Comments on: Making Money With Arbitrage http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/ News, opinion, and fresh thinking for web developers and designers. The official podcast of sitepoint.com. Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:07:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: magstudios http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-349664 magstudios Sat, 25 Aug 2007 05:54:44 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-349664 Arbitrageur’s answer the basic question of many small business and deliver a product. No different than a design company, construction company or any other company that is delivering a product. It’s just business and if businesses could write their own CSS, they would. If homeowner’s could frame their own house, they wood (pun). And if small business could attract and convert leads, they would.That same user may end up clicking my $0.30 link on their page instead of the $0.25 link on the first page that the user was on. multiply that by a few thousand and a start-up company starts to feel the pinch. This means I may as well just find the highest priced (rather than loest price) pay per click provider. Arbitrageur’s answer the basic question of many small business and deliver a product. No different than a design company, construction company or any other company that is delivering a product. It’s just business and if businesses could write their own CSS, they would. If homeowner’s could frame their own house, they wood (pun). And if small business could attract and convert leads, they would.That same user may end up clicking my $0.30 link on their page instead of the $0.25 link on the first page that the user was on. multiply that by a few thousand and a start-up company starts to feel the pinch. This means I may as well just find the highest priced (rather than loest price) pay per click provider.

]]> By: agentforte http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-257892 agentforte Thu, 24 May 2007 23:14:41 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-257892 This is a greasy business. VERY shady. I think it is smart on a certain level, yet I <em>loathe</em> the idea. As a person trying to start an online business, everything about it is bad. It makes it much more expensive and less cost effective to use pay-per-click. Here are some major things to consider: <strong>Point 1</strong> It dilutes advertising and increases competition for keywords. It also increases the chance that my advertising will get lost on one of these arbitrage pages among other advertisements (rather than being placed on quality sites that would give me more click throughs). This means less click throughs and higher price per click. <strong>Point 2</strong> This is especially expensive if businesses advertise with more than one pay per click advertiser. There is a good chance of the following occurance: Let's say I pay $0.25 per click with Yahoo and $0.30 per click with Google. A user will likely click an arbitrage ad instead of mine (because for people conducting arbitrage, it is their job to be better and know how to hog the clicks) That same user may end up clicking my $0.30 link on their page instead of the $0.25 link on the first page that the user was on. multiply that by a few thousand and a start-up company starts to feel the pinch. This means I may as well just find the highest priced (rather than loest price) pay per click provider. <strong>Point 3</strong> It is annoying for the end user to make extra decisions on which link to click, and go through more pages to find what they are looking for. Just like the article said: <blockquote>the only draw back is that this method requires money to make money.</blockquote> In this case it is the businesses that end up paying the required money. For larger, successful businesses I don't mind, even if it was my business. Spread the wealth, other people have to make a living. (greed will only do bad things). As for the start-ups. I guess we have to be more creative since all the useful business tools lose their benefits quickly. -Frank Forte This is a greasy business. VERY shady. I think it is smart on a certain level, yet I loathe the idea.

As a person trying to start an online business, everything about it is bad. It makes it much more expensive and less cost effective to use pay-per-click. Here are some major things to consider:

Point 1
It dilutes advertising and increases competition for keywords. It also increases the chance that my advertising will get lost on one of these arbitrage pages among other advertisements (rather than being placed on quality sites that would give me more click throughs). This means less click throughs and higher price per click.

Point 2
This is especially expensive if businesses advertise with more than one pay per click advertiser. There is a good chance of the following occurance:

Let’s say I pay $0.25 per click with Yahoo and $0.30 per click with Google.
A user will likely click an arbitrage ad instead of mine (because for people conducting arbitrage, it is their job to be better and know how to hog the clicks) That same user may end up clicking my $0.30 link on their page instead of the $0.25 link on the first page that the user was on. multiply that by a few thousand and a start-up company starts to feel the pinch. This means I may as well just find the highest priced (rather than loest price) pay per click provider.

Point 3
It is annoying for the end user to make extra decisions on which link to click, and go through more pages to find what they are looking for.

Just like the article said:

the only draw back is that this method requires money to make money.

In this case it is the businesses that end up paying the required money. For larger, successful businesses I don’t mind, even if it was my business. Spread the wealth, other people have to make a living. (greed will only do bad things). As for the start-ups. I guess we have to be more creative since all the useful business tools lose their benefits quickly.

-Frank Forte

]]> By: Matthew Magain http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-255408 Matthew Magain Tue, 22 May 2007 07:27:02 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-255408 <a href="http://www.jensense.com/archives/2007/05/google_adsense_16.html" rel="nofollow">Google AdSense disabling arbitrage publisher accounts as of June 1st</a> Google AdSense disabling arbitrage publisher accounts as of June 1st

]]> By: siteinvestor1 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-255006 siteinvestor1 Mon, 21 May 2007 18:33:46 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-255006 Hi I am very interested in learning more about arbitrage and I was wondering if someone with some experience in this field could PM me their sites so I can have a look. Also if someone can tell me about a decent information site in regards to arbitrage that would be great. thx Hi

I am very interested in learning more about arbitrage and I was wondering if someone with some experience in this field could PM me their sites so I can have a look.
Also if someone can tell me about a decent information site in regards to arbitrage that would be great.

