Social Media Traffic Arbitrage: Trends 2025

Social media is in high demand among modern audiences. It is difficult to find a person today who does not have their own account on such platforms, as well as those who do not like to wander around the feed a little, look through interesting information, search for the necessary goods and services. In parallel with the growing popularity of social media among the audience, these platforms are attracting more and more attention from business representatives, as well as various specialists who are actively working on the Internet. Among other things, this also applies to webmasters, arbitrageurs. In many ways, this is facilitated by the ability to ensure fairly good monetization of traffic. But, due to a number of blockings by Roskomnadzor, the possibilities of using a number of social networks have significantly decreased.

Now experts have a completely natural question: is it worth using these platforms in traffic arbitrage, what nuances should be taken into account. We will dwell on these issues in more detail within the framework of today's review. In particular, we will consider in more detail what trends are observed today in the most common social networks, whether it is worth betting on them. We will also provide reasoning and opinions about the future of these platforms in traffic arbitrage from some of the most popular and in-demand partner platforms today. The information provided will help you navigate the current trends of the modern market, as well as assess the prospects of using social networks in your own practice.

The most popular social networks in traffic arbitrage

The mass audience represented on the pages of social networks continues to attract very close attention from webmasters, arbitrageurs, despite the fact that today there are a number of serious access restrictions that have affected the most popular platforms among users. In order to understand whether it is worth using them in your work, you need to have a good understanding of the current trends on each of them. In particular, let's consider the following social networks:

• Instagram. Since 2023, when the corresponding sanctions were introduced, the number of Russian users of this platform has significantly decreased. Over the past 2 years since then, the average monthly audience has decreased by about 2.5 times. But at the same time, the average daily reach per year has decreased by 5 times. But still, the presence indicators remain quite impressive. If we talk about the average monthly audience, it currently amounts to a little more than 25 million, and the average daily number of visits is consistently above 7 million. That is, it is impossible to say that this social network has ceased to interest Russian users. More than 7 million daily unique visits clearly demonstrate that there are many opportunities for successful traffic monetization. The only nuance that you should definitely take into account here is how exactly you should organize this process. It is important that it is carried out within the framework of the law, and you would not attract suspicion, additional attention from regulatory government agencies. We would also like to draw your attention to the fact that the introduction of such restrictions for Instagram led to the fact that the most active authors, as well as their ardent fans, remained on the platform. That is, a large volume of unique and relevant content continues to be created here. Moreover, its volume continues to increase over the past year and this trend will continue in the foreseeable future. That is, the content is increasing, the active audience is present.
• Facebook. In terms of popularity, this social network is noticeably inferior to Instagram. And this is understandable, since it is not focused on young people, but on more mature users, those who can be considered experts in a particular niche, who have a stable and good income. But if we talk directly about the reduction of the audience, then over the past few years it has decreased, but slightly, less than 2 times. Today, the average monthly audience of Facebook is about 18 million users, and the average daily reach is within 2 million people. Such figures also indicate the possibility of using this platform in traffic arbitrage. There is also a fairly large number of active authors here, despite the fact that their number has decreased by a third on average. But here, materials are published that can rightfully be classified as expert class. That is, those that will attract the attention of an audience that is looking for not just entertaining content, but really useful information for themselves. There is also some analogy with Instagram: users are actively creating content. If we analyze the total number of publications before the start of restrictions and the indicators that we have today, then there is an approximate decrease of 10% per year. In the overall scale of publications, this is an insignificant indicator. All this allows us to confidently assert that Facebook continues to actively work in Russia, despite all the restrictions and prohibitions that exist today.
• TikTok. This is one of the most actively developing social networks in the world. Despite the fact that this platform appeared on the market relatively recently, it has already managed to win mass recognition of the audience. If initially it was mainly children and teenagers who were represented here, today TikTok is also actively visited by more mature users. So, despite the restrictions from this Chinese platform, it continues to be actively used by Russian users. So, at the end of 2023, the number of TikTok users in the Russian Federation was approximately 68 million people. Over the next year, there was a systematic increase in the number of accounts. So, over the year, the growth was about 15%, and the average daily reach reached 32 million people. But we want to draw attention to the fact that at the beginning of 2025, some decrease in the number of authors began to be observed, but this had practically no effect on the total number of publications. The fact is that those who continued to work with this platform began to generate more materials, practically blocking the outflow of content creators. If you look at this platform from the point of view of a webmaster or arbitrageur, you can also find good opportunities for monetizing traffic here.
• X (Twitter). This is the only social network in our selection that is really losing its relevance among Russian users. Moreover, the rate of decline in its indicators significantly exceeds the figures for previous options. In many ways, this is due not so much to the introduction of a number of restrictions by government agencies as to a general change in the policy of this platform. After Elon Musk acquired it, there have been serious changes here, which have caused a lot of discontent among ardent Twitter fans. This trend is relevant for many countries around the world, including Russia. Of course, after all the changes and restrictions, there are still active users in the X social network who continue to publish their materials en masse. But we will not say that there are promising opportunities for monetizing traffic here. Even with the correct organization of the entire process, the most you will get is rather meager results.

