In the world of e-commerce, it is common that a large part of our online store's sales come from only a small part of the catalog (usually around 20%, according to what is known as the "e-commerce" or "e-commerce" method). Pareto rule). Of the remaining 80%, many of them, for various reasons, receive neither clicks nor impressions. In the industry, these references within the catalog are commonly referred to as «Zombie Products».Based on the latest feed and campaign optimization strategies, we have prepared this step-by-step guide to help you identify and «revive» these products automatically to ensure that no referrer in our feed is left out of the game just because.
What is a «Zombie Product»?
A «Zombie Product» is generally defined as an item that, although approved and available in a CSS, has received 0 clicks in a period ranging from the last 30 to 90 days. These products are not suspended or pending review; they are simply being “ignored” by the algorithm in favor of others that offer better results for campaign performance objectives.Having a large number of products with no activity in our data feed is not only a waste of potential, but it dilutes the real efficiency of your main campaigns. By isolating and activating these products, we ensure that your entire inventory has the opportunity for visibility, and even generate profitable sales if given the initial push.A 3-step strategy: identify, label and put into operation
Implementing this strategy in our accounts is simple and fast:1. Identification
The first step is to detect which products are underperforming. You can do this by downloading a report of your items with 0 clicks in the last 30 days from Google Ads, or using automated scripts that update this list on a daily basis, which is the solution we propose in this publication.2. Product labeling
Once the affected IDs have been identified, we need to tag them in a custom column in order to create a specific campaign for them.For this purpose, we will use a Google Spreadsheet like supplementary feed in Merchant Center (or the equivalent tool) and a empty custom label in our feed (e.g. custom_label_0 = «low_clicks_last_30d» or simply «Low Volume»).3. Activation with Performance Max (PMax)
The final step is to create a campaign dedicated exclusively to these products, following these guidelines:- Configuration: Although it is not mandatory, we recommend a non-resource Performance Max type campaign targeting only the products we have labeled above.
- Bidding Strategy: configures the strategy as «Maximizing Conversions». The objective of this campaign is the visibility, not efficiency. We want to give the algorithm the freedom to display these products and generate interaction.
- Budget: your budget determines your commitment to these products. Think of it as a long-term investment to clean up your account. It depends on the number of products in our catalog and our investment possibilities, but make it an amount that the algorithm can work with...
How to optimize this strategy for better results
- Patience: this campaign is designed to run during one to four weeks with the same set of items. Its function is to «awaken» the potential of our total catalog.
- Life Cycle: the script allows small configurations such as applying it only to a series of campaigns, defining the threshold of clicks after which it is no longer considered “zombie”, etc.
- Exclusions: to follow best practices, you can exclude these low volume products from your other campaigns using the same custom tag, ensuring that there is no cannibalization (although a zombie product can cannibalize little, to be honest, but if we want to be scrupulous about it...).
