What is Audience Network and why do people switch it off?

It is a network of third party apps and sites where Meta shows your ads in addition to the feed. Delivery quality there differs from the feed, and the standard report adds both into one figure. Switching it off is how you see the real cost per result in the feed.

Should Search Partners be enabled in Google Ads?

Not by default. These are partner sites of the search network, traffic quality varies, and there is almost no separate bid control. The sensible order is to get a stable result on search itself, then test partners as a separate measurement.

How do I see how much budget goes to the extra networks?

Break spend and conversions down by placement over 30 days. If the extra networks take a visible share of spend while returning almost nothing, you have found the fastest way to move money back into the part of the account that works.

Where the budget quietly goes: Audience Network, Search Partners and Pangle

Audience Network, Search Partners and Pangle are on by default and hidden in one total. How to see their share and reclaim the budget.

ADS Beast editorial teamPublished September 3, 2026Updated September 14, 20263 min read

A campaign report shows one line of spend, but you paid for impressions in several different places. Some of those places are on by default and behave differently. Until spend is broken down by placement, an expensive campaign and an expensive placement inside a cheap campaign look exactly the same.

In short

Extra networks are on by default on almost every platform.
The standard report adds them into the same figure as feed and search.
The difference only appears in a placement breakdown.
Turning the extra networks off is the fastest change with a predictable effect.
Test them as a separate measurement rather than leaving them on just in case.

What is switched on for you

On Meta it is Audience Network: third party apps and sites that receive your ads alongside the feed. Add the right hand column on desktop, Marketplace, and instant articles, each with its own click mechanics.

On Google it is Search Partners for search campaigns and automatic targeting expansion in display. On TikTok it is Pangle, a network of third party apps. LinkedIn and Microsoft run their own equivalents on the same principle.

None of them is broken. The problem is that all of them land in one total with your main placement while behaving differently.

Why lead campaigns feel it most

The difference shows up hardest on campaigns that buy enquiries. A tap inside a third party app is often accidental: the banner sat under a thumb, a form opened, some fields filled themselves in. The report calls that a conversion. Sales calls it a number that never answers.

So the usual symptom is this: the reported cost per lead looks acceptable, while lead quality complains on its own.

Проверка доп. сетей за 10 минут. Соберите отчёт по размещениям: За последние 30 дней, по всем кампаниям.; Выведите три колонки: Расход, конверсии и стоимость конверсии отдельно.; Сравните доп. сети с основными: Audience Network, Search Partners, Pangle против фида или поиска.; Добавьте данные CRM: С — Пошаговый разбор отчёта по размещениям, чтобы увидеть скрытый расход

A ten minute check

Build a placement report for the last 30 days.
Show spend, conversions and cost per conversion as separate columns.
Compare the extra networks against the main feed or against search.
If you have CRM data, compare the share that reached a deal as well.

The conclusion comes from the pair of numbers, cost and what happened next, rather than from cost alone. A cheap lead that goes nowhere is more expensive than a costly one.

The default position

A sensible working order is this: extra networks stay off until proven otherwise. First the account produces a stable result on the main placement, then a separate test answers whether the network adds anything. The reverse order, switch everything on and review at the end of the month, costs more and almost always ends at the same conclusion.

In ADS Beast, Audience Network, Search Partners and Pangle are blocked by default across every platform, and enabling one is recorded as a deliberate operator decision.

What to do next

Open the placement breakdown for your most expensive campaign. If the extra networks are there, work out their share of spend. That number answers whether to start with them.

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