Google video partners: where your video ads run beyond YouTube
Part of YouTube channel planning
The short answer
Google video partners are publisher websites and mobile apps outside YouTube where Google Ads and Display & Video 360 can serve video ads, on computers, phones, tablets and TV screens. Google includes them by default in most Video campaigns. Every Google content suitability control applies there, including content labels and sensitive content exclusions that YouTube ads no longer use.
Key takeaways
- Google video partners are third party websites and apps, so a YouTube channel plan does not describe where partner impressions land.
- Video campaigns include partners by default; Demand Gen moved the setting to the ad group as the Google Display Network checkbox in March 2025.
- Partners carry the full set of Google's content suitability controls, including digital content labels and sensitive content exclusions.
- Partner delivery is read by network segment and in the content suitability report, which Google says will not match served impressions.
What are Google video partners?
Definition
- Google video partners (GVP)
- In Google's words, "Google video partners are high-quality publisher websites and mobile apps" where advertisers can show video ads to viewers beyond YouTube. Display & Video 360 describes them as publisher websites and apps "in the Google Display Network."
Google's video partners overview (opens in a new tab) says partner publishers "are carefully vetted and must meet Google's inventory quality standards." The partner network is not a list a buyer picks from. It is an inventory pool a campaign includes or leaves out, and individual sites and apps appear only after delivery, in reports.
That makes partners the part of a video buy that a channel plan does not cover. When partners are switched on, part of the budget can run on news sites, game apps or utility apps nobody reviewed for the brief. Whether that is acceptable is a plan decision, not a default to inherit. The wider method sits in the YouTube channel planning hub.
| Term | What it means | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Google video partners | Partner websites and apps that serve video ads outside YouTube | Google Ads Video campaigns, Display & Video 360 inventory sources |
| Video partners on the Display Network | The network checkbox label for partners in Video campaign settings | Google Ads campaign Settings, Networks |
| Google Display Network (in Demand Gen) | The ad group channel that replaced the Google video partners setting in Demand Gen in March 2025 | Demand Gen ad group Channels panel |
| Google Display Network (in Display & Video 360 reports) | The report segment that separates partner delivery from YouTube | YouTube & partners line item reports |
Where do Google video partner ads run?
Google's partners overview says video ads on partners can appear on "computers, tablets, mobile web browsers, mobile apps, and TV screens." On mobile they show within a video player or as interstitials in apps. The formats it lists for partners are skippable and non-skippable in-stream ads, bumper ads and in-feed video ads.
The format name does not settle how an ad looks on a partner page. Google's video ad formats page (opens in a new tab) says that for advertisers opted into partners, "skippable in-stream ad formats may serve as interstitials or rewarded ads, resembling an outstream ad experience." A spot booked as in-stream on YouTube can therefore play between levels of a mobile game or inside a partner article.
| Format booked | On YouTube | On Google video partners |
|---|---|---|
| Skippable in-stream | Plays before, during or after a YouTube video | In-stream in a partner player, or as an interstitial or rewarded ad |
| Non-skippable in-stream | Plays in a YouTube video | Runs on partner websites and apps |
| Bumper | Plays in a YouTube video | Runs on partner websites and apps |
| In-feed video | YouTube feeds and search results | In-stream, in-feed, in-article or in-app, rewarded or interstitial |
Which suitability controls apply to Google video partners?
Google video partners get the full set. Google's content suitability coverage table (opens in a new tab), checked October 22, 2026, marks the Google video partners row Yes in all six columns: inventory types, content type exclusion, content label exclusions, excluded placements, excluded content keywords and excluded content themes. The page text adds that the sensitive content categories (tragedy and conflict, sensitive social issues, profanity and rough language, sexually suggestive, sensational and shocking) apply to the Display Network and Google video partners.
This is where partners differ from YouTube. Google says that as of September 2024 YouTube ads no longer use digital content labels, and that sensitive content exclusions apply to the Display Network and Google video partners. A label or sensitive category setting therefore still shapes partner delivery even though it no longer changes YouTube delivery.
| Control | Applies to Google video partners | What a planner sets |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory types (Maximum, Moderate, Limited) | Yes | The account level tier that fits the brand |
| Content type exclusion | Yes | Types such as embedded videos or live streams to leave out |
| Content label exclusions | Yes | Digital content labels to leave out; Google says a campaign won't run if all labels are selected |
| Excluded placements | Yes | Partner domains or apps found in reports and judged unsuitable |
| Excluded content keywords | Yes | Exact match terms, set at the account level |
| Excluded content themes | Yes | Themes to keep ads away from |
| Sensitive content exclusions | Described in the page text for the Display Network and partners | Categories such as tragedy and conflict |
How do you opt in or out of Google video partners?
