A client recently got in touch after noticing branded PPC ads appearing on YouTube. We explained that the reason was that we had opted into Google Search Partners on their brand campaigns — a decision that becomes particularly relevant now that YouTube is part of Google’s search network. It’s a feature that often gets overlooked, so here’s a clear breakdown of what Search Partners does, when it’s worth enabling, and what to watch out for in travel PPC campaigns.
What are Google Search Partners?
If a site is part of Google’s Search Network, your ads can appear on that site as well as on Google’s own SERP. Search Partners extends your reach to include hundreds of external sites — including YouTube, Google Maps, and a range of third-party search sites. For tour operators, this means your ads can appear in contexts beyond the core Google search results page, reaching users who are actively searching on partner platforms.
YouTube becoming a Google Search Partner
When Google announced YouTube’s inclusion in the Search Network, it became significantly more relevant for travel advertisers. YouTube is a major travel research platform — people search for destination guides, activity walkthroughs and tour operator reviews before booking. Having your search ads visible in those YouTube results puts you in front of high-intent researchers at an earlier stage of the decision process than the Google SERP alone would reach.
3 common misconceptions about Search Partners:
First, that it always increases cost. In practice, CPCs on Search Partner placements are often lower than Google’s core SERP because competition tends to be less intense. Second, that the traffic quality is poor. This varies by campaign type; branded campaigns on Search Partners often perform well. Third, that it’s all-or-nothing. You can enable or disable Search Partners at the campaign level, so testing is low-risk.
What happened when Google added Smart Bidding?
Smart Bidding improved Search Partners performance meaningfully. Previously, partner placements used the same bids as Google SERP regardless of relative performance. Now, Google can adjust bids for Search Partner placements based on conversion likelihood. In our experience, this has made Search Partners more efficient for travel campaigns — the algorithm learns which placements convert and weights spend accordingly, rather than treating all network placements equally.
What are the potential risks of enabling Search Partners?
The main risk is lower-quality traffic from weaker partner sites — third-party search properties that drive clicks without conversions. We tend to see this show up in the placement report as sites with high click volumes but zero conversions. The fix is straightforward: review the Search Partners placement data regularly, identify underperforming partner sites, and exclude them. Without that monitoring, Search Partners can dilute your campaign’s conversion rate without you realising why.
Is enabling Search Partners the right move for your business?
For most travel advertisers, the answer is: test it and decide based on data. Start with branded campaigns — if someone searches your operator name on YouTube, that’s a very high-intent signal and you want to be visible. Review placement performance after four to six weeks. If conversion rates are comparable to your Google SERP performance, extend to non-branded campaigns. If not, you can disable it for specific campaigns or exclude underperforming placements without affecting the rest of your account.
What are the potential benefits?
Incremental reach at often-lower CPCs is the primary benefit. For tour operators with limited budgets competing against OTAs on Google’s core SERP, Search Partners offers additional visibility at a cost that can be genuinely efficient when monitored correctly. Clients often ask us whether to enable it, and our standard approach is to test it on branded campaigns first, review the data, and make the decision to expand based on actual conversion performance rather than assumption.
Get in Touch
If you’d like to discuss your Google Ads strategy for your travel business, get in touch with the Summon team. We work exclusively with tour operators, airlines, ferry companies and activity providers.