A new control lets Performance Max advertisers zero out spending on Google's Search partner network, giving you tighter budget management and channel visibility.
Google Ads has shipped a new control for Performance Max advertisers: the ability to set Search partner network spend to zero. According to PPC Land, the update also includes refinements to Smart Bidding Exploration and a promotion mode that lets you schedule ROAS tolerance ranges between 5% and 90%.
Performance Max is designed to run your budget across multiple Google channels at once, Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and Search partners. That automation is powerful, but it also means your money flows into every channel by default. If Search partners (third-party websites and apps that distribute Google ads) aren't converting for you, that's wasted budget.
Until now, you could reduce partner spending but not eliminate it entirely. Now you can flip the switch to zero and watch where that money goes instead. For advertisers who've been frustrated by low-quality traffic or poor conversion rates on partner placements, this is a relief.
The update also touches Smart Bidding Exploration, which is how Google's system tests lower bids to find new conversion opportunities. The new promotion mode lets you set ROAS tolerance schedules, meaning you can tell the system to bid tightly (5% tolerance) during your peak season and loosen up (90% tolerance) during slower periods. This gives you seasonal control over how aggressively the system explores new placements without having to manually tweak campaigns every quarter.
If you run Performance Max campaigns, head to your campaign settings and look for the new Search partner network control. Toggle it to 0% if partners aren't converting. For bidding tolerance, the promotion mode lets you set different ranges by date range, so you can be conservative during your busiest selling periods and exploratory during off-season.
Test it on a single campaign first. Measure conversion rate, cost per conversion, and ROAS over 30 days with Search partners blocked, then compare to a control campaign running normal settings. That data tells you whether killing partner spend was the right move.
How WebKing runs this
We configure your Performance Max spend caps by network, ensuring your ads run only on the channels that move the needle for your business. If Search partners aren't pulling their weight, we turn them off and redirect that budget to winners.
Search partners are websites and apps that show Google search ads outside Google's own properties. Some advertisers block them because those placements convert at lower rates or waste budget on irrelevant traffic. Now you can shut them off entirely instead of just limiting spend.
It shrinks your reach, but only on partner sites. Your ads still run on Google Search and the Google Display Network. If Search partner traffic doesn't convert for you anyway, cutting it off refocuses your budget on better-performing channels.
ROAS tolerance controls how much Smart Bidding can experiment with lower bids to find new conversions. A 5% tolerance keeps bidding tight; 90% lets the system explore aggressively. Scheduled ranges mean you can tighten it during peak season and loosen it during slower periods.
No. This is a new option within Performance Max. If you're happy with your current setup, nothing changes. If you want tighter control, you can enable it in your campaign settings.
Sources
The Lab is original analysis by WebKing. We summarize and interpret developments from the sources above for industrial, commercial, and small business owners. Figures are reported as published by their sources.
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