The map of the chain
Read it top to bottom, the way the money travels: from the search engines that own the advertisers, through the companies that pass their ads along, to the places the visitors are bought, with the tools and the referees around them.
Where the ads come from
Search engines sell the clicks to advertisers; feed providers and parking companies pass those ads on.
Search engines5
Where the advertiser money starts: they run the ad auction and license their ads to partners.
Feed providers & syndicators15
Hold the contract with a search engine and pass its ads on to publishers for a share.
Domain parking9
Turn unused domain names into pages of search ads.
Who runs the trade
Operators buy visitors and show them the ads.
Arbitrage operators6
Buy visitors, show them search ads, keep the difference.
Where the visitors are bought
Social platforms and native networks sell the clicks that start it all.
Traffic sources10
Social and other platforms where arbitrage clicks are bought.
Native networks6
The “recommended stories” widgets that sell clicks by the million.
Tools of the desk
Tracking, automation and competitive intelligence.
Trackers & automation5
Software that joins cost to revenue, click by click, and acts on it.
Trust and rules
Checking the clicks are real, and setting the standards.
Traffic quality & fraud prevention10
Tell real visitors from bots and fake clicks.
Standards & regulators4
Set and enforce the rules of measurement and honest advertising.
History
Names that built the model.
Names from history7
Companies that shaped search arbitrage and have since changed or gone.