What is search syndication?
Search syndication is when a search engine lets other websites and apps show its results and ads in exchange for a share of the revenue. The partner brings the audience, the engine brings the advertisers. Search arbitrage is one use of syndication, alongside site search, metasearch engines, browser default deals and, until 2026 at Google, parked domains.
Search syndication is how an engine reaches people who never visit its homepage. Advertisers encounter it as the search partner network setting in their campaigns. Publishers encounter it as a search feed.
Not all syndication is arbitrage. A retailer's site search, a privacy search engine such as Startpage or a metasearch engine attracts its own users and shows syndicated ads when they search. Arbitrage is the subset where the partner pays for the visitor first. Engines treat the two differently: organic syndication partners bring users with their own search intent, while bought traffic has to prove its value through conversion data.