As you can see, the latest changes and restrictions that exist today in various social networks have had a negative impact on monetization opportunities, since each of these platforms is still experiencing an outflow of users. But it is impossible to say that these platforms should be completely thrown out of work by modern specialists working in traffic arbitrage. So what is the future of these social networks in the foreseeable future?

What should we expect from social networks in the future?

From the information that we have provided above, we can conclude that even against the background of the negative statistics that we observe in the once most popular social networks, those users who remain on them have become more active. The creation of new materials here has accelerated significantly, and users are eagerly awaiting the release of new publications. And now we move directly to the question that interests modern webmasters and arbitrageurs: what are the prospects for monetization currently on these platforms? Will specialists be able to attract the desired volumes of traffic?

To find answers to these questions, we will provide opinions and reasoning of representatives of leading CPA networks, namely ShakesPro, Cpaexchange. To get the most comprehensive and visual picture, consider the following nuances:

1. Have modern affiliate networks been able to adapt to existing restrictions and sanctions?
2. What tools, methods and solutions for traffic whitening are most actively used at the moment and give good results? Have arbitrageurs and webmasters who work with social networks really placed more emphasis directly on landings? Are additional tools still used, such as automatic redirection?
3. Is it possible to highlight a number of recommendations that can be called a standard or basic set for those specialists who are just starting their work in traffic arbitrage? For those who have not yet delved too deeply into such issues as traffic flow from blocked social platforms?
4. Does advertising in social networks have a future and what does it look like today from the perspective of leading representatives of the CPA niche? Will new opportunities for earning money in this area appear in the foreseeable future or will there still be stable stagnation until the Russian audience finally and irrevocably leaves Instagram, Facebook and other platforms that have fallen under sanctions and restrictions?

Knowing the answers to these questions, you will be able to assess the prospects of this area as a whole and understand for yourself the possibility of using them in future work or the need to search for alternative solutions today. Now let's move on directly to getting acquainted with the expert opinions of representatives of leading affiliate networks. Who, if not people who face these issues in their daily work, better understand all the specifics of this issue, its prospects.

Opinion of representatives of the CPA network ShakesPro

ShakesPro is one of the leading affiliate networks that has been operating on the market for more than 10 years and has managed to implement more than an impressive list of top nutra offers. This platform currently covers over 70 different countries, regions, offering its specialists exclusively relevant products, minimizing potential risks and increasing the efficiency of work. The fact is that the income of the CPA network itself directly depends on the success and all those deals that are concluded between webmasters and advertisers. Therefore, it is in their interests to simplify and improve the quality of these works as much as possible.

So, if we talk about the adaptability of ShakesPro to new market conditions, where there are serious restrictions and sanctions, then the representatives of this site claim that they have provided for a number of fairly serious measures, namely:

