You can make money on the Internet in different ways: if you have no experience, surf sites and perform various tasks. If you're an upgraded professional with an impressive skillset, set up an advertising campaign, try SEO or marketing on social networks. You can choose one option and work with it or... apply your skills to affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing, a.k.a traffic arbitrage, implies that you attract buyers to goods and services. In exchange for the attracted users, you will receive a payment when clients perform the target action. Beginners are already frightened, which is understandable: no one wants to waste the budget and lose all the money at once.
To prevent that, we're releasing this guide for first steps in web traffic arbitrage, so you'll enter the business up in arms, prepared to face and address any challenge getting in the way. So, shall we dissect traffic arbitrage for beginners? Let’s do it.
What is Traffic Arbitrage?
So, before we delve deeper into the subject, it’s essential that we define that subject. What is traffic arbitrage?
For everyone who’s abusing the almighty Google search bar by endless queries containing entries like traffic arbitrage meaning, we are ready to provide a clear and concise definition.
How Does Traffic Arbitrage Work?
Traffic arbitrage is a business model where marketers buy traffic at a low price, redirect it to other platforms and monetize said traffic at a higher cost. Technically, affiliate experts make money on the difference in the cost of acquiring web traffic and the revenue generated from that traffic.
If this short explanation is not enough, let us break it down to you in four clear steps.
- Buying low-cost traffic. Marketing specialists buy traffic from Google Ads, Facebook Ads, native ad networks, and other sources that provide cheap clicks and/or impressions.
- Redirecting the traffic. The traffic bought at stage one gets redirected to landing pages, websites, or offers with higher-paying monetization opportunities.
- Monetization. Affiliates earn revenue by monetizing the redirected traffic through advertising networks or other forms of performance-based advertising.
- Profit. Employ your Math skills in this one: if the marketer buys traffic cheaply and generates more revenue from it, they make a profit.
Who Participates in Traffic Arbitrage?
Traffic arbitrage is a strategy that connects a number of specialists with a traffic arbitrage platform or platforms for better results. Each participant has a unique role.
Affiliate marketers
Affiliate marketers are the primary participants in traffic arbitrage. They purchase traffic and direct it to affiliate offers, earning a commission when users take the desired action (e.g., making a purchase, signing up for a service, etc.).
Ad networks
Ad networks, for example, Google Ads, Taboola, Outbrain, and Facebook Ads serve as the platforms where affiliates purchase traffic. These networks connect advertisers with publishers (websites or apps) to buy ad space and display ads to potential customers. Marketers often purchase traffic through these networks to drive users to high-converting landing pages or offers.
Publishers (website owners)
Publishers, or website owners, are another critical link in the traffic arbitrage process. These individuals or businesses monetize their websites through various ad networks, affiliate links, or other offers. The traffic that marketers redirect to these sites may be monetized through display ads, sponsored content, or affiliate offers.
Traffic brokers
These are intermediaries who specialize in buying and selling traffic. They often have access to vast networks of traffic sources and help connect advertisers with traffic providers. These brokers can source cheap traffic and resell it to those engaging in traffic arbitrage.
Advertisers
Advertisers are typically businesses or brands seeking to get their products or services in front of potential customers. In traffic arbitrage, advertisers pay for placements, whether it’s through paid search, display ads, or social media, to capture a wider audience. These advertisers are trying to target specific niches and customer groups, and traffic arbitrage can help them do so efficiently.
These are the crucial links in the chain of traffic arbitrage, but you can also include other participants: demand-side platforms that allow marketers to purchase advertising inventory across a range of ad exchanges; content creators and influencers, or specialists that have profound skills in traffic arbitrage blogging; traffic arbitrage networks that specialize in helping marketers buy and sell traffic for arbitrage purposes, and, of course, data analysts and optimizers who ensure the effectiveness of campaigns.
Traffic Arbitrage Example
Now that we have a plan of what traffic arbitrage is, we can illustrate the words with an example. We'll stick to the outline we've already highlighted earlier, you won't have any trouble with it, even if you've been asking one and the same question throughout the entire paragraph: how does buying traffic arbitrage work?.. Here is how it works. Watch it break it down for you.