The switch depends on the campaign type and the buying platform. Google's partners overview says "For most Video campaigns, Google video partners are included by default." For Demand Gen, the same page says partners are off by default as of September 2024. Google's Display Network integration page (opens in a new tab) then explains that in March 2025 Google video partners within Demand Gen became the Google Display Network, with the choice moved from the campaign to each ad group's Channels panel. The Demand Gen placements guide covers that change in depth.
Where to find the partner setting, by route
- Open the Video campaign's settings in Google Ads. Go to the campaign, open Settings and expand Networks. The checkbox is labeled "Video partners on the Display Network"; leave it checked to include partners and clear it to keep the campaign on YouTube, then save.
- Open each Demand Gen ad group's Channels panel. Clear "Google Display Network" in any ad group that should stay on YouTube. Since image inventory joined the network in April 2025, Google describes separate ad groups if video should run there and images should not.
- Edit Inventory Source targeting in Display & Video 360. Google's Display & Video 360 partners page (opens in a new tab) says "Video partners are included by default in inventory targeting when you create a YouTube & partners line item" and are changed from the line item's Targeting settings page.
- Ask the account manager about Display & Video 360 video action line items. The same page says these line items are automatically opted in to video partners and that opting out requires contacting a Google account manager.
- Record the choice in the plan file. Note for each campaign or line item whether partners are on, who approved it and the date the setting was checked.
How do video partner placements show in reports?
Start with the network split. Google's partners overview says advertisers can "segment your reporting" by network to measure partner delivery apart from YouTube, and the Display & Video 360 page says "Reports can be segmented by YouTube and Google Display Network to measure the relative performance." In Demand Gen, the integration page says video ads served on the network report under the segment "Google Display Network."
For individual sites and apps, Google's content suitability report (opens in a new tab) lets buyers "view impressions on your ads by impression source", and lists Google Video Partners among its sources. Placements appear only when they meet "certain minimum thresholds of impressions or interactions", the totals "won't match the number of impressions served", and the counts "shouldn't be treated as final" because invalid traffic has not been removed. Google points to billing invoices for billable impressions.
A first week review of partner delivery
- The network segment shows what share of impressions ran on partners for each campaign.
- The content suitability report has been opened with Google Video Partners as the impression source.
- Each partner domain or app with meaningful volume has been opened and judged against the brief.
- Unsuitable partner placements have been added to the account or campaign exclusions, with the date.
What does a partner decision look like for one brief?
Fictional example
Partners on, then reviewed, for a Saskatchewan appliance retailer
A fictional appliance retailer in Regina and Saskatoon promotes cordless vacuums and floor care machines with a 20 second skippable spot, in English. The agency's YouTube plan covers home cleaning, renovation and product review channels. The client asks whether the campaign should also run beyond YouTube.
The planner keeps Google video partners on in one Video campaign and off in a second, so the client can see partner delivery on its own. Before launch, the buyer confirms the account's content label and sensitive content exclusions, since they still shape partner delivery, and reviews the spot muted and as a full screen interstitial.
After the first week, the buyer opens the content suitability report for Google Video Partners, reviews the partner apps and sites with meaningful volume, and excludes two puzzle game apps because the brief asked for home and lifestyle settings.
How does PlacementGraph help plan the YouTube and website sides of a video brief?
Partner delivery is steered by settings and exclusions, not by an inclusion list. When a brief also wants video beside named websites, those run through placement targeting with a reviewed site list, next to the YouTube channel plan.
Frequently asked questions
Are Google video partners part of YouTube?
No. Google describes them as publisher websites and mobile apps beyond YouTube, and Display & Video 360 places them in the Google Display Network. A campaign with partners on can deliver on YouTube and on those properties from one budget, reported as separate network segments.
Can I target one specific video partner site?
Google's partners overview presents partners as an inventory pool to include or leave out rather than a menu of named sites. Its content suitability table marks excluded placements as available on the partners row, so a buyer can remove partner domains or apps found in reports. Positive targeting of named websites belongs to Display and Demand Gen placement targeting.
Do Google video partners run on TV screens?
Yes. Google's partners overview lists TV screens among the devices where partner video ads can appear, next to computers, tablets, mobile web browsers and mobile apps. Google's content suitability page warns that exclusions may give limited coverage in mobile and connected TV inventory in the Google Display Network.
Does the YouTube channel list stop ads from running on partners?
Not on its own. In Display & Video 360, Google says partners are included by default in a YouTube & partners line item's inventory targeting, so the inventory source setting has to change too. In Google Ads Video campaigns, the network checkbox decides partner delivery.
Sources
- About Google video partners (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About content suitability (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Google Display Network integration with Demand Gen (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Google video partners in Display & Video 360 (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- About the Content suitability report (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About video ad formats (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.