• Diversification of traffic and location of activity. Here we are talking about the fact that the affiliate network had to systematically shift its focus to new markets, gradually reducing its dependence on those geolocations where active work was previously carried out, but now they are under sanctions. In particular, the main emphasis has recently been on working with Asian markets, the Middle East, and Latin American countries. Here the stake is placed directly on those GEOs where there is a fairly high development potential today.
• Establishing closer relationships with local employers. Thanks to this, affiliate networks manage not only to expand the range of geolocations, but also to ensure higher stability in the market as a whole.
• The services themselves, as well as business processes, are adapted to local markets. Among other things, changes are made to the platform interfaces, translation into the local language is carried out. This is what makes these platforms convenient to work with for a wide segment of the user audience.
• Gradually, the focus of affiliate platforms began to shift to the use of alternative methods of making payments to arbitrageurs. In particular, one of the most common methods and currencies for making payments to specialists today can rightfully be called cryptocurrency. This is not new for the market as a whole, since they were used, including by this platform, even before the introduction of restrictions, but today this method has become widespread.
• Significant attention has begun to be paid to partner support. In particular, now webmasters can get competent advice on the transition to foreign services. In parallel with this, a fairly large number of proprietary programs and products are also launched, aimed at assisting in adaptation to new market conditions. This is what allows specialists, including beginners, to find many new opportunities for earning money. Let us repeat that CPA networks are interested in the stable income of arbitrageurs no less than they themselves are.
• Investments in their own arbitrage services and technologies. The affiliate networks themselves, having impressive experience in conducting such work, began to develop personal products that can become a reliable assistant in the work of modern webmasters. So, some of the most striking examples here include the launch of services that allow you to create virtual cards, replenish advertising accounts, etc.

Such trends have become relevant for various modern affiliate networks, since these are the solutions that will allow you to scale up your work, ensure increased stability even in the face of serious restrictions from the system.

If we move on to the issue of traffic whitening tools, the situation here is quite complicated. Despite attempts to find an effective solution to the problems that have arisen, the only truly effective way to pass moderation at the level of modern social networks is still cloaking. The essence of this technique is to direct users and directly the moderators of advertising platforms to different versions of pages. That is, it turns out that moderators are offered a beautiful, so-called "clean side" of the site for acquaintance, while users will interact with the "black side". By the way, to combat such actions, a tool such as anticloaking is used.

When implementing these works, arbitrageurs actively use special generators of “white pages”. They are created using special constructors, but independent layout is also possible. Special services are connected directly at the stage of cloaking setup. Webmasters also often use trackers. This is what can simplify the work of creating “white” versions of pages, sites and bypassing prohibitions that prevent moderation.

For those specialists who are just starting their journey in traffic arbitrage, experienced ShakesPro specialists recommend a comprehensive approach to getting to know the market as a whole. Here it is important to study related resources, services, get to know other market participants. This is what will allow you to delve into the existing nuances and unspoken rules of working with social networks. In addition, it is better to start the work itself with simpler projects, even if they are lower in terms of payment. This is the only way to get your bearings in the specifics of the upcoming work in general and adapt to current market trends.

Representatives of the affiliate network also recommend testing any new algorithms, approaches, introducing close interaction with representatives of affiliate networks, thereby eliminating the thoughtless use of tools, and also receiving competent advice. Thanks to this, you will be able to create really good conditions for casting traffic. It is also worth using modern SPY services. Here you can find a lot of ideas for inspiration, getting a solution that will ensure excellent conversion. It would also be useful to find a specialized community where webmasters gather, where they actively discuss with each other, share their own developments, ideas, and working practices.

We should never forget that the CPA market has recently become an extremely close community, where many specialists started literally from scratch, earned their first money, and developed. The fact is that traffic arbitrage is a field for which there are no corresponding specialties in higher education institutions. Moreover, even good specialized courses are practically impossible to find here. This means that only in the course of test communication with those people who have achieved certain success in this niche can you get all the necessary knowledge and skills that will be useful in the work of novice arbitrageurs.

The last question here concerns the future of advertising in social networks, which has become especially relevant after the introduction of relevant restrictions. If we analyze the modern market, we can conclude that this area continues to work actively, bringing good income to both arbitrageurs and advertisers. We have already provided detailed information on each of the platforms above. That is, there were no serious failures. It's just that both the audience and content creators have to be more sophisticated when connecting to blocked platforms, and use third-party tools to bypass blocking. And the simplest solution here is to use proxy servers, which allow you to change your geolocation to one where these platforms are not prohibited by law with just a couple of clicks.

That is, it is clearly not worth talking about Russian users leaving the same Facebook, Instagram, TikTok: the platforms are actively adapting to market changes, which preserves a lot of opportunities for traffic arbitrage in this direction.

What do the closest competitors of this affiliate network think? About this - more.