Buying low-cost traffic
First off, an affiliate marketer, let's call him, for example, Diogenes, wants to promote an online product. Diogenes knows there's a high-converting offer for a fitness product that pays a $50 commission for every sale.
With that information in hand, Diogenes goes to Google Ads and purchases traffic to promote the product. He targets broad keywords like buy fitness equipment and best home gym, and his ads are designed to direct people to a landing page where they can buy his product.
The CPC for these keywords is $1, meaning Diogenes pays $1 every time someone clicks his ad and lands on his page.
Redirecting the traffic to a monetized landing page
Once the visitors arrive on Diogenes's landing page, it features content about the benefits of using the fitness equipment and includes an affiliate link to purchase the product. Of course, the landing page is optimized to convert visitors into customers: Diogenes regularly posts engaging content and includes clear and concise CTAs.
Monetizing the traffic
When a visitor clicks on Diogenes's affiliate link and purchases the fitness equipment, the affiliate earns a $50 commission.
Here's how it works:
Diogenes drives 500 clicks to the landing page.
Of the 500 visitors, 10% (50 people) make a purchase.
Diogenes earns $50 per sale; from the 50 sales, he makes $2,500 in affiliate commissions.
Calculating the profit
Now, let’s break down the costs and profits:
Total traffic cost: Diogenes spent $1 per click on Google Ads, so for 500 clicks, the total cost is $500.
Revenue from sales: Diogenes earns $50 per sale, and he made 50 sales, so his revenue is $2,500.
Profit: The profit is the difference between revenue and costs. Diogenes's total profit from this campaign is:
$2,500 (revenue) - $500 (traffic cost) = $2,000 profit.
Picking the Right Niche
Niches, or verticals, include certain groups of products and services, so the speed of moneymaking depends on your choice. Actually, this is your first-ever step in the business.
Conventionally, niches are divided into three categories:
Always Profitable Niches
We will enumerate a few options for you here, but if you need more information on it, you check out an article dedicated to the topic entirely.
Nutra
Nutra includes all products related to health, beauty, and dietary supplements.
Advantages: the target audience is easy to find, and the demand for goods is inexhaustible. The niche prospers in absolutely any GEO. All you need to do is select an offer that fits your advertising budget, and you’re ready to launch.
Disadvantages: not all products are easy to advertise. For example, it's nearly impossible to promote libido enhancement products openly, and we can't recommend cloaking to beginners. Another flaw of the vertical is that the competition is quite high.
E-commerce
E-commerce consists of various products, from gadgets to clothing and accessories.
Advantages: E-commerce has profitable offers from small local businesses and giants such as Aliexpress.
Disadvantages: competition; everyone is driving traffic to these products.
Mobile subscriptions
These are subscriptions to services with just one click. The user is charged to get access to the content.
Advantages: large selection of offers, all profitable.
Disadvantages: too difficult for a beginner and requires huge promotional investments.
Potentially Profitable Niches (With the Right Approach)
That's where you need to understand your audience to get traffic.
Dating/webcams
Dating services are available in almost all countries and can be divided into two categories: regular dating, or mainstream, and adult (sex dating, webcam). This is where a newbie can start.
Advantages: good offers both in RuNet and abroad. Offers have high stakes, especially for adult dating.
Disadvantages: Adult and webcam are more difficult to deal with. Read more about adult dating here.
Gambling
This vertical consists mainly of online casino games such as slots, lotteries, roulette, and card games.
Advantages: high revenue.
Disadvantages: tricky to work with, as there are constant restrictions, and affiliates have to always look for alternative sources of traffic.
Seasonal Niches
Tourism and some types of goods, for example, warm underwear or Christmas trees. There are also seasonal products in the nutra niche. For example, anti-fungus remedies are more profitable during the spring-summer period. In summer, demand for products for psoriasis also increases.
Advantages: launching advertising campaigns during the season or before the start will give a good profit.
The disadvantage is obvious: limited advertising campaign time.
Choosing the Best Affiliate Program
If you have already clarified which product you will promote, compare the payouts and hold periods in different affiliate programs. For example, you choose libido enhancement products, and you can get 10 bucks from one affiliate program, and, say, 20 bucks from another. High rates do not guarantee the transparency and honesty of the affiliate program. Explore several platforms and make a choice.
