The players
62 companies and organisations in the search arbitrage chain, what each one does in plain English, and where it sits in the chain.
Google (Alphabet)
GOOGL +1.6%The source of most search-ad money, and the rule-maker whose policy changes can remake search arbitrage overnight.
Search enginesUSAMeta (Facebook & Instagram)
META +0.3%Owner of Facebook and Instagram, and the most widely used place to buy clicks for social-to-search campaigns.
Traffic sourcesUSAMGID
PrivatePrivately held native ad network with a large footprint outside the US, widely used by affiliate and arbitrage buyers.
Native networksUSANewsBreak
PrivateUS local-news app with its own self-serve ad platform, popular with native and search arbitrage buyers.
Traffic sourcesUSAOutbrain (Teads)
TEAD +3.8%The other big native recommendation network; it bought Teads in 2025 and now trades as Teads (TEAD).
Native networksUSAVisual discovery platform where people plan purchases; a smaller source of clicks for social-to-search buyers.
Traffic sourcesUSARevcontent
PrivateUS native ad network that connects performance advertisers to recommendation widgets on publisher sites.
Native networksUSASnap
SNAP -1.2%Maker of Snapchat; its ad platform is a secondary source of clicks for social-to-search buyers.
Traffic sourcesUSATaboola
TBLA -2.7%The largest native ad network; its recommendation boxes on news sites are the classic native-to-search source.
Native networksUSATikTok
PrivateShort-video app whose ad platform is a fast-growing place to buy clicks for social-to-search campaigns.
Traffic sourcesSingapore and Los AngelesZeropark
AcquiredSelf-serve ad network selling pop and domain-redirect traffic; part of Team Internet since the 2020 Codewise deal.
Traffic sourcesPoland