1. Back to Basics: what is inventory management & why does it matter?

Effective Inventory Management for Shopping aims to maximise sales opportunities by ensuring that offers are available for purchase at the exact moment your customers are looking for them. This is crucial because even complex Shopping or Performance Max campaigns can omit Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), including bestsellers, which leads to missed potential sales and diminishes your overall shopping performance – not to mention, leaves customers disappointed. By connecting your inventory data and updating it frequently, you can increase sales, reduce wasted ad spend, and enhance efficiency, ultimately leading to a more profitable and reputable e-commerce operation.

The inventory lifecycle

In order to effectively manage your inventory and maximise your sales, it's crucial to understand the different stages of your inventory lifecycle, from the moment you submit your offers in your GMC feeds to the moment a customer clicks on your ad. Below is a comprehensive outline of the stages your inventory goes through and where you should pay more attention to.

The seven stages of the inventory lifecycle

Now that you’re familiar with the different inventory lifecycle stages, we'll narrow our focus to the last two: targeted and engaged offers. By optimising these stages, you can significantly improve your inventory management and drive sales growth.

What are targeted and engaged offers?

Targeted offers are the products you've chosen to advertise to potential customers. Think of it like a storefront: you have a whole store full of products, but you only want to put certain items on display in the front window. Those items in the window are your targeted offers – the ones you're actively promoting through your ads. Offers that aren't targeted are like products hidden away in a warehouse – they won't be seen by shoppers. Similarly, in Shopping Ads, targeted offers are the specific products you typically feature in your campaigns.

On the other hand, engaged offers are the products that shoppers have shown interest in by clicking on your ads. Think of it as the difference between people window-shopping and actually walking into the store. These are the products that have caught the attention of potential customers – essentially, your best bet for a sale.

2.  Possible inventory hurdles to be aware of

Is your inventory truly visible to shoppers? Simply put, if your products are untargeted, they won't appear in Shopping ads, which limits your potential reach and traffic. Additionally, other factors may also impact visibility:

• Outdated targeting misses opportunities. If your inventory is not regularly updated, then some changes in key product attributes or values can lead to products being unintentionally excluded from your campaigns, resulting in missed sales.
• Low engagement limits growth. If a significant portion of your inventory isn't engaged by potential customers, you become overly reliant on a small number of