Chat with the manager. Managers are links between an affiliate and a network. Make sure this is a qualified specialist ready to help you with the tasks.
Check the call center. You can make perfect creatives that hit home, but if the call center is sluggish and barely responds, it will ruin the best combinations possible. Employees often do not know how to address objections, which affects conversion.
GEO. You shouldn’t choose a complex GEO at the very beginning of your journey without understanding the audience. A newcomer may not be able to cope with the existing competition.
Where to begin? Choose a GEO you are confident in. As you develop, you will move to more profitable countries.
Be wary of new niches. Yes, there are situations when you can be the first and milk the incipient vertical, but there are many disadvantages. Nobody knows how to work with a new niche, so it’s risky. Even experienced affiliates make mistakes while testing; the audience’s interest in something new needs to be stirred up.
In verified ones, there is demand and cases; you can get recommendations and understand what works best.
Direct Advertisers
Direct advertisers are companies or brands that offer affiliate programs without intermediaries. By partnering with direct advertisers, affiliates can establish a closer relationship with the brand and often have more control over commission structures and promotional strategies. Direct partnerships may provide higher commissions, exclusive offers, and better access to promotional resources.
Affiliate Networks
Affiliate networks, sometimes referred to as traffic arbitrage networks, are the intermediaries omitted in the first example; they are the link between affiliates and advertisers. These platforms aggregate multiple affiliate programs from various brands, allowing affiliates to easily find, join, and manage different campaigns. While affiliate networks may offer a broader range of options, commissions are often shared with the network, potentially lowering your earnings.
Affiliate Programs on Large Platforms
Large platforms like Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network, and Rakuten offer affiliate programs that allow affiliates to promote products from a wide range of categories. These platforms tend to have established trust with consumers, making it easier to generate sales. However, competition can be fierce, and commissions may be lower compared to direct advertisers or niche affiliate networks.
Top 10 Niches for Traffic Arbitrage
Here we've drawn up a list of profitable niches for beginners to test out.
Weight Loss Offers
These offers are always on the rise. They have a wide target audience. Covers women from 20 to 55 years old. The demand for weight loss is high, peaking in the spring-summer season. You can use different traffic sources.
Anti-Aging Offers
Anti-aging products are increasingly popular in the Nutra niche. Self-care products.
The advantages are the same as in the weight loss option: a wide target audience, so you can get cheap leads from a niche.
Loan & Finance Offers
White niche with high payouts. The market is constantly growing, but pushing a person to accomplish the target action is getting more difficult.
Smoking & Alcohol Cessation
The Nutra subcategory aimed at combating addictions.
The target audience consists of men and women 35+. Men want to get rid of bad habits, and their wives want to help them.
Traffic can be brought by teaser networks, banners, and thematic resources.
Joint Health & Supplements
This nutra category is aimed at retired people with chronic diseases.
Advantages: such products are always popular. The niche is well-developed; there are ready-made creatives and recommendations on how to work profitably. All you need to do is set up advertising.
Gambling & Betting
Online casinos are a popular trend. The audience is huge, and the stakes are high. The advertiser pays for the first deposit or a percentage of the amount the client spent on the game.
The disadvantage is the ban on advertising in AdWords and Facebook.
Dating & Webcam
Regular dating and 18+. The audience consists of men from 18 to 60 years old.
Dating offers work for any location and audience: there are dating sites, video chats with erotica, etc. Dating is where beginners can start.
Gadgets (Saving Electricity, Fuel)
These are offers for the target audience of men 30+. There is no connection to GEO or social status, and it provides many opportunities for creating advertising campaigns.
Did you choose your offer? If so, let's speak about the financial aspect.
Payment Models in Traffic Arbitrage
Before you decide which model to work with, study all the options, examine their differences, and note their advantages, and disadvantages.
CPL (Cost Per Lead)
This is a reward for the user who filled out a questionnaire, signed up on a website, or left a request. It’s easier to convert a person into a lead using a CPL share; no complex actions are required from the user.
The downside is that the payouts are small. In our affiliate system, you can get from 0.5 to 4 dollars for registering a person. It’s easy for a beginner to start using this model and doesn’t require a lot of expenses.
