How does search arbitrage work, step by step?

A media buyer runs an ad on a platform such as Facebook or Taboola. A person clicks and lands on an article or keyword page. That page shows related search terms. The person taps one and sees sponsored search results. If they click a sponsored result, the advertiser pays the search engine, which shares the money with the feed provider and the publisher.

What is a keyword lander?

A keyword lander is a simple page that shows a list of clickable search terms and little else. Each term leads to a page of sponsored search results. It is the classic parked-domain and feed layout. Google's current rules favour real article pages instead, so plain keyword landers are now found mostly on non-Google feeds.

What is Two-click flow? Meaning in advertising

Two-click flow

A two-click flow is a monetisation path where the visitor first clicks a keyword and then clicks a search ad, with only the second click earning money.

The short answer, from the The Arbitrage Desk glossary

In a two-click flow the visitor makes two choices after arriving. Click one is on a keyword or related search term. Click two is on a sponsored listing on the results page that follows. The advertiser pays only for click two.

This is how Google's Related Search on Content is designed. Google's help page describes exactly two screens: related search suggestions on the content page, then a results page with ads. The traditional parked domain page worked the same way.

The case for two clicks is quality. A person who picks a topic and then picks an advertiser has shown interest twice, so their click is more likely to be genuine. Extra steps also protect against accidental clicks.

The cost is drop-off. Many visitors leave at each stage, so far fewer reach the paying click than in a one-click flow. Buyers track the two stages separately as Lander CTR and Ad CTR. Trying to defeat the design, for example by clicking the first step on the visitor's behalf, is a serious policy breach.

An example

Say 1,000 visitors land. 400 click a keyword (40%). Of those, 220 click an ad (55%). At $0.50 per ad click, revenue is $110, or $0.11 per visitor.

Two-click flow

An example

Related terms

One-click flow

Related Search on Content (RSOC)

Lander CTR (keyword click rate)

Ad CTR (feed click rate)

Funnel

Zero-click parking