thx

]]> By: Rick http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-253175 Rick Sat, 19 May 2007 21:17:35 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-253175 I think that you <strong>can</strong> participate in arbitrage and still hold your head high! I have dozens of sites that have targeted content (created by me either because I have specific knowledge in that area or I have researched the topic for at least a few hours) and also links to outside sites (trade groups etc.) related to the specific topic. I am certain that value is added by a visit to our sites. There are no dead ends and we even provide contact information! Even with all of this valid content we are able to get clickthrough of up to 150%! The learning curve was steep but we clear about $200 per day with less than one hour spent daily. Don't get me wrong- the sites have been created to make money from arbitrage but the visitor finds a tidy site that might just give them all of the info they want or may be a starting place to research a topic further. There is a range of sites on any topic that you search on the internet: from "made-for-adsense" sites which is what most people think of when they talk about arbitrage to the most detailed site with dozens of pages and the most detailed information available. Is there a point in this progression where you can say that the bad guys end and value suddenly begins to be added? People click on our ads, find a site that is to the point (with a number of well researched external links) and at some point in their visit many will click on our Adsense supplied ads. There are no losers in the process...I firmly believe that we are delivering added value equal to the difference in ads prices. I am not sure where the fast paced comment comes from- this is not currency arbitrage, we simply have a formula that works and seems to be able to fit any topic. We certainly have had a few sites that ran at a loss so we stop buying ads (traffic) for the site but leave them up for any organic traffic that develops and also because we are proud of them and their content! I think that you can participate in arbitrage and still hold your head high! I have dozens of sites that have targeted content (created by me either because I have specific knowledge in that area or I have researched the topic for at least a few hours) and also links to outside sites (trade groups etc.) related to the specific topic. I am certain that value is added by a visit to our sites. There are no dead ends and we even provide contact information! Even with all of this valid content we are able to get clickthrough of up to 150%! The learning curve was steep but we clear about $200 per day with less than one hour spent daily. Don’t get me wrong- the sites have been created to make money from arbitrage but the visitor finds a tidy site that might just give them all of the info they want or may be a starting place to research a topic further.

There is a range of sites on any topic that you search on the internet: from “made-for-adsense” sites which is what most people think of when they talk about arbitrage to the most detailed site with dozens of pages and the most detailed information available. Is there a point in this progression where you can say that the bad guys end and value suddenly begins to be added? People click on our ads, find a site that is to the point (with a number of well researched external links) and at some point in their visit many will click on our Adsense supplied ads. There are no losers in the process…I firmly believe that we are delivering added value equal to the difference in ads prices. I am not sure where the fast paced comment comes from- this is not currency arbitrage, we simply have a formula that works and seems to be able to fit any topic. We certainly have had a few sites that ran at a loss so we stop buying ads (traffic) for the site but leave them up for any organic traffic that develops and also because we are proud of them and their content!

]]> By: xposed http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-248830 xposed Wed, 16 May 2007 01:49:27 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-248830 This has been incredibly fun for me to play around with. I have had to keep at it, and try something a little different EVERY time I try a new niche. I never risk more than $5.00 when I try a new niche. This is not risky at all. The only risk is to be uneducated imho. I'd be happy to help you start safely, send me a PM! This has been incredibly fun for me to play around with.

I have had to keep at it, and try something a little different EVERY time I try a new niche.

I never risk more than $5.00 when I try a new niche. This is not risky at all.

The only risk is to be uneducated imho.

I’d be happy to help you start safely, send me a PM!

]]> By: Anon123 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-248630 Anon123 Tue, 15 May 2007 20:02:04 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-248630 Someone please enlighten me what is the difference between an ordinary domain and a private domain. Are there any advantages?Do pardon my ignorance I am new to all this. Someone please enlighten me what is the difference between an ordinary domain and a private domain.
Are there any advantages?Do pardon my ignorance I am new to all this.

]]> By: adsmacker http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-245065 adsmacker Fri, 11 May 2007 20:38:21 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-245065 good arbitrage sites get CTR in at least the 80-90% range. if your CTR is below 80%, you need to tweak the design and remove content and other distractions. and no i'm not kidding either it's a tough business and fast paced. akin to on-the-floor stock trading - the stress is high, the play is risky, and the rewards are proportionally enormous good arbitrage sites get CTR in at least the 80-90% range. if your CTR is below 80%, you need to tweak the design and remove content and other distractions. and no i’m not kidding either

it’s a tough business and fast paced. akin to on-the-floor stock trading - the stress is high, the play is risky, and the rewards are proportionally enormous

]]> By: eldelgado http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-243048 eldelgado Tue, 08 May 2007 20:15:28 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-243048 When I read the title I expected it to have been written by someone who actually has made money with arbitrage. No offence meant, but unless you walk the talk . . . When I read the title I expected it to have been written by someone who actually has made money with arbitrage. No offence meant, but unless you walk the talk . . .

]]> By: 1Lit_com http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-242359 1Lit_com Mon, 07 May 2007 18:21:17 +0000 http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/05/03/making-money-with-arbitrage/#comment-242359 There is nothing shady about arbitrage. It requires real skill. The people I know who engage in PPC arbitrage are among the smartest and hardest working people on the net. There is nothing shady about arbitrage. It requires real skill. The people I know who engage in PPC arbitrage are among the smartest and hardest working people on the net.

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