CPA (Cost Per Action)
Payments here are higher than in CPL, but it is more difficult to convince a person to make a purchase.
Target actions according to the CPA model:
registration on the advertiser’s website;
a conversion action;
purchase of goods.
Sales Percentage
Depends on the price of the product. The cheaper it is, the easier it is to sell it. “Impulse” goods are easy to sell, as the client does not dwell on the purchase. They are satisfied with the price and place an order.
If you choose a more expensive product, the percentage of sales will be higher, but it will also be more difficult to lead a person to purchase.
RevShare
In this model, you receive a reward for the profit you bring. Beginners can be transferred to Revshare to check the quality of traffic.
The network manager will help you choose a model to work with and, depending on the source, will suggest the best option.
What is the best way to start making money in affiliate marketing? For beginners, it's the CPL model. For webmasters who have their own platform and those who use Facebook, the CPA format will be the perfect fit.
Traffic Sources & Target Audience
Study the target audience of the selected offer. Who are these people, where do they live, what interests them, and what are their pains? Create a portrait of your typical buyer. Your manager already has this information. Request statistics on the offer you are interested in and get detailed information about traffic types, age, and gender.
Paid Traffic Sources
There are several options for arbitrage traffic sources that you need to pay to work with.
Landing page
In 90% of cases, you will need a landing page. This is promotional material with a description of the product and its advantages. The landing page contains bait for the client in the form of promotions, discounts, and other information that encourages quick action.
You can create a landing page with a designer or write to the manager and choose a ready-made, working landing page.
Advertising on Social Networks
One of the most popular channels. The quality of traffic is the best, but there are many disadvantages for beginners. If the offer is not white, you will not be able to set up targeted advertising; you will not be able to do so without additional software (target hunter). This is where mobile apps and dating come in. It’s not a good idea to drive traffic to casinos or Nutra from Facebook or TikTok since you can’t do it without cloaking: you’ll instantly get banned.
GoogleAds and Search Engines
They can offer better traffic quality, but it is an expensive and complex channel. It is important to acknowledge the GEO and pay attention to competition. When properly configured, it gives excellent results. It’s a little difficult for beginners and requires skill and expertise.
Remember, if you choose this, ads are strictly moderated; in case of violations, the account will be blocked without a refund. You can advertise a limited number of offers here. It is better to work with this traffic source if you already have experience. Beginners should not start with it.
Native advertising
Native advertising demonstrates bits of useful information with unobtrusive advertising. In affiliate marketing, pre-landing and landing pages are used to make high-quality native advertising. You need to push a person to purchase gently and unobtrusively. For native advertising, you need to have experience and know the target audience. Therefore, it is difficult to recommend this source to beginners.
Push Notifications
Suitable for beginners. All you need to do is learn how to create catchy short headlines that people will read. Push notifications are easy to set up and inexpensive. The costs are worth it, although the quality of traffic here is not the best. Effectiveness also depends on the relevance of the ads and the knowledge of the audience. To receive push traffic, you need to select a push network.
Teaser Networks
A good option for beginners. An inexpensive source with an easy setup. The main requirement is to be creative so that people want to click on the ad. The headlines here should be vivid, even shocking. Use fresh creatives; the user will not click on what he has already seen before.
Popunder/Clickunder
The cheapest, most intrusive type of advertising. You need to work with it carefully because if you overdo, you won’t get a profit. Well-suited for gray offers and 18+ themes.
Free & Organic Traffic Sources
In theory, you can create a popular group, channel, or website for free, but in reality, there are many nuances. First, you invest money in the project, then monetize the free traffic.
Website & Contextual Advertising
You buy a domain and hosting, create content, and spend time getting to the top. It is important to take care of all the nuances of the search engine.
Blogging
Write articles first, build a reputation, and become an expert. Then carefully promote the offer. Products from affiliate marketing should fit organically into your blog and fit the topics on which you write articles.
The financial part is the cost of creating content. Not everyone writes articles on their own; most people order them.
Social Network
Here people spend a lot of time creating content, that’s the essence of internet traffic arbitrage. Publish at least 1-2 posts daily so that people want to read and follow you. To monetize pages, you need to have at least 5 of them. This is time-consuming, and posts need to be purchased. If you have groups with a loyal audience, start embedding advertising. Select suitable offers in our affiliate system and generate traffic.
