What Are Google Search Partners? + 7 Pro Tips

Google Search Partners give your PPC ads a wider reach by displaying them on other sites like Amazon and YouTube. Find out if this setting can work for (or hinder) your Google Ads campaigns with these expert insights.

Google’s search engine results page might be the most popular place to display Google Ads  — but you can broaden your reach beyond Google with Google Search Partners.

This network of third-party websites, search directories, and Google-owned properties like YouTube can boost visibility and clicks. But it can also come with trade-offs, like lower-quality traffic.

In this article, we’ll break down who Google’s Search Partners are, how to decide if it’s the right choice for your campaigns, and if so, how to maximize its performance.

What are Google Search Partners?

Google Search Partners are websites that partner with Google Ads to display promotions on their sites and search results pages.

They’re part of the Google Search Network and help to extend the reach of ads to hundreds of sites across the internet.

Essentially, Google Search Partners puts your ad across websites beyond Google and YouTube, with the goal of increasing your ad’s overall reach.

List of Google Search Partner sites

Google doesn’t share a complete list of its Search Partners. However, the following are confirmed partner sites:

Google sites:

• Google’s search engine
• Google Images
• Google Maps
• Google Play
• Google Shopping
• YouTube

Non-Google sites:

• 247 Sports
• Amazon
• Ask.com
• BizRate.com
• Dogpile.com
• Excite.com
• Lycos.com
• Target
• The New York Times
• W3Schools
• Walmart

A telltale sign that a website is sharing Google text ads? Hover over the ad link. Notice how this sponsored ad on Dogpile directs to a Google.com domain:

Take a look at what these ads can look like on partner sites. For example, here are Google ads on Ask.com:

BizRate.com:

YouTube:

And finally, Dogpile.com:

Websites that have opted into the Google Search Partner network receive a small cut of the ad revenue in exchange for hosting the ads.

While some smaller search engines partner with Google, Bing doesn’t, and it actually offers its own Search Partners network for its advertisers.

Is Google Search Partners worth it? Pros and cons

“Some advertisers find that Google Search Partners can bring additional traffic and conversions,” says Vaibhav Kakkar of Digital Web Solutions. “While others might see lower conversion rates or higher costs-per-click.”

Ultimately, the best way to determine if GSP is right for you is to segment and test your campaigns and review performance.

Generally speaking, however, there are some common pros and cons.

Pros:

• Greater reach
• Higher conversion rates due to a larger audience
• Lower costs per click (CPC)

Cons:

• Sometimes lower quality results
• Higher bounce rates if ads appear on sites that aren’t relevant to your target audience
• Lack of control with ad placement

“Google Search Partners is a viable avenue to attract more potential customers,” says HawkSEM CEO and co-founder Sam Yadegar.

“Not only do we use this to grow conversions, but we track and analyze the data in a granular fashion to increase conversion rates and to lower cost per acquisition as well.”

In fact, HawkSEM was able to help Peer Software increase conversions by 128% by integrating Search Partner campaigns into their overall strategy.

Similarly, Magee Clegg of Cleartail Marketing helped a brand generate a 14,000% increase in website traffic with Google Search Partners.

Audrey Bakhach of Custom Digital Solutions helped another brand reduce cost per lead by 20% and increase conversions by 30%.

“This showcases how leveraging Google Search Partners can lead to enhanced targeting and cost savings,” says Bakhach, “ultimately boosting campaign performance and delivering tangible results.”

Best campaign types to use for Google Search Partners

If you’re new to GSP and want to test out a sure-fire (or as close to it as you can get) campaign, here are two campaign types to try first.

Brand campaigns

A brand campaign focuses on using branded keywords, or keywords that include your brand name in them.

For example, client management platform HoneyBook created a brand campaign so its ad shows up at the top of its brand name search:

Using Google Search Partners for branded campaigns can help spread the word about your brand while also ensuring your competitors aren’t bidding on your name and stealing traffic.

RLSA campaigns

RLSA campaigns, or remarketing lists for search ads, target people who have already been to your website.

Using this type of ad for a Google Search Partners campaign can improve conversions and overall performance because your ads appear for people who are already acquainted with your site.

