Google Search Partners: Should Your Ads Show There?

This guide uses Google Ads Help only: About the Google Search Network, Search partners: Definition, Google's Search Partner Network (SPN) announcements and About channel prioritization and budget allocation, plus the pages linked where they are used. How Search campaigns, keywords and bidding work in general is in our guide to Google Ads basics; this page is only about the partner network.

What the Search Partner Network is

Google defines search partners as "Sites in the Search Network that partner with Google to show ads." They "can extend the reach of Google search ads and listings to hundreds of non-Google websites, as well as YouTube." Google Search, the Shopping tab, Google Images and Maps are Google's own search sites; search partners are everything else in the Search Network.

On partner sites your ads can show in "a list of search results (alongside, above, within or below the results), site directory pages, product detail pages, YouTube search results and Watch pages." Google lists several ways a search can start there: typing in a search box, speaking a search, choosing a suggested or related search, following a link straight to a results page, or browsing a site directory.

Partners can change how ads look: Google says they "can customize ad appearance on their sites regarding placement, size, formatting, and visual style", still using your campaign's assets. Text ads may carry an "Ads by Google" label there. Search partners can also host image and video ads.

As on Google Search, you pay only when someone clicks. Google also states that "The clickthrough rate (CTR) for ads on search partner sites doesn't impact your Quality Score on Google."

Which campaign types use it

• Search campaigns: "When you create a campaign for the Search Network, search partners are included by default." You can switch them off.
• Shopping campaigns: by default they run on the Google Search Network and Google search partners, per Create a Shopping campaign. Untick search partners to leave them out. Our Shopping campaigns guide covers the rest of the setup.
• Performance Max: search partners are one of the channels. The channel performance report lists "Search partners" next to Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Maps and Gmail. There is no per-campaign tick box for it; the control Google offers is channel prioritization (below).
• App and Smart campaigns: Google names them, together with Performance Max, Search and Shopping, as campaign types "that serve ads on the Search partner network" in Exclude specific webpages and videos.

Turning search partners on or off

For an existing Search campaign, Google gives these steps:

1. Go to Campaigns in the Campaigns menu.
2. Hover over the campaign and select the gear icon next to its name.
3. Open the Networks drop-down and tick or untick "Include Google search partners".
4. Select Save.

If you want ads only on Google Search, Google says to make sure only the Google Search Network box is selected. That also means checking that the Display Network box is off, which is a separate setting on the same campaign.

The setting is per campaign, so you can test partners in one campaign and leave them off in another.

Channel prioritization: the in-between option

Until recently the choice was all or nothing. In an Oct 14, 2026 post, Google announced channel prioritization and budget allocation, and its Help page says that "Starting on October 15, 2026" the controls "will progressively become available". Google adds that availability in your account "may vary depending on campaign type and rollout timing." The channels you can set:

• Search: Google Search, search partners, Google Display Network.
• Shopping: Google Search, Google search partners.
• Performance Max: Google channels, Google search partners, Google Display Network. Google's own surfaces are grouped as one "Google channels" setting.
• Demand Gen: Google channels and Display only, so search partners are not part of it.

Each channel is High or Low priority; by default everything is High. Google AI spends on High priority channels first and on Low priority ones "after your High priority channels". For a Low priority channel you can also set a daily budget allocation, a percentage of the campaign's average daily budget. Google's example: 5% of a $1,000 average daily budget means it aims to keep that channel at or below $50 a day. Google stresses that this "isn't a guarantee", resets each day, and that unspent or overspent amounts do not carry over.

Two limits matter. Google says channel prioritization "has no effect when your campaign isn't limited by budget", though a budget allocation still applies. It can be set at account, shared budget or campaign level, but not from a manager account. It also does not apply to campaigns using campaign total budgets, except Demand Gen.

Google suggests this for advertisers who opted out before: you can "opt back in with more confidence about how your budget is allocated." Setting search partners to Low priority with a small allocation is a way to test them with a spending ceiling instead of switching them fully on.

How bidding and costs work there

Partner traffic is not priced exactly like Google Search. In its July 2023 note on manual bidding, Google explains that campaigns on search partners with a manual strategy get one of two systems, depending on settings and conversion data:

• Smart Pricing for manual bidding "and no conversion tracking or very low conversion volume". Google calls it "a bid-lowering system" that "protects advertisers from overspending on Search Partners traffic that may not convert well." Here manual bidding includes Manual CPC, Enhanced CPC, Maximize Clicks and Target Impression Share.
• Smart Bidding for manual bidding with conversion tracking and enough conversions. It aims for a similar cost per conversion on Google Search and search partners, and Google warns that "Some clicks on Search Partner sites may cost more or less than your maximum cost-per-click (CPC) bid on the Search Network."

Google has also published performance claims for the network. In December 2025 it wrote that advertisers whose partner spend was at least 5% of ad spend "can typically experience a 11% uplift in conversions" with Target CPA or Maximize Conversions, and a 7% uplift in conversion value with Target ROAS or Maximize Conversion Value, "specifically in campaigns that were not constrained by budget." These are Google's own observations, not a forecast for your account. Bid strategies in general are in our budgets and bidding guide.

Seeing results by network

To compare partners with Google Search, use the "Network (with search partners)" segment. Google's Use segments in your tables describes it as the way "to compare Google Search, search partners, and Display Network performance." Apply it with the Segment icon in your statistics tables or in Report editor, then compare cost per conversion, not just cost per click.

Google also notes that since October 2020 search partner data is not split into Top and Other, so it appears as one "Search partners" row. Partner traffic is not part of the auction insights report either.

For Performance Max, Google added a search partner split to the channel performance report: in January 2026 it wrote that "SPN split in Performance Max channel reporting is now available to all CIDs."

Seeing which partner sites showed your ads

For years Google gave no site list for search partners. Google's main Search Network page still says Google Ads "doesn't provide information detailing the website where your ad was shown on the Search Network, unless you are running a Performance Max campaign". Its newer pages describe more reporting, in steps:

• March 2024: the Performance Max placement report began to include search partner sites, alongside Display and Google-owned placements.
• August 2025: Google announced full placement reporting for Search, Shopping and App campaigns: the partner sites your ads ran on, with impressions per site.

To open it: Report editor in the Campaigns menu, then under "When and where ads showed" select Content suitability. A site is listed only if, in the date range, it had 5 or more impressions, or more than 0 clicks, video views or conversions. The report shows placements and impressions; judge results with the network segment above.

Excluding partner sites

Turning partners off is not the only control. Since March 2024, account-level placement exclusions also apply to the Search Partner Network, which Google says affects "all campaign types that serve ads on the Search partner network, including Performance Max, App, Search, Shopping, and Smart campaigns in the account." Exclusions for subdomains, subsites and subpages "do not work on the Search Partner Network", so exclude whole domains. Our placement exclusions guide explains the formats and lists.

Other controls Google lists for the network:

• Parked domains: new accounts were opted out from October 2024, and Google says parked domains "will cease to be an ad surface within the Search Partner Network effective February 10, 2026."
• Third-party pre-screen lists: since April 2025, DoubleVerify, Integral Ad Science and Zefr receive Google's full partner domain list every week and build exclusion lists of domains they rate low, medium or high risk, per About third-party pre-screen program. You arrange this with the vendor directly, and Google notes it is "designed to ensure brand suitability and not to drive performance optimization."
• Negative keywords: the same page notes that negative keyword exclusions for the network can be managed in the account settings. Our guide to search terms and negative keywords covers how to choose them.

Should your ads show there?

Google itself adds a caution: clicks from partner sites that list products "may not always reflect highly targeted traffic", and it asks you to consider "whether including these networks aligns with your campaign goals." The reporting above lets you decide with your own numbers instead of a rule of thumb. This is how we would approach it; the settings are Google's, the order is our suggestion:

1. Make sure conversion tracking records real leads or sales. Without it you cannot compare quality, and with manual bidding partner traffic falls under Smart Pricing.
2. After a few weeks with partners on, segment by network and compare cost per conversion and conversion rate with Google Search.
3. Open the content suitability report and exclude domains that do not fit your brand, at account level.
4. If partners cost more per conversion and your budget is tight, set them to Low priority with an allocation where available, or switch them off for that campaign.
5. Check again after changes; partner volume and quality vary by campaign and over time.

Frequently asked questions

Are search partners turned on by default?

Yes. Google says search partners are included by default when you create a Search campaign, and Shopping campaigns also show on search partners by default. You can untick them in the campaign's Networks setting.

Can I see which search partner sites showed my ads?

Yes. Since August 2025 Google offers full placement reporting for Search, Shopping and App campaigns under Report editor, Content suitability, and the Performance Max placement report includes partner sites since March 2024. Sites with very little activity are not listed.

Do search partner clicks affect my Quality Score?

No. Google states that the clickthrough rate for ads on search partner sites doesn't impact your Quality Score on Google.

Can I turn off search partners in Performance Max?

There is no tick box for it. Google's controls are account-level placement exclusions and, as it rolls out from October 2026, channel prioritization, where search partners can be set to Low priority with an optional daily budget allocation.

Does YouTube count as a search partner?

Partly. Google says search partners include YouTube, where Search ads can appear in YouTube search results and Watch pages.

The network decides where an ad shows; the landing page decides whether the click turns into an enquiry. See our website development service and all our services, or email [email protected].