Browser extension search monetisation

A browser extension can change where a person's searches go. If it sets the default search engine, the homepage or the new tab page to a search site that carries a search feed, every search that person makes can earn the extension's owner a revenue share.

The model is openly supported by search engines. Yahoo's partner pages list default search settings, homepage settings, new tab settings and browser extensions as distribution options for its search products. Extension publishers usually offer some feature, such as wallpapers, a PDF tool or coupons, and pay to promote installs.

The economics differ from page-based arbitrage. Instead of buying a single visit, the publisher buys an installed user who may search for months, so the calculation is cost per install against lifetime revenue.

It is also one of the most abused corners of the industry. The line is consent. A user who knowingly accepts a new search provider is a customer. An extension that changes settings silently, misdescribes what it does, or resists removal is a browser hijacker, covered under search hijacking and adware. Browser makers and feeds have steadily tightened disclosure rules in response.

An example

Say a new-tab extension costs $1.50 per install to promote. If the average user keeps it for four months and their searches earn $0.50 a month, each install returns $2.00.