Should Senior Living Communities Use Google Search Partners? Here's What You Need to Know

If you're a senior living community running Google Ads to attract potential residents or their families, you've likely seen a setting called "Google Search Partners." At first glance, enabling this feature might seem like a great way to increase your ad exposure. After all, who wouldn’t want more visibility?

But before flipping that switch, it’s worth understanding how Search Partners actually work—and why they may not always deliver the type of high-quality traffic your community needs.

What Are Google Search Partners?

Google Search Partners are third-party websites and platforms that partner with Google to display ads. These can include well-known names like YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Shopping, as well as other lesser-known or more general search engines such as Ask.com, Lycos.com, and Dogpile.com.

Your ads can appear on these partners’ search results pages, directory pages, or even product listings—anywhere that's relevant to a user’s search query.

Some examples of Search Partner placements include:

• Search engines: Ask.com, Dogpile, and others.
  
  
• Shopping and retail sites: Amazon, Walmart, Target product pages.
  
  
• Google-owned properties: YouTube, Google Images, etc.
  
  

The Potential Upside

There are several notable benefits to enabling Google Search Partners:

• Wider Reach: Your ads are shown across a broader range of platforms, helping you expand your visibility.
  
  
• Lower CPCs: On average, cost-per-click (CPC) can be lower on search partner sites compared to Google Search itself.
  
  
• More Conversions in Some Industries: Depending on your market, Search Partners can generate solid leads—particularly in retail or eCommerce.
  
  

Observed Trends in Senior Living Advertising

Despite these potential upsides, we’re seeing a clear trend among many Senior Living Operators. While enabling Search Partners does bring in some traffic and minimal engagement with FURTHER tools, the move-in conversion rates remain exceptionally low—often in the range of 0 to 0.01%. This minimal conversion is generating a lot of noise for your sales team, distracting them from focusing on the high-quality leads that really matter.

In fact, Sonia Vachon, formerly leading marketing at Chartwell, encapsulates this challenge perfectly:

"In my experience, the moment you turn off the Google Search Partners, yes you will see a significant decrease in traffic but over just a few weeks, you'll have a direct impact on your inquiry to tour conversion"

Where Senior Living Communities Need to Be Cautious

For industries that depend on high-intent, high-quality leads, like senior living, there are clear risks to consider when enabling Search Partners:

• Lower Quality Traffic: Leads generated from Search Partners can be less qualified. Your ad might appear alongside unrelated content, resulting in clicks from users who are not seriously looking for senior care.
  
  
• Confusing Referral Data: Traffic from these sources might show up in your analytics with referrers like syndicatedsearch.goog. This obscures the true origin of your leads and makes accurate reporting challenging.
  
  
• Operational Noise: The extra traffic and minimal conversion rates (as noted above) create extra work for your sales team, who must sift through numerous unqualified inquiries instead of focusing on truly promising leads.
  
  

So, Should You Use Google Search Partners?

It depends on your campaign goals and resources. If you’re just starting out with Google Ads or are focused on generating qualified, high-intent inquiries, disabling Search Partners might be your best approach. On the other hand, if your strategy includes a broad reach and you're prepared to monitor performance closely, you could consider testing it—but with caution.

What You Can Do

If you suspect that low-quality leads are cluttering your CRM, consider the following steps:

1. Discuss with​ Digital Marketing Expert or Your Marketing Agency: Verify whether Search Partners are enabled in your campaigns and assess the quality of traffic they generate.
   
   
2. Check Your Analytics: Monitor traffic sources, especially looking out for referral URLs such as “syndicatedsearch.goog.” These can signal lower-quality engagements.
   
   
3. Disable Search Partners if Needed: As this setting is typically enabled by default, review your campaign settings and consider disabling it to improve lead quality.
   
   
4. Filter and Protect Your Database: FURTHER’s team can implement custom traffic filters, as well as Lead Qualifier filters, to block low-conversion traffic, ensuring your CRM remains focused on real, promising leads.

“Every day, customers reach out to us seeking a solution to the problem of poor-quality leads. The solution starts with steps 1 through 4, but we are committed to supporting our customers by providing the right visibility into this challenge—prioritizing quality over quantity,” says Chief Product Officer, James Johnson.

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Final Thoughts

Google Search Partners aren’t inherently a bad feature—they can be useful in certain industries and campaign types. However, for senior living communities where trust, intent, and precision are crucial, the potential downside of lower-quality traffic and increased operational noise must be carefully weighed.

If your community is currently experiencing a lot of traffic with minimal conversions—and your sales team is getting bogged down by sorting through these leads—it might be time to rethink your strategy around Search Partners. By focusing on more qualified traffic sources, you can ultimately drive better results and more meaningful engagements.

Ready to optimize your advertising strategy and cut through the noise? Let’s talk about ensuring your sales team connects with the right leads, while we take care of the rest.

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