YouTube
The costs are high, from equipment to an assistant who can maintain the channel. Advertising also costs money because you need a written script. Important: choose your offer carefully! Do not advertise every single thing you come across. The audience won’t believe you, and you won’t make any profit.
Telegram
It’s possible to create a popular channel, but promotion may require investments. Collect the required number of subscribers and implement advertising. Native advertising works perfectly well in tow with ad posts published in other channels works well here. You can barter with admins if you have a similar target audience and the same number of subscribers.
Crowd marketing
Communication on forums where advertising is presented under the mask of a regular message: one of the most interesting traffic arbitrage techniques, don’t you think? To receive traffic, create a reputation for yourself, become familiar with the topic, and only then implement offers. The traffic is high quality, but you'll have to sit there for days.
How to Optimize and Scale Traffic Arbitrage Campaigns
Scaling and optimizing traffic arbitrage campaigns is crucial for maximizing profitability. Here are key strategies to help improve performance and grow your campaigns.
Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion rate optimization focuses on improving the percentage of visitors who take the desired action. To optimize your conversion rates, you should consider the following steps:
A/B Testing: Test different landing pages, ad creatives, and CTAs to identify the most effective combinations.
UX: Improve the user experience on your landing pages by ensuring they load quickly, are mobile-friendly, and have clear, compelling content.
Targeting: Refine your audience targeting to attract the right visitors who are more likely to convert.
Analyzing & Tracking Performance
To successfully scale a traffic arbitrage campaign, you need to constantly analyze and track performance. Gauge and monitor important metrics (CPC, CPA, ROAS) and conversion rate, using analytics tools and/or specialized tracking software to gain insights into your campaign performance and adjust accordingly. To do that, you can implement Google Analytics and Facebook Ads Manager into your routine. As a final touch, add real-time adjustments: bids, creatives, or targeting settings require constant attention.
Increasing Budgets & Expanding to New Platforms
This is a tip you want to include in your daily routine as well: it might not be obvious, but scaling the budget can help boost traffic and increase revenue. First, you should gradually increase your budget to keep your campaigns efficient and profitable; then diversify your traffic sources to reach a wider audience via natives, social media, and display networks. Finally, you might want to consider targeting new GEOs and languages to fully unleash your potential.
Legal & Ethical Considerations in Traffic Arbitrage
Traffic arbitrage can be highly profitable, but it’s essential to stay compliant with legal regulations and adhere to ethical digital marketing practices. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind while doing your job.
Platform Guidelines & Compliance
Each advertising platform (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, native ad networks, or any other platform that comes to mind) has its own set of guidelines and policies that affiliates must follow. Normally, they include ad policies (strict rules about the types of allowed ads, prohibited content, and user targeting), data protection laws (GDPR and CCPA), which clarify collecting and processing user data; and transparency regulations, maintaining trust and credibility with your audience.
Ethical Digital Marketing Practices
Ethics has always come into question, but in the last few years, the world has become obsessed with the notion, and rightfully so. Ethical practices ensure that campaigns remain effective and respectful; essentially, this approach proclaims a few unwritten rules.
Avoid deceptive tactics: never use misleading ads or deceptive landing pages. Always make sure that your content accurately represents what you are promoting.
Be honest: Stay transparent about the products and services you're promoting. If the offer doesn’t deliver on its promises, it will damage your reputation and lead to high refund rates.
Respect user privacy: Be cautious with the data you collect from users. Do not engage in spamming or aggressive tactics that might exploit user data for purposes outside the campaign scope.
Legitimate Traffic Acquisition Methods
The foundation of any successful and ethical traffic arbitrage campaign is acquiring traffic through legitimate means:
Paid ads: run PPC or social media ads that direct traffic to relevant and high-converting offers.
Content marketing: create high-quality content (for example, blog posts or videos) to naturally drive organic traffic.
Affiliate networks & partnerships: work with reputable affiliate networks and partners to ensure you're getting high-quality, compliant traffic.
No click fraud: avoid click fraud (e.g., artificially inflating clicks or impressions) as it violates both platform rules and ethical standards. Such actions can result in permanent bans and may entail legal consequences.
FAQ
