works?
The Search Arbitrage process includes following the process below:
- Purchase low-cost clicks (e.g., via Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or native networks).
- Send users to a search feed or landing page that hosts monetized ads (via networks like System1, Tonic, or Google AdSense).
- Earn from users’ clicks on these ads, ideally exceeding what was spent on acquiring traffic.
Common Funnels
The most common funnels in Search Arbitrage includeÖ
- 1-click flow: User clicks an ad and lands directly on a monetized search results page.
- 2-click flow: Traffic goes first to a pre-lander page before reaching the monetized feed.
Pros of Search Arbitrage
- Potentially high ROI if the traffic cost is kept low and ad monetization is effective.
Cons & Risks of Search Arbitrage
- Traffic quality may be poor, leading to low engagement or high bounce rates.
- Vulnerable to click fraud, ad network policy violations, account suspensions, and brand safety issues.
