Should you turn off Google search partners?

Turn off search partners in a Search campaign when they have cost you money over the last 30 days or more and brought few or no conversions. Google switches them on by default in every new Search campaign, and in October 2026 it began rolling out a softer option: keep partners on but cap them at a share of your daily budget, as low as 0%. Check your own numbers first, so you decide on facts rather than on a hunch.

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. Google describes it as sites that partner with Google to show ads, reaching “hundreds of non-Google websites, as well as YouTube.” Your ad might appear in another site’s search results, on a site directory page, on a product detail page, or in YouTube search results.

Partners are included by default when you create a Search campaign, so many owners never notice the box is checked. The setting is per campaign, not per account.

Why it can cost you 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 these sites “may not always reflect highly targeted traffic,” and 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 use budget that could have gone to Google Search.

You should look closer if:

• 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.

You can relax if partners bring conversions at a cost you’re happy with, or your campaign has spare budget and you want more volume. Also, Google says your clickthrough rate on partner sites doesn’t affect your Quality Score on Google Search.

How to check search partners in Google Ads

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 Search campaign now has separate rows for Google Search and for search partners.

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

Compare cost, conversions and cost per conversion for each row. If you don’t track conversions yet, these numbers show cost and clicks but not results. Fix tracking first; our conversion tracking checklist can help.

Want to know which partner sites showed your ads? Open Report editor from the Campaigns menu, go to When and where ads showed, and choose Content suitability. Google lists partner sites for Search, Shopping and App campaigns, with impressions only. There are no clicks, cost or conversions per site, so use it to spot sites you don’t want, not to judge results.

Keep sample size in mind. A handful of clicks isn’t 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 where partners don’t pay off.

Softer options

You don’t have to choose all or nothing.

Exclude bad sites. If the Content suitability report shows partner sites you don’t want, block just those.

1. Go to Tools, then Content suitability.
2. Open Advanced settings and find Excluded placements.
3. Enter the site address without “www.” and click Save.

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

Google says account-level placement exclusions now also apply to the search partner network. They cover every campaign in the account, including Performance Max. Exclude the main domain: Google says exclusions of a subdomain or a single page don’t work on search partners. New exclusions usually take effect within 12 hours.

Lower the priority. In October 2026, Google began rolling out Channel prioritization. In a Search campaign you can mark Google Search, search partners and the Display Network as High priority or Low priority. Google spends on High priority channels first. For a Low priority channel you can set a budget allocation: a share of your campaign’s average daily budget. At $50 a day, a 10% allocation means Google aims to keep partner spend at or below about $5 a day. Google says a 0% allocation means it won’t spend on that channel. The limit is “best effort,” so a day can go over.

You’ll find it as the Channel Prioritization card in the campaign’s Settings, or in Account settings to set a default for all campaigns. (If you can’t find it, search for “channel prioritization” in the Google Ads search bar.) It’s rolling out slowly, so you may not have it yet.

When to leave it on

Search partners aren’t 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’ve tracked results long enough to trust the numbers.

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

Check it automatically

The free SpendCanary scan splits each Search campaign’s cost and conversions by network and puts a monthly dollar figure on weak partner traffic. 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.