Further reading: What is Google RLSA? + How to Use It Right (7 Expert Tips)

How to turn off Google Search Partners

If Google Search Partners doesn’t seem like the right fit for your campaigns, you can turn off this setting inside your Google Ads account:

1. Click Campaigns
2. Hover over the campaign you want to exclude from the Google Search Partners setting
3. Click the gear icon next to the campaign name
4. Click the drop-down menu for Networks
   1. Uncheck the box for “Include Google Search Partners” (To only show your ads on Google Search, the Google Search Network checkbox should be the only box selected)
5. Click Save

How to turn on Google Search Partners

The default campaign settings automatically include GSP. But to manually turn this setting back on:

1. Log into your Google Ads dashboard
2. Click the campaign you want to leverage Search Partners
3. Click the Settings tab
4. Click on the Networks drop-down menu
5. Make sure the box that says “Include Google Search Partners” is checked
6. Click Save

How to improve your Google Search Partner performance

If you decide to give this network a try, here are seven strategies to get the most out of your Search Partner ads.

1. Research where your audience spends time
2. Create separate Search Partner campaigns
3. Use specific Search Partner keywords
4. Test new features and offers with Search Partners
5. Experiment with your ads
6. Turn off Search Partners for low-performing campaigns
7. Monitor your ad performance

1. Research where your audience spends time

If you know your audience only (or mostly) uses Google and its proprietary websites, turning on Google Search Partners likely won’t benefit your text or display ads performance.

On the flip side, if you run an ecommerce store and know your audience also shops on sites like Amazon and Walmart, reaching them through the Partner network can be a great tactic.

Pay attention to where your audience spends their time online and use that to inform your ad strategy.

Conducting market research, researching user demographics, and putting together a user persona can help you discover this information.

Further reading: How to Create an Ideal Customer Profile (+ Template)

2. Create separate Search Partner campaigns

While you can’t create a campaign only for Search Partners, you can create two campaigns with this option toggled on for one and off for another.

“Segment your campaigns to allocate budgets and set bid adjustments specifically for partner traffic,” explains Bakhach.

“This level of control can make a significant difference. Keep a watchful eye on the performance of partner websites and apps within your campaigns, allowing you to identify top-performing placements and exclude underperforming ones.”

This ensures your ads consistently surface on relevant and high-quality partner sites, increasing the likelihood of engagement.

Creating multiple campaigns gives you more granular control, ensuring you hit your goals.

3. Use specific Search Partner keywords

Paying attention to past Search Partner data can improve your ads for the future. Look at your Search Query reports from existing Search Partner ads to pinpoint high-performing keywords.

Then create Search Partner campaigns specifically for those keywords.

“By routinely evaluating your campaign’s performance data and making the necessary adjustments, you’ll be well on your way to leveraging Google Search Partners effectively and boosting engagement while keeping a cost-effective strategy in play,” advises Bakhach.

Further reading: How to Build a Keyword Strategy: 6 Easy Steps (+ Expert Tips) 

4. Test new features and offers with Search Partners

Just because Search Partners didn’t work for a previous campaign doesn’t mean it’s never going to work. When you launch new features, products, or service offerings, test GSP again.

“The best advertisers, in my experience, are those who remain personally invested in their efforts and are open to change,” says Draven McConville, founder at Klipboard.

“They don’t hesitate to attempt new things and experiment.”

5. Experiment with your ads

Speaking of experimenting, test different formats, sizes, and creative assets within your ads, as well as different features and offerings.

“For advertisers looking to leverage Google Search Partners effectively, I recommend utilizing the extensive targeting options, unique ad formats, and flexible bidding strategies offered by Google,” Clegg recommends.

In other words, you have options — use them.

Bakhach agrees, stating that to adapt to the varied layouts and screen sizes of partner websites and apps, leverage responsive ad formats. They’re like chameleons for your ads, ensuring they look good and perform well across different platforms.

“Explore different targeting options, including keyword targeting, demographic targeting, and device targeting, to [home] in on the most relevant audiences in the partner network,” continues Bakhach.

“Lastly, don’t be afraid to experiment with various bidding strategies, such as target impression share or maximize conversions, to find the approach that best aligns with your campaign objectives.”

6. Turn off Search Partners for low-performing campaigns

Google Search Partners isn’t going to work for every campaign. Sometimes, no matter how you adjust your keywords, bid strategy, or what have you, it simply won’t perform the way you want it to.

And that’s okay — just turn off Search Partners in those instances and focus solely on Google sites.

To monitor the effectiveness of your GSP campaigns, check in frequently.