Opinion of representatives of the CPA network Cpaexchange

As they say, one opinion is good, but two are better. Therefore, in order for you to have the most complete picture of how traffic arbitrage through social networks works today, we will present the opinion of representatives of the CPA network Cpaexchange on this matter. Thus, leading experts here claim that the audience of social networks still plays a very important role in the work of arbitrageurs, despite the fact that buying traffic on Western sites is currently prohibited.

Since 2022, the digital market in Russia has undergone dramatic changes. It is impossible to say that everything has collapsed here, but the transformations and changes have been quite radical. We literally had to reshape, rebuild, and in many ways even start from scratch in order to survive in the current conditions and not nullify all the developments that had been carried out over the years. It is impossible to say that all transformation processes are fully completed today, because they are actively ongoing at the present time. There is no other way: current trends are changing, and with them, approaches to the implementation of traffic arbitrage in social networks.

Of course, those specialists who are just starting their work in traffic arbitrage are now faced with additional difficulties, increased risks, and serious restrictions. But all the same, their work should be based on all the knowledge and practices that were relevant before the introduction of all the restrictions. The base itself has not undergone any fundamental changes, only the implementation features have changed.

Let's assume that the arbitrageur had a public page on the VKontakte social network. Despite all the sanctions and restrictions, it continues to operate. But at the same time, duplication is launched in the same Telegram messenger, and comprehensive monitoring of the interaction of the audience and published materials is carried out. Today, such a combination can give very good results. The fact is that VKontakte has today launched a huge number of related services that have every chance of becoming competitors to more popular platforms, such as the same YouTube video hosting service. Thus, VK Video has recently attracted a huge number of bloggers. It is noteworthy that not only content was purchased here, but also the audience of these opinion leaders themselves.

Cpaexchange specialists also recommend paying special attention to the same Telegram. It has become an extremely convenient platform to work with, providing excellent conversion rates. Today, this messenger is breaking popularity records among the audience. According to many, if the developers decide to add the ability to publish videos, the result will be a product that will become an indispensable assistant in the work of any arbitrageur.

That is, today the market is seeing a situation where webmasters from Telegram are expanding their activities to the VKontakte social network, while those who focused on VK are also actively picking up the messenger. That is, the closest, but at the same time effective interaction is being formed between two key platforms that continue to actively work even under the conditions of strict restrictions on the Russian market.

What else is important to understand in this niche? That conversion traffic is currently turning into a very complex and multifaceted product that requires serious preliminary developments, different approaches to promoting certain categories, services, goods. But still, we must not forget that today there are many ways to easily bypass those blockings and restrictions that apply to the use of certain platforms at the regional level. This will be especially relevant if work has already been done on them before, if there is a formed base of working methods of tools.

So what conclusions can be made based on expert opinions?

Let's sum it up

If we analyze everything that experts from today's leading affiliate networks say, then we can conclude that it is impossible to discount all the opportunities that social networks provide to modern arbitrageurs. Moreover, surveys of direct webmasters show that they continue to work with traffic from these sites, although they keep their own methods secret, which provide them with good indicators of monetization.

There are really many opportunities for implementing such work. As an option, you can slightly reorient yourself to Russian social networks, connect Telegram to work. These are the areas that are actively developing at the present time, attract a huge number of audiences and directly the creators of the content itself. If you rely on those sites that are currently prohibited in the Russian Federation at the legislative level, then you have no choice but to bypass such restrictions. And one of the best solutions here will be mobile proxies from the MobileProxy.Space service.

In this case, we are talking about an intermediary server that will pass all traffic through itself, providing the substitution of real data of the user device, such as IP address and geolocation, for its own. Thanks to this, for the system, you will look like a user from a country in the world where such restrictions do not exist. Moreover, with their help you will be able to ensure high levels of privacy and security of work on the Internet, the ability to automate routine and similar work, effective monitoring of launched campaigns and more.

You can get to know in more detail what these mobile proxies are here. Also evaluate the huge number of available geolocations, favorable rates, a huge number of additional services and tools that you can use in your work absolutely free of charge. Also at your service will be a competent technical support service, working around the clock. We also recommend using free testing of mobile proxies to make sure of their functionality and simplicity before purchasing.

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