Metcalfe

I am reading through post after post mentioning click arbitrage, but I can't find a definition of it anywhere (yeah I tried searching the forum)

So this is my best effort at a definition:

Buying traffic at a low CPC ($x) for a site with ads that sell for a higher CPC ($y). Which will make you money when the CTR on your own site is better than $x/$y

Close? Complete Fuck Up? Let me know

Firelead

That's correct. Lets say you bought cheap clicks for .02 and sent them to a page with Adsense about "mesothelioma lawyers" where the cost per click for the advertiser is high. Adsense would pay you every time someone clicked through on one of the ads, and you would make money as long as your payout is higher than your click cost.

Though when you create "made for Adsense" pages, you're likely to get banned from Google because it's against their terms.

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Metcalfe

Cheers for that,

I assume its only against the TOS to use:

Adwords > Your Page > Adsense

ie they only don't like internal arbitrage?

I assume you can get away with:

Another Traffic Provider > Your Page > Adsense

Firelead

no, you're not going to be able to "get away with" arbitrage for very long no matter what source the traffic is from - eventually they'll can your account. It's a better idea to have a site with unique content, and well placed ads, and then drive traffic to it. I also wouldn't rely on Adsense either.

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Bofu2U

+1, agree with Kenna 110%.

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Metcalfe

Alright, so for it to be arbitrage it actually requires a minimal/no content site?

I'm planning to stick to the whitehat stuff if I can, so I was thinking a content driven site anyway.

To use your "mesothelioma lawyers" example.

Let's say I write up a site about the trials and tribulations of people in the community who are dealing with this cancer, a blog about mesothelioma sufferers and keep up a post a day.

Then I pay for traffic from some non-google source

And I have an adsense box on my page

Is this still arbitrage, or does it fall into another category now? It seems like a good strategy to increase your traffic while not spending too much money

alexa7

You probably should get a more up-to-date e-book.

Firelead

That would be fine. With unique content you'd also probably get organic traffic as well. But you'd probably make more money mixing in an offer from a CPA network specifically for that niche. Also - it's really hard to compete in that niche because the click costs are so high - but good luck.

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mcuk2000

the real arb works only on Yahoo search feed or ask feed.

awesometbn

If you must think of arbitrage in this way, then think of getting free traffic and organic traffic to your content page. Your traffic sources could come from cheap promotions like being interviewed on the radio or online newspapers or bloggers. Then when people read and respond to your valuable and unique content, they will follow the ads to find out more information instead of sneaky and dishonest methods to trick advertisers out of their marketing dollars. Don't depend on a single revenue stream like Google. Diversify and get creative.

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HarveyJ

Actually it's possible to run arbitrage on networks that still have click campaigns available if you hide your traffic source.

I've found a few instances of being able to arbitrage over Facebook and MySpace.
It never lasts long, but if you're quick to act on it, it's a great way something for a few extra drinks that weekend, risk free.

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Metcalfe

This has been a great help, I am not going to go into mesothelioma, I don't have the cash to compete with the big dogs

But it's good to think about the way it could work
Cheers

ArbiUK

The problem with arbitrage is that the market has become too efficient in the majority of places where you could make good money. PPC engines have introduced quality scoring meaning you have to obtain traffic from good sources and it usually costs more, perhaps more than what you make back.

On the other foot the slop networks where you can buy huge volume for just a few cents are just that... slop. It is a shame as the profits here are obscene but you won't last more than a few weeks with just a single feed or site. If you are well connected with lots of premium feeds in different places it maybe that you can juggle the quality and the profit but to say its a messy way to work is saying something.

A double irony is that ppc vendors no longer really like sem click sites, affiliate directories and click marketeers, even though years back they were the ones that made all the money for them. Many guys have been hung out to dry by the networks, kinda like thanks for all the money the last five years, now cya!

There is still money to be made if you are connected enough but you can't consider it a long term project like you might have done say 5-6 years ago. If you are just starting there are too many cards stacked against you I feel.

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HarveyJ

Well, click throughs aren't guaranteed leads/sales... and that's what the marketing companies actually want.
Finding a click campaign that definitely pays more than $0.25 a click is really hard. If you do, guard it with your life! Because the moment you can find one, if you can target it well on something like MySpace, you can just cycle that shit. Sure, the margin is slim, but if you're sending tens of thousands of clicks, it's risk free money... Unless it doesn't convert at all, and the merchant doesn't want to pay because it's shit traffic.

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$5 Submissions

That should be fine. Also, "writing for authority" or creating content aimed at turning your site into a resource should effectively sidestep the arbitrage ban issue. Putting up "spun" text that aims to merely snag the right high paying ads won't work. Content depth is key.

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