Performance Max gets a network exclusion alpha

Two checkboxes appeared on the campaign screen

On July 15, 2026, Search Engine Land reported under Anu Adegbola's byline that a new setting called Partners (Alpha) had been spotted in Performance Max campaigns. PPC Growth Strategist Saquib Syed noticed it and shared it on LinkedIn. The screen holds two separate checkboxes, one for the Search Partner Network and one for the Google Display Network. Both arrive checked, so the inventory is still included automatically, but an advertiser can uncheck a box and step out of that network. Until this report both networks were included in Performance Max automatically with no way to exclude them.

According to the interface descriptions relayed by PPC Land, the Search Partners box covers hundreds of non-Google websites, while the Display Network box covers more than two million websites and apps. In terms of where a campaign is shown, this is not a small setting.

Google's on-record statement and the agency reaction

Digiday, which covered the story on July 24, 2026 under Sam Bradley's byline, obtained an on-record statement from Google. A spokesperson said the feature is a pilot running with a limited group of advertisers: "This is a pilot launched with a limited group of advertisers". In the same statement the company said its aim is to give advertisers clear visibility and new ways to steer campaigns. Google declined to say when the feature would open more broadly. Brian Pappas, Director of Integrated Search at Moroch, said his agency received access in the last week of June.

The agency side quoted by Digiday considers the change significant. Sam Clarke of Crossmedia describes the absence of strategic levers as a real frustration, and David Dweck of Go Fish Digital characterises these networks as remnant supply. Kaitlin McGrew of PMG reports that after transparency improvements her clients raised their Performance Max investment by around 10% on average. Separately, Search Engine Land reported on July 24 that household income exclusions had been spotted at campaign level. Paid Search specialist Thomas Eccel noticed the options in a European campaign; the list holds six income bands from the top 10% down to the lower 50%, plus an unknown household income option. Google made no comment on this second feature, and there is nothing to suggest the two tests are related.

The first real key to the black box

Since its launch Performance Max has managed Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Maps inventory together from a single budget. That structure made the work simpler but brought a problem with it: there was no way to take an underperforming surface out of the campaign. Beyond moving budget into other campaign types, advertisers had no lever at all. The network checkboxes mean a direct exclusion is on the table for the first time.

The numbers need care. Citing industry research published by Intelligency Group in June 2025, PPC Land reports that Search Partner Network placements deliver 37% lower return on ad spend than Google Search proper. That figure is not Google's, and it appears in neither the Digiday nor the Search Engine Land report; it is single sourced and second hand. The direction is not really disputed, since advertisers have long said partner inventory does not match core search. The real gain is that the claim now becomes measurable inside your own account. Even so, the feature is still an alpha, limited to a handful of accounts, with no general release timetable.

What it means for businesses in Türkiye

This section is our own assessment and appears in none of the sources. A large share of e-commerce and local service advertising in Türkiye runs on Performance Max, because reaching broad inventory from one campaign is practical for small teams. For the same reason, plenty of advertisers cannot see where the budget goes. When network control arrives, the accounts it will change most are the ones with a high cost per conversion and no explanation for it.

Three things can be done today. First, do not restructure around an alpha: breaking campaign architecture for a limited pilot is an expensive decision to undo if the feature never ships. Second, prepare the measurement ground now, because comparing before and after once the network split becomes visible requires at least a month of clean baseline and clear conversion definitions. Third, if you are talking to your Google representative, ask about the pilot directly, since access is being handed out account by account. On household income exclusions, waiting is the right call: the feature was spotted in a European campaign, availability in Türkiye is unconfirmed, and targeting by income band is a separate question under personal data and advertising rules.

Sources

Digiday, Google's on-record statement and the agency reaction · Search Engine Land, the first report on the Partners (Alpha) setting · PPC Land, interface details and network coverage · Search Engine Land, household income exclusions at campaign level