You may increase the performance of any advertisements by changing your bids or targeting if you notice that they aren’t receiving many clicks or conversions.

“Concentrating your investment on the sites that are giving you the best results, will help to increase the overall performance of your ads,” says Michael Wall, founder at Codefixer.

7. Monitor your ad performance

Finally, keep an eye on your ads to ensure they’re working hard for your business.

“The key to effectively using Google Search Partners is to monitor its performance closely,” says Kakkar. “Separate the data for Google and its partners to analyze which channels are driving the best results.”

“Adjust bids, ad copy, and targeting settings accordingly,” continues Kakkar. “It’s essential to regularly review and refine your campaign to ensure that you’re getting a positive return on investment from Search Partners.”

For some businesses, it can be a valuable addition to their advertising strategy, while others may find that focusing solely on Google Search yields better results.

FAQs about Google Search Partners

Here are some of the top questions advertisers have when it comes to the Google Search Partner network.

Can I choose where my ads appear?

You cannot choose specific sites to show your ads.

“Your ads will show up on the types of partner sites as users who like specific things or work in certain fields, based on your targeting parameters,” Bakhach explains.

“The only other thing you can tweak is putting in ‘negative’ sites. So, if you have users coming that are producing more spam you can block ads on that site.”

Can I turn Google Search Partners on for select ad groups but not others?

Google Search Partners is a campaign-level change, so you can’t switch this option on for different ad groups.

However, you can duplicate a campaign and have one campaign using Search Partners and another campaign solely living on Google sites.

Can I create a campaign only for Google Search Partners?

No, you can’t. You can create a campaign just for Google sites, but you can’t do the inverse and create a campaign just for Search Partners.

You can set your Google search ads to appear in Google’s search engine results pages (SERP) and Partner sites.

How to tell when traffic comes from Google Search Partners

Inside your search terms report, you can use the “Network (With Search Partners) option to segment your traffic by the Google Search Network and Google Search Partners.

Indicators of traffic from Search Partner sites may include: a very low cost per click (CPC) or lower than expected conversion rates.

Will a lower clickthrough rate (CTR) impact my Quality Score?

No. While ads on Search Partner sites can impact other important metrics positively or negatively, they won’t impact Quality Score.

5 myths about Google Search Partners

Not every brand or campaign sees success from Google Search Partners. Of course, this can be the case for many new strategies. However, there are a few misconceptions.

1. All partners are smaller search engines

While many are, like Dogpile and Ask.com, there are other sites too. Your ads can appear in search engine results, on directory pages, or even in search results on ecommerce sites like Amazon or Target.

2. If Google Search Partners doesn’t work for one campaign, it won’t work for any campaign

Google Search Partners can work on a campaign-by-campaign basis, fully dependent on the ads, ad types, and targeted keywords.

Google Ads itself is always changing, updating functionality, offering new features — so experiment with your ads, but always check back in to see if Google has introduced new options that can give your Search Partner ads another chance.

3. Search Partners is for traditional search campaigns only

Search Partner ads don’t only show up as traditional search campaigns. You can also use it in the display network and for shopping ads.

Again, test different ad types and creative to see what works best for your brand.

4. You can’t get more granular than segmenting by Search Partner network at the campaign level

One big frustration advertisers have is that you can’t see a comprehensive list of all Search Partners and how each one is performing.

However, there are other ways to take a look at your ad performance. For example:

• Look at how your keywords are performing, and select specific keywords for your Search Partner ads.
• Review your match types to see how they perform across networks. In many cases, broad match keywords don’t always perform well on the Partner network.
• Consider device usage, as Partner ads don’t always convert as well on mobile devices.

5. If the CPA is higher in Search Partners, you can’t do anything about it

Search Partners offers less control than traditional search ads. However, if you head back to our seven tactics for optimizing and improving your Search Partner ads, you’ll discover ways you can minimize the CPA (cost-per-action) for your ads.

The takeaway

The more reach your ads have, the higher the traffic you receive — and Google Search Partners can help you achieve this. But if you’re not getting the right traffic to your site, you’re wasting ad spend on irrelevant clicks.

To improve your performance and optimize your ad campaigns, reach out to HawkSEM to get help from our seasoned experts. We’d love to improve your PPC campaigns and boost your return on investment (ROI).

This article has been updated and was originally published in February 2024.