Skip to content

Help

Should you turn off Google Ads search partners?

Updated

What search partners are

When you run a Search campaign, your ads show on Google Search. They can also show on the Google search partner network. That is a group of other websites and apps that show Google search ads. Think of search boxes on other sites, directories and product pages. Google says partner ads can also appear in some YouTube search results.

Search partners are turned on by default when you create a Search campaign. Many owners never notice the box is checked.

Why it can waste money

A person typing into Google is often ready to act. A person on a partner site may be in a different frame of mind. Google’s own help says clicks from some partner sites may not be very targeted traffic, and it asks you to think about whether partners fit your goals.

Partner clicks still cost real money. If they rarely lead to a conversion (a sale, call or form you count as a result), they eat budget that could have gone to Google Search.

Who should worry:

  • You have a small budget and every click matters.
  • You track conversions, and partners bring few or none.
  • Partners cost a lot more per conversion than Google Search.

Who can relax:

  • Partners bring conversions at a cost you are happy with.
  • Your campaign is not limited by budget, and you want more volume.

One more point: Google says your clickthrough rate on partner sites does not affect your Quality Score on Google Search.

How to check it in your account

You can split your results by network to see what partners really do for you.

  1. Go to Campaigns.
  2. Pick a date range of at least 30 days. Ninety is better if your account is small.
  3. Click the Segment icon above the table.
  4. Choose Network (with search partners).
  5. Each campaign now has separate rows for Google Search and for search partners.

Compare cost, conversions and cost per conversion for each row. If you do not track conversions yet, these numbers can show you cost and clicks, but not results.

Want to know which partner sites showed your ads? Google now has a report for this. Open Report editor and look for Content suitability under “Where the ads show.” (If you can’t find it, search for “content suitability” in the Google Ads search bar.)

Keep sample size in mind. A handful of clicks is not enough to judge. Look at a month or more of data before you decide.

How to turn off search partners

  1. Go to Campaigns and click the campaign name.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Expand Networks.
  4. Uncheck Include Google search partners.
  5. Click Save.

(If you can’t find it, search for “search partners” in the Google Ads search bar.)

Repeat this for each Search campaign. The setting is per campaign, not per account.

Softer options

You do not have to choose all or nothing.

Exclude bad sites. If the report shows a few partner sites that waste money, you can block just those. Go to Tools, then Content suitability, then Advanced settings, and add them under Excluded placements. Google says these account-level exclusions also apply to search partners. (If you can’t find it, search for “excluded placements” in the Google Ads search bar.)

Lower the priority. In October 2026, Google began rolling out a setting called Channel prioritization. In a Search campaign, it lets you mark Google Search, search partners and the Display Network as High or Low priority. Low priority channels get money only after High priority ones. You can also cap a Low priority channel at a share of your daily budget. Google says a 0% cap stops spending on that channel. This is rolling out slowly, so you may not see it yet.

When to leave it on

Search partners are not bad by default. Keep them on if:

  • They bring conversions at a cost per conversion close to Google Search.
  • You have spare budget and want more leads.
  • You have tracked results for long enough to trust the numbers.

If partners look weak but you are not sure, turn them off in one campaign first. Compare that campaign’s results with the month before. Then decide for the rest.

SpendCanary flags this when search partners cost at least $20 in 30 days and brought no conversions, or cost at least twice as much per conversion as Google Search.