Use Google Search Partners? That’s the problem.
Maybe not for Hamlet, but certainly for paid search professionals around the world.
when you create a new search campaignyou’re automatically opted in to Display and Search partners by default.
This allows your ads to appear on properties owned by Google (such as YouTube and Google Maps), companies they work with (such as Amazon and Walmart), and other sites that sell ad placements.
Google doesn’t publish a full list of search partners, but sites displaying these ads must opt-in in return for a portion of advertising profit.
The Google Search Partner Network can be a useful tool for generating additional traffic and conversions by extending your advertising campaigns beyond the search engine results pages (SERPs) and to other sites owned or partnered by Google.
It allows you to place your ad more widely and stand out from the crowd.
But it’s not without its drawbacks, which is why it’s a generally accepted best practice by most advertisers to disable it.
The biggest drawback is the lack of transparency and control. There is limited data about where your ad appears, and you can’t prevent your ad from appearing on placements with low-performing or controversial content.
Google’s network of search partners also includes parked domains that can drain your budget while your ads are never seen by real users.
You also have limited control over the ad auction because bid modifiers are not available.
So how do you make the search partner network work for your campaigns?
Let’s see how you can use the Google Search Partner Network to gain visibility and control while making sure it performs as well as possible.
5 Common Misconceptions About Google Search Partners
Before we get into management tips, we should first understand exactly what a search partner network is and some common misconceptions.
Myth 1: All sites included are smaller search engines
Despite being referred to as “search partners,” the sites included in Google’s search partners are not all search engines.
In fact, Google define its search partners as:
“The website is search the web Partner with Google to display ads.
Search Partners extend the reach of Google Search Ads to hundreds of non-Google sites, as well as YouTube and other Google sites.
On search partner sites, your ad can appear on search results pages, on site directory pages, or on other pages related to individual searches. “
Myth 2: Search Partners are only for traditional search campaigns
In fact, searching the partner network is also a great way to expand the reach of your shopping campaign.
Myth 3: Just because a search partner hasn’t had a job before means they never will
In fact, Google Ads can change so much in such a short period of time that it’s worth testing and retesting different features.
In October 2018, Google launched Smart Bidding for Search Partner Siteswith the goal of maximizing conversions at a cost-per-click similar to Google Search.
If your campaign excluded search partners before adjusting, this alone is worth testing again.
Myth 4: You can segment at the campaign level with the search partner network to get the most granular insights into search partners
While it’s true that we can’t see search partner sites, we can dig into other details to help us better understand performance.
Read on as we revisit this.
Myth 5: If a search partner has a high CPA, there’s nothing you can do
While it’s true that advertisers have far less control over search partners than Google’s own search network, since it can’t be split up individually, there are ways to tweak results.
We just need to be more creative about how we do it.
Low hanging fruit on the search partner network
If you haven’t tested a search partner before, or you’re wary of it for whatever reason, you might want to aim for the low-hanging fruit first.
Find the target with the highest intent and test the search partners there first.
your brand campaign
Many advertisers maximize their Brand activity if they have a budget.
A network of search partners can be a great way to increase the volume of those searches.
Your RLSA campaign
Because these people have already visited your site, they are more qualified than any old searcher.
In this case, I like to think of the audience as a training wheel; it’s a great way to test without too much risk.
Reach the bottom of the performance increment
If you’re finding conversions in search partners, but not getting cost-effective returns, the first step is to try to identify the root cause of poor performance so we can determine the best course of action.
Running some quick reports can easily spot problem areas.
View keyword performance
Often, if the search network is underperforming, it may be because some terms are too broad and do not perform as well as some long-tail terms.
You can segment your keyword list across the Search Network just as you segment your campaign performance.
Now you can easily see which keywords are performing well on search partners and which keywords are spending money without paying back – or converting but costing more than is acceptable.
View match types
Another common reason that a search partner might underperform is that performance can be skewed by match type.
By downloading a segmented keyword report, you can easily pivot your data to see how each match type is performing across the web.
Often, but not always, search partners tend to underperform on broad match keywords.
View device usage
You may find that search partners do not perform well on mobile devices.
Breaking down your device data by search partners allows you to zero in on this. You may find that one device performs much better than the other.
What you can do to improve the performance of Google Search Partners
Unfortunately, with Google’s search partners, you can’t see specific placements.
Therefore, you can’t exclude specific placements, target specific placements, or add bid modifiers to placements—or even the entire web.
This limits your options a bit, but you can do the following:
Segment your campaigns by match type
If you find that a search partner is performing well on one or both match types, segment your campaign and select only those match types that have historically proven to perform well among search partners.
I’ll add that search partners must be available in sufficient quantities to guarantee savings.
Only you can decide what the threshold is for your account, but I don’t recommend doing a large-scale reorganization for a small number of transactions.
Segment your campaigns by device
If you find that your search partners are performing well on one device and not on another, you might consider splitting your campaign and keeping only certain devices opted into search partners.
Again, this is only really necessary if the transaction volume justifies the savings.
Segment your campaigns by match type
If certain keywords are really performing poorly on search partners, consider segmenting them — but only if it doesn’t pose a risk to a lot of Google search conversions.
Segment RLSA activity
If you find that some audiences (1st or 3rd party) added as observations only perform better than searchers outside of the above audiences, you may consider launching an RLSA campaign and selecting search partners while excluding them from non- RLSA activities.
Copy campaigns for search partners
I know what you’re thinking: “Wait, what? We can’t just bid on search partners.”
You are right!
However, you can duplicate your campaigns and set bids much lower than your current campaigns so that Google’s search network doesn’t select them.
The advantage of this is that it doesn’t ruin your keyword’s performance on the Google Search Network. However, you have to be careful.
If you pause content in your Google Search campaign, that traffic may start rerouting to your second campaign.
Other things to consider
Google Ads applies structure and badge standards in February 2021 Updates to its Partner Program.
Partners still must maintain an optimization score of at least 70% to keep their badges, but they can now apply or decline referrals based on their own evaluation without penalty.
Benefits have also been realigned to better meet partner needs in three key areas: Education & Insights, Access & Support, and Recognition & Rewards.
This change provides the opportunity for ad agencies and third parties that manage Google Ads on behalf of other brands to be recognized as professional digital agencies.
key takeaways
So, after all, should you use the Google Search Partner Network? You really didn’t think of an easy answer, did you?
Remember, restructuring is never without risk.
Keywords in new campaigns always start from scratch without any account history. Only you can decide whether the potential risk is worth the amount of conversions you can save.
Just make sure you can undo the action in case the performance doesn’t work out. That is, pause (don’t delete) the keyword in the original campaign so you can always go back if it doesn’t work.
Note that you may see a drop in CTR in aggregated reports when you enable Google Search Partners.
It’s not because your search CTR has dropped, it’s because your search CTR has dropped. This is because the CTR for the additional impressions you get is very low.
Although your conversion rate will be much lower, a lower CPC means your CPC will be similar to the Google Search Network.
So it might be worth having a search partner test it on your account.
More resources:
Featured image: alphaspirit.it/Shutterstcok
