Google has finally handed performance marketers a real lever on one of its most contested placements. Announced on October 14, 2026 and rolling out from October 15, new channel prioritization lets advertisers cap Search Partner Network spend by share — and in Performance Max, set it to zero.
What the Search Partner Network actually is
The Search Partner Network is a pool of non-Google sites, apps and YouTube placements that show search ads triggered by a query. It exists because partner sites with their own search boxes need to monetise queries, and Google has more advertiser demand than its own results absorb. Google supplies the ads; the partner supplies the page and query; the two split revenue.
It is switched on by default in Search, Shopping, App and Performance Max campaigns unless you actively shut it off. For most of its life, advertisers could see aggregate partner clicks but not which sites served them. That changed with placement reporting in August 2025 and a PMax channel split in January 2026.
What changed in October
The new controls let Search campaigns rank Google Search, search partners and the Display Network. Performance Max makes two channels adjustable: search partners and Display. Ginny Marvin, Google’s Ads Product Liaison, told advertisers that PMax spend on search partners can be set to 0%.
Two caveats matter. Google’s help page calls the allocations targets the system will “aim to” respect, adding “this isn’t a guarantee”. And Marvin says existing opt-outs and placement exclusions are unchanged: these are budgeting controls, not bidding controls.
The performance evidence is split
Two numbers frame the decision.
- Google’s data: In December 2025, Google reported that advertisers spending at least 5% of budget on search partners, with budgets not limited, typically saw 11% more conversions with volume-focused Smart Bidding and 7% more conversion value with value-focused strategies.
- Independent data: Intelligency Group found in June 2025 that partner placements delivered 37% lower ROAS than Google Search.
Neither figure has been independently audited. Jyll Saskin Gales, a former Google employee who now coaches advertisers, said in October 2025 that with Smart Bidding and sound conversion tracking, partner spend tends to fall to zero or near zero.
This follows years of quality disputes. The November 2023 Adalytics report estimated the network generates about $10.5 billion a year for Google and alleged ads ran on inappropriate and sanctioned sites. Google responded that over 90% of partner impressions came from top 100 sites and apps, and policy-violating sites represented 0.002% of impressions.
What to do next
Don’t let the default decide. Pull the Network segment to separate Google search from search partners, then open placement reports for actual sites. If conversion tracking is sound, test partners against your search baseline. If ROAS lags, either cap the share or set PMax partners to 0%.
Keep reviewing after the change. The allocations are directional, and reporting is still partial in places — placement reports show impression data only, and you can exclude sites only after ads have run on them.
Source: PPC Land
