Google Ads quietly opts every new Search campaign into the Google Search Partners network by default, siphoning off 10% to 30% of your daily budget into third-party search engines and...
Google Ads quietly opts every new Search campaign into the Google Search Partners network by default, siphoning off 10% to 30% of your daily budget into third-party search engines and internal site search tools. While this setting promises extended reach, unmonitored partner placements often deliver lower click-through rates, erratic conversion performance, and poor lead quality. Understanding how to audit, evaluate, and control these network settings is critical to preventing invisible budget drain across your accounts.
The google search partners network is a group of high-traffic websites and digital properties that partner with Google to show search ads. Instead of serving your ad exclusively on Google’s own search engine results page (SERP), this network extends your ad reach to hundreds of non-Google sites. These include major platforms like YouTube, Amazon, and Target, alongside thousands of regional domain search bars, directory sites, and localized engines powered by Google’s search technology.
When a user types a query into the internal search bar of a partner website (for example, searching for a specific product on a retailer’s site or looking for video content), Google treats that query like a standard search. If your keywords match, your text ad appears at the top or bottom of that site’s internal search results page.
The primary benefit of Search Partners is incremental impression volume. Because competition on these non-Google platforms can be lower, average cost-per-click (CPC) rates on Search Partners are often cheaper than core Google search. According to benchmark data from WordStream, CPCs on the Search Partner network can run 20% to 40% lower than standard Google Search SERPs. However, that discount comes with trade-offs in placement transparency and traffic quality.
Unlike the Google Display Network, Google Ads does not provide a standard domain-level placement report for Search Partners in standard Search campaigns. You cannot see a breakdown of exactly which partner websites generated your clicks or conversions. You only get aggregate performance metrics showing how “Search Partners” performed as a single line item compared to “Google search.” This lack of site-level reporting creates a major reporting blind spot for performance-focused marketers.
When configuring a campaign’s network settings, you encounter two distinct expansion toggles. Understanding the difference between search network include search partners display partners options is essential to managing machine learning algorithms and spend allocation.
The Google Search Network contains two separate expanders:
Mixing passive display inventory into an intent-driven Search campaign severely dilutes your account performance. While Search Partners retain active search intent, Display Expansion places ads in front of users who are passively reading articles or playing games. Combining both settings within a single Search campaign confuses Smart Bidding models like Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) or Target ROAS (Return On Ad Spend), as the context of user engagement varies wildly between active searching and passive browsing.
A standard piece of advice floating around marketing forums is to “always turn off Search Partners immediately on day one.” In practice, that blanket rule is incorrect. In high-CPC verticals—such as enterprise software, legal services, or commercial insurance, where core Google CPCs can range from $50 to $150—Search Partners can deliver legitimate lead volume at a 30% lower acquisition cost.
What you should never do is leave Display Expansion enabled on a Search campaign. Search Partners can be isolated and tested, but Display Expansion should always be unchecked so that Search and Display remain strictly separated into dedicated campaigns.
The term google ads partner refers to a corporate credential program run by Google for digital marketing agencies, consultants, and media buyers who manage Google Ads accounts on behalf of clients. It is distinct from the Search Partners network, which is an ad distribution inventory network.
To qualify for the Google Partner badge, an agency or account management team must satisfy three specific performance and activity metrics maintained across a manager account (MCC):
Google also maintains a tier known as Premier Partner status, awarded strictly to the top 3% of participating agency partners in a given country each year. Selection for Premier status is evaluated based on existing account growth, client retention rates, annual ad spend volume, and product diversification across Advanced Search and Performance Max campaigns.
Because Google Ads was historically branded as Google AdWords until 2018, legacy terminology like google adwords partner persists in legacy documentation, contractual agreements, and client discovery calls. It is critical to differentiate between agency credentials and ad network placements when auditing an account.
An agency holding a historic or current Google AdWords Partner status has verified technical proficiency with Google’s platform tools. However, working with a badged agency does not automatically mean your campaigns are configured correctly regarding Search Partner placements. Many agencies leave the “Include Google search partners” toggle turned on simply because it inflates impression metrics and lowers aggregate CPCs, making high-level performance look good on monthly surface reports.
When auditing legacy accounts managed by external partners, check whether your agency explicitly reviews network segmentation. A common mistake by inexperienced account managers is evaluating campaign performance strictly at the macro level without isolating Search Partners from core search. If an agency reports a overall CPA of $40, but core search delivers $30 CPA while Search Partners burns budget at $120 CPA, the true efficiency of core search is being hidden by aggregated reporting.
Determining whether Search Partners helps or hurts your campaign performance requires strict benchmark analysis. The network behaves differently depending on target keywords, match types, and industry verticals.
The following table outlines standard operational metrics across core Google Search, Search Partners, and Display Expansion under standard campaign conditions:
| Performance Metric | Core Google Search | Google Search Partners | Display Expansion Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average CTR Range | 3.0% – 8.0% | 0.8% – 2.5% | 0.2% – 0.6% |
| Relative CPC Index | Baseline (100%) | 15% to 40% Cheaper | 50% to 70% Cheaper |
| Conversion Rate (CVR) | Higher (Intent-based) | 20% to 50% Lower | Significantly Lower |
| Placement Control | Full Query Search Term Logs | Aggregate Data Only (No Domain Logs) | Placement Domain & App Exclusions |
| Placement Quality Risk | Low | Moderate (Site search scrapers) | High (Click fraud / accidental taps) |
Use these concrete decision thresholds when evaluating your performance over a 30-day to 90-day analysis window:
To determine if Search Partners is bleeding budget in your account, run a network segmentation audit using the standard Google Ads interface:
Google search, Search partners, and (if enabled) Google Display Network.If the data shows that Search Partners is burning spend without achieving your target CPA or ROAS, follow these steps to turn off the network for specific campaigns:
What NOT to do: Never disable Search Partners across every campaign simultaneously without looking at historical segment data first. It is common for specific exact match campaigns—especially branded search or high-intent middle-of-funnel non-brand terms—to extract profitable, cheap conversion volume from partner sites like Amazon or YouTube search. Disable the setting only on campaigns where data confirms systematic performance degradation over time.
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