Basics · also called SPN, search partners, syndicated search partners
Search partner network
The search partner network is the collection of non-Google or non-Microsoft sites where an advertiser's search ads can appear through syndication.
When an advertiser buys search ads, the ads can run in two places: on the engine's own results pages, and on partner sites. The second group is the search partner network. Google describes its search partners as sites in the Search Network that partner with Google to show ads, covering hundreds of non-Google websites plus YouTube. Microsoft's equivalent includes partner traffic from Yahoo search partners and other syndicated sites.
This is the advertiser's view of the same thing a publisher calls a search feed. Every arbitrage page showing Google or Bing ads is, to the advertiser, a search partner placement.
For years advertisers had little visibility into where partner clicks came from. That has changed. Google added third-party brand-safety exclusion lists in April 2025, site-level placement reporting for Search, Shopping and App campaigns in August 2025, and removed parked domains from the network on 10 February 2026. Microsoft lets advertisers run a publisher website report and exclude individual sites. Advertisers who dislike the results can also switch partners off, the advertiser opt-out.
Think of it like this
Imagine paying for a poster campaign and learning that some posters go up in the brand's own flagship stores and others in corner shops across town. The corner shops are the partner network.
Related terms
Search syndication
Search syndication is when a search engine lets other websites and apps show its search results and search ads, and shares the ad revenue with them.
Advertiser opt-out (search partners / parked domains)
Advertiser opt-out is an advertiser's ability to stop its search ads appearing on partner sites, and in 2025 to 2026 on parked domains, outside the search engine itself.
Placement exclusion
A placement exclusion is an advertiser's instruction that its ads must not appear on a named website, app or category of sites.
Google Ads
Google Ads is Google's advertising platform, where businesses bid to show ads on Google Search, its search partner sites, YouTube and other properties.
Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising is Microsoft's ad platform, formerly Bing Ads, which sells search ads on Bing and on partner sites that syndicate its results.
Syndication partner
A syndication partner is a company approved by a search engine to display that engine's search ads on its own sites, apps or tools.
Sources: Google Ads Help: Search partners definition, Google Ads Help: Search partners network (SPN) announcements, Microsoft Learn: Ad distribution settings (Microsoft Advertising)