Turned off “search partners” but the option is toggling back on by itself? Here’s what to do.

Here’s a post from /r/PPC today:

“I have on multiple occasions turned off the Google search partners option, but the next day somehow the option keeps turning back on. Eating up my entire budget with useless Leads. Any ideas on why this might be happening and how I can fix it?”

Turns out it was an auto apply recommendation setting…

Easy fix: check the recommendations tab and the auto apply settings.

But here’s the thing: You CANNOT sit back and simply trust Google to apply automations that will benefit _your_ objectives.

Don’t trust, verify! Verify by testing. Use scripts to continuously monitor the test data for you.

Here’s one of my favorite examples: https://nilsrooijmans.com/google-ads-script-search-partner-alerts/

This script compares the performance of the Search Partners to the Google Search Network. In case of a significant difference in CPA/ROAS performance, the issue is logged in a sheet and an alert is sent via email. That way, you’ll know when Search Partners aren’t performing, and you can opt out of the Search Partner network for these campaigns.

Happy scripting!

– Nils

Author: Nils Rooijmans

Google Ads Performance Architect with a passion for PPC Automation & AI, in particular via Google Ads Scripts.