I remember the first time someone told me about native to search arbitrage. It came across as almost too simple: buy traffics cheap, then monetize it through search feeds and the pocket the difference. But like most things in digital marketing, details are where the real difference lies.
Over time, by running thousands of campaigns and testing different approaches, I’ve figured out what really works. This guide will take you through all the basics of native to search arbitrage and show you how to create profitable campaigns that you can scale.
What is Native to Search Arbitrage?
Native to search arbitrage is a type of traffic monetization strategy where you get clicks from native advertising platforms and send this visitors to monetized search result pages. Your profit comes when the revenue that you generate from search clicks is higher than your traffic cost.
Here’s how it works:
You design native ads that look like content feed and news publications naturallyUsers click on your ads and get to the site which you manageThat site shows search results from search feed providersWhenever users click the search ads, you get paidThe difference between your payment for traffic and the income from search is your profit
The margins can look quite narrow at the first sight, often 10-25% per click. But the bigger you grow to thousands of clicks per day, the faster those pennies turn into dollars.
Why This Model Works
Native advertising has an edge over other traffic sources. A study indicates that native ads are 31% more trusted than social ads, they get 16% more clicks, and result in 18% more purchases.
That is because native ads do not disrupt. They simply share the same format as the content which the reader is viewing. If a person is reading news or entertainment content, a native ad will be perceived as a recommendation which is natural rather than a direct advertising message.
This element of trust contributes towards the generation of high-quality traffic. People who respond by clicking on native ads are seriously interested in the content, and this makes them more willing to see search results and then proceed to the advertiser’s site.
The Two Campaign Structures
In setting up your native to search campaigns, you select from two flow structures:
Direct Flow (1-Click)
The user clicks on your native ad and lands straight away on the search results page.
This method is easier and requires less technical expertise. On the other hand, it may come across as spam-like and will usually lead to lower earnings per click because the user is not predisposed to the content.
Bridge Page Flow (2-Click)
The user clicks on the native ad, lands on a separate content page, and after that continues to search results.
This is the method I like best. The bridge page helps to establish trust, give a background, and increase user involvement. Search feed providers notice this greater involvement and as a rule, they give better earnings per click as a reward.
The bridge page may be a straightforward article, a quiz, a comparison tool or any type of informational content relevant to your niche. The main thing is that it should be sufficiently valuable that the users feel that they have obtained something useful even before they have seen the search results.
2 Campaign Flow Structures
✗ Cons: Can appear spammy, lower EPC
✗ Cons: More setup required