What is a feed provider in search arbitrage?
A feed provider is a company with a syndication agreement with a search engine that lets other publishers or media buyers monetise through it. It supplies the landing pages or ad code, reporting and compliance checks, collects the money from the engine and pays its partners a share. Examples include System1, Tonic, Sedo and Ads.com.
A feed provider is a wholesaler. It takes on the engine's rules and the financial risk of deductions, and in return keeps part of each click. Good providers add real value: keyword suggestions, keyword-level reporting, a reporting API for trackers, fast payment and warnings before a problem becomes a suspension.
Because the provider answers to the engine for its partners, it polices them. Expect traffic source approval, creative reviews and limits on verticals. Its fortunes are also yours: when Google reduced monetisation across partners in 2025 and 2026, every buyer on those providers felt it at once. That shared exposure is a form of concentration risk.