Using Zombie SKUs to improve your Google Shopping Campaigns

As the winter fades and spring lurks around the corner, let’s dive into a topic that’s been haunting our screens lately—no, not those moaning creatures, but something equally spooky: Zombie SKUs.

So, what exactly are Zombie SKUs?

Zombie SKUs are those forgotten products or SKUs that haven’t seen the light of day in the last 28 days. In the digital realm, they’re essentially dead, but it’s the resurrection metaphor that gives them their eerie name.

But what brings these Zombie SKUs to life?

Well, it could be a variety of factors—different campaigns, keywords, targeting strategies, bids, you name it. But the end result is the same: some products get their moment in the spotlight in Shopping Ads, while others remain buried.

So, what can you do about it? You’ve got two options:

Option one: Lay these products to rest for now and focus on promoting other items. This can help streamline your account until you’re ready to give these products another shot.

Option two: Bring these Zombie SKUs back from the dead!

But how do you resurrect these Zombie SKUs?

It’s as easy as four simple steps:

1. Identify the SKUs that haven’t seen any action in the past 28 days. You can do this using a Google Ads script or a data automation tool like Supermetrics and save the data to an Excel file.
2. Tag these zero-impression SKUs with a custom label. You can use a scale based on your existing labels and their usage in your current campaigns.
3. Create a new column called ‘Zombie Rating’ in your Excel file. Set up the file as a supplemental feed in Google Merchant Center, ensuring the columns match the SKUs’ IDs. Set the data to refresh daily. Then, create a feed rule to assign your custom label X (whatever you chose in step 2) to the value from the supplemental feed.
4. Finally, create another feed rule to assign the custom label to the value from the supplemental feed you just set up. Voila! Now you have a custom label assigned to your Zombie SKUs, allowing you to exclusively target them in your Shopping campaigns and give them a chance to perform.

And why bother with Zombie SKUs, you ask?

Well, they give your underperforming products a fighting chance to shine. What was once considered dead may just surprise you with its revenue-driving potential.

Without this data, you’d miss out on giving your products a fair shot at bringing in significant revenue for your brand. So, embrace the undead and let your Zombie SKUs rise from the grave!