Making big money online doesn't necessarily require a huge team or complex operation. As affiliate marketer Harnur demonstrates, it's possible for a solo entrepreneur to earn 6-figures per month by leveraging the power of TikTok ads and a strategy called search arbitrage.
In this article, we'll dive into Harnur Virk's proven methods for making money with search arbitrage, identifying the most profitable search feed providers, keywords, and products to promote, and effectively communicating their value to your target audience on TikTok. You'll learn about the top spy tools, keywords, and 5 attention-grabbing ad hooks Harnur recommends and how to personalize them for higher conversion rates and relevance.
By the end, you'll understand how to structure profitable search arbitrage campaigns on TikTok and scale them successfully. We'll also discuss Harnur's guide to campaign automation so you can grow your revenue hands-free once your system is dialed in. Whether you're new to affiliate marketing or a seasoned pro looking to diversify, this article will give you a solid roadmap to solo success with TikTok ads search arbitrage.
Note: Harnur Virk won the Best Affiliate of The Year award at the recent Affiliate World Conference in Dubai 2024, so his points matter a lot and it’s important to take notes.
With that being said, let’s get into it.
What is Search Arbitrage?
Before we get into the specifics of Harnur's strategy, let's make sure we're clear on what search arbitrage is and how it works. In simple terms, search arbitrage involves:
- Buying cheap traffic from ad platforms like Facebook, TikTok, native ads, etc.
- Directing that traffic to landing pages monetized with search ads (Google Ads, Bing Ads, Yahoo, etc.)
- Profiting from the difference between your cheap traffic acquisition costs and the higher revenue earned per click from the search ads
So essentially, you're arbitraging the price difference between two traffic sources - buying low from social/native ads and selling high on search ad networks. Your profit is the spread between those two costs.
One-Click vs. Two-Click Flows
There are two main types of search arbitrage flows:
1. One-Click Flow
- User clicks on your TikTok ad and is taken directly to a landing page with search results
- Clicking a search result counts as a conversion
- Typically used with Yahoo and Bing search ads
2. Two-Click Flow
- The user clicks on your TikTok ad and is taken to an initial landing page with a list of keywords
- The user clicks one of the keywords and is taken to a second page with search ads
- Clicking a search ad on the second page counts as the conversion
- Typically used with Google Ads
The two-click flow requires an extra step but can convert better since the user has expressed more intent by choosing a specific keyword. However, both can work well and are worth split testing.
Top search feed providers
To get started with search arbitrage, you'll need to get approved with one or more of the top search feed providers:
Getting approved often requires a reference from an existing partner or a lot of experience with paid traffic. But newer affiliates can get in.
Harnur recommends applying to all of them when starting out with a new offer. Then you can split-test the different feeds and see which generates the best ROI for your specific campaign. Once you identify a winner, focus on scaling that one. However, having multiple feeds running gives you more data and potentially more profit.
How to pick profitable offers to promote with search arbitrage
Choosing what offers and products to promote is a critical component of success with search arbitrage. Pick the wrong offer and your profits will suffer. But identify a winner and you can print money on autopilot.
Here are Harnur's top methods for finding profitable search arbitrage offers:
1. Keyword research tools
Tools like SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner, and UberSuggest can help you find keywords and topics with:
- High search volume
- High advertiser competition
- High cost-per-click (CPC) bids
Look for keywords that check all three boxes, as that indicates there is strong demand from both searchers and advertisers. High advertiser competition is actually a good thing, as it means there is always someone ready to buy your traffic even if individual advertisers pause or reduce their bids.
Harnur notes that many affiliates mistakenly believe they should only target the highest CPC keywords. But in his experience, that's often not the case. He has had top campaigns targeting low and mid-range CPC terms. So don't rule those out!
2. Spy tools
Spy tools like Pipi Ads and the Facebook Ads Library allow you to peek behind the curtain and see what's working for other affiliates in your space. Use these to generate offer ideas and get inspiration for your own angles and ads.
Look for offers that have been running consistently for a few weeks, as that's a strong indicator of profitability. Also pay attention to the specific ad copy, images, and landing pages the top affiliates are using.
Harnur recommends filtering for offers that have been running for 10+ days and were last seen within the past 30 days. This shows they have staying power and are likely still profitable.
3. Network reports & recommendations from your affiliate manager
One of the best ways to find winning offers is to simply ask your affiliate manager at the search feed networks. They have access to performance data across all affiliates and can see which offers and geos are crushing it lately.
Don't be shy about reaching out and requesting a report of the top 10-20 offers on each network. Your AM wants you to succeed and should be happy to share some recommendations to point you in the right direction. This can save you a ton of time that would otherwise be wasted testing random offers.
Harnur's traffic testing rules
Once you've identified some promising offers using the methods above, it's time to start testing. Here's the testing protocol Harnur recommends:
- Target Tier-1 geos like USA, Canada, UK, etc.
- Set a daily budget of around $20-$25 per offer
- Run traffic to each offer for a minimum of 3-5 days
- Wait for the search algorithms to optimize your bids and keywords
- Evaluate performance after 3-5 days and cut any obvious losers
- Let winners run for a full 7-14 days to confirm profitability
- Cut breakeven or slight losers and scale the profitable winners
One of the biggest mistakes Harnur sees new affiliates make is giving up on an offer too soon. Many will cut a campaign if it's not profitable on days 1-2. But that's often not enough time for the algorithm to optimize for your traffic and find the right groove.
He stresses the importance of patience and committing to at least 3-5 days (and preferably 7-14) before deciding on an offer's potential. This allows the search algorithms to gather data, test different combinations of keywords and bids, and zero in on what converts best for your specific traffic source. Cutting things off too early can cause you to miss out on hugely profitable campaigns.
Sending quality traffic for long-term profits
Another common mistake affiliates make is trying to cheat the system by sending bot traffic or low-quality clicks to their search arbitrage landing pages. They think they can make a quick buck by gaming the algorithms.
But Harnur warns that this is incredibly short-sighted. The search giants have incredibly sophisticated systems in place to detect invalid and fraudulent traffic. Trying to outsmart them will only result in your account getting banned and all your hard work going to waste.
Instead, he advises focusing on sending the highest quality traffic possible. This means properly targeting your ads, delivering a good user experience, and ultimately promoting products that are a strong fit for your audience.
By prioritizing quality, you can build a sustainable and long-term search arbitrage business. You'll earn higher payouts, your accounts will stay in good standing, and you'll sleep soundly at night knowing you're operating ethically. It's the wise path to consistent profits.
The 5 attention-grabbing TikTok ad hooks
Now that you know how to find and test profitable offers, let's talk about actually getting clicks on your TikTok ads. It all starts with interrupting the scroll and grabbing attention. Here are 5 proven hooks Harnur uses in his ads:
Asking your audience a question that piques their curiosity and gets them thinking is a powerful way to draw them in. For example: "Do you know the 3 foods that are killing your metabolism?"
- The bold claim or statement
Making a bold claim or statement in your ad headline is another great way to stop the scroll and get people to take notice. For example: "I lost 30 pounds in 30 days eating chocolate cake!" The key is to make it believable enough to warrant a click.
People love tutorials and learning how to do new things. Use this in your TikTok ads by highlighting a specific result or skill someone can learn by clicking through. For example: "How I made $1,000 in a day with this simple app!"
Emotions are powerful drivers of attention and action. Leverage this in your ad copy by tapping into strong feelings like anger, fear, excitement, or even humor. For example: "Are you tired of being disrespected by your boss? Click to learn the magic phrase that commands instant respect!"
- The scarcity or urgency play
Creating a sense of scarcity or urgency is a time-tested way to boost your click-through rates. If people feel they might miss out on something good, they'll be much more likely to click. For example: "Only 100 spots available at this price - click now before they're gone!"
Harnur recommends using all 5 of these hooks and rotating them to see which one works best for your specific offers and audiences. Keep a swipe file of winning ads and aim to put your unique spin on these proven formulas.
Personalizing your ads for profit
While these 5 hooks are a great starting point, Harnur emphasizes the importance of personalizing your ad creative for your specific audience and offers.
Generic, templated ads may get you some results, but they'll likely be mediocre at best. To crush your TikTok ads, you need to speak directly to your target customer's unique pain points, desires, and interests.
