Placements & Networks

Display Network vs Google Search Partners

In short: Both extend a campaign beyond Google's own core surfaces, but they extend completely different things. Display Network is its own campaign type buying image and native ads across millions of third-party sites and apps based on audience or topic targeting. Search Partners is a single checkbox inside a Search campaign that extends the same text ads and same query-triggered auction onto non-Google sites that license Google's search results. One changes your ad format and targeting model entirely; the other keeps everything about a Search campaign the same and just widens where it can show. Pick Display when you want visual reach and remarketing; leave Search Partners as a setting decision inside whatever Search campaign you're already running.

By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026

Display Network

Banner, image, and native ads served across partner websites, apps, and Google properties to people browsing content rather than actively searching.

Placement is chosen by audience, topic, keyword, or specific site, and inventory is bought on impressions rather than intent, so click-through and conversion rates run well below Search. Use it for retargeting, cheap reach, and audience building. The usual mistake is judging it on last-click conversions while leaving automatic placements and mobile app inventory unexcluded, which quietly drains budget.

Full definition

Google Search Partners

Non-Google search sites and directories that serve Google search ads, opted into as a single bundle you cannot browse or select individually.

Enabling the setting extends a Search campaign to third-party sites that use Google's search results, often at lower auction prices than Google.com. You can segment partner performance in reports, but you cannot pick or exclude individual partners - only turn the whole network on or off. The mistake is assuming weak partner results mean the keyword is bad rather than the placement.

Full definition

Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

	Display Network	Google Search Partners
What kind of thing it is	A standalone campaign type.	A checkbox setting inside a Search campaign.
Ad format	Image, native, and responsive display ads.	The same text-based responsive search ads as the rest of the campaign.
What triggers an impression	Audience, topic, keyword-as-context, or placement match - no query.	The same typed query that triggers the rest of the Search campaign.
Can you pick individual sites	Yes - you can view and exclude specific placements, apps, or categories.	No - you can see placement-level reporting but can only toggle the whole network on or off.
Where it lives	Its own campaign, with its own budget and bid strategy.	Bundled inside a Search campaign's existing budget and bid strategy.
Typical use case	Retargeting, awareness, and cheap reach with visual creative.	Cheap incremental volume on the exact same keywords and ad copy already running.
Failure mode	Automatic placements and app inventory quietly drain budget if left unexcluded.	Weak partner numbers get blamed on the keyword instead of the placement mix.

What actually separates them.

Display Network is a full campaign type with its own targeting model, budget, and bid strategy; Search Partners is a single setting that extends an existing Search campaign without changing anything else about it.

Display ads are visual assets matched to pages, apps, or audiences; Search Partner ads are the exact same text ads and keywords already running in the parent Search campaign, just shown on a wider set of sites.

You can exclude individual placements, categories, or apps on the Display Network down to a specific site; on Search Partners you only get a network-wide on/off toggle, even though you can now see placement-level reporting.

Display Network requires setting up audience or topic targeting from scratch; Search Partners requires nothing beyond checking a box, since it inherits everything from the parent Search campaign.

Display's failure mode is usually a handful of bad placements or apps absorbing budget, which you can fix by excluding them directly; Search Partners' failure mode is judging the whole extension by average numbers when the fix is simply turning it off.

Which one should you use?

Use Display Network when

You want visual creative reaching people based on audience or topic, not a query.
You need to retarget past visitors or customer lists with images.
You want a campaign you can independently budget, target, and exclude placements within.
You're building reach or awareness rather than trying to extend an existing Search campaign.

Use Google Search Partners when

You already have a working Search campaign and want cheap incremental volume on the same keywords.
You don't want to manage separate creative, targeting, or budget for the extra reach.
You've checked segmented performance and partner traffic converts acceptably.
You want the option to turn expanded reach on or off with one checkbox, not a new campaign build.

Common questions.

Is Search Partners part of the Display Network?

No. Search Partners are non-Google sites that license Google's search results and text ads, triggered by the same query-matching auction as regular Search. The Display Network is a completely different inventory of third-party sites and apps showing image and native ads matched to audiences or content, not queries.

Which one lets me exclude bad placements?

The Display Network does - you can view a placements report and exclude specific sites, apps, or categories that perform poorly. Search Partners only offers a single on/off toggle for the whole network; you can see placement-level reporting now, but you can't block one partner site while keeping the rest.

Do I need a separate budget for Search Partners?

No. Search Partners traffic draws from the same budget and bid strategy as the rest of that Search campaign - there's nothing to fund separately. A Display campaign, by contrast, needs its own budget since it's a distinct campaign.

Which one is cheaper to test?

Search Partners, by a wide margin - it's a checkbox inside a campaign you're already running, with existing creative and keywords. Display Network requires building out audience or topic targeting and new creative assets before you learn anything.

Or stop choosing between them.

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