Here are a few ways to do that:
- Use your audience's language
Pay attention to the words, phrases, and slang your target audience uses to describe their problems and goals. Incorporate this language into your ad copy to create an instant connection.
- Highlight the specific benefits they care about
Don't just list off a bunch of random product features. Zero in on the specific benefits your audience is looking for and lead with those in your ads. Will your offer help them make more money? Save time? Boost their status? Get specific!
- Use relatable images and videos
Choose ad creative that looks and feels like the content your audience is used to seeing in their TikTok feeds. If you're targeting a younger demographic, use bright colors, fast cuts, and high-energy music. If you're going after an older crowd, you may want to use a more professional and subdued style.
- Leverage FOMO and social proof
People want what other people have. Use social proof in your ads by highlighting customer testimonials, impressive stats, or media mentions. Create a fear of missing out (FOMO) by implying that "everyone" is using this product or benefiting from this offer.
By taking the time to personalize your ads for your specific audience, you can dramatically boost your conversion rates and ROAS. It takes more work than just copying and pasting a generic template, but it's well worth the effort.
Structuring and scaling your TikTok search arbitrage campaigns
Once you've found a profitable offer and dialed in your ad creative, it's time to structure your campaigns for maximum scalability. Here's the basic campaign structure Harnur recommends:
- 3-5 ad groups per campaign
- 3-5 ads per ad group
- Each ad group targets a different audience or interest
- Each ad tests a different hook, angle, or creative style
- The budget is allocated to the ad set level
- Winning ad sets are scaled by increasing the budget in 20% increments
- New ad variations are constantly tested to avoid ad fatigue
The key to scaling effectively is to have a system in place for consistently testing new audiences, ad copies, and creatives. You never want to get complacent or reliant on just one winning ad or audience. By always having new tests running, you can quickly replace fatigued ads and keep your ROAS high.
It's also important to monitor your account metrics closely and be proactive about cutting losers. Harnur likes to use a 3x ROAS goal as a benchmark. If an ad set or ad is not generating at least a 3x return on ad spend after 3-5 days, it gets cut. This ensures you're not wasting money on underperforming assets and allows you to reallocate that budget to new tests or scaling winners.
Campaign automation for passive income
As you start to scale your TikTok search arbitrage campaigns, manually monitoring and adjusting bids, budgets, and creatives can quickly eat up all your time. That's where automation comes in.
There are many great tools out there (like RevealBot, TikTok Ads Manager, etc.) that allow you to automate many of the day-to-day optimization tasks needed to keep your campaigns running smoothly. You can set up rules to automatically:
- Pause underperforming ads or ad sets
- Increase budgets for winners
- Adjust bids based on ROAS goals
- Daypart your ads to only run at profitable times
- And much more.
By using automation, you can dramatically reduce your workload while still maintaining high performance. Harnur estimates that once an affiliate has found a profitable campaign and set up their automation rules, they can often maintain it with just 30-60 minutes of work per day. This frees up your time to focus on launching new campaigns, testing new offers, or diversifying to new traffic sources.
Of course, you don't want to "set it and forget it" completely. It's still important to regularly check in on your automated campaigns and make sure everything is running smoothly. But with a solid system in place, you can achieve the coveted "laptop lifestyle" as a solo affiliate.
Conclusion
TikTok ads search arbitrage is a powerful way for solo affiliates to generate serious profits without needing a huge team or complex infrastructure. By following Harnur's proven process for selecting offers, creating compelling ads, launching and optimizing campaigns, and leveraging automation, you can build a 6-figure affiliate business from your laptop.
The key is to stay focused on the fundamentals:
- Picking proven offers in high volume, high intent niches
- Personalizing your ad copy and creative for your specific audience
- Structuring your campaigns for scale and consistently testing new ideas
- Monitoring your key metrics and cutting losers quickly
- Automating as much as possible to free up your time
If you can consistently execute on these core pillars, there's no limit to how far you can take your TikTok search arbitrage business. You may just find yourself joining the ranks of super affiliates like Harnur, enjoying the time, location, and financial freedom that comes with mastering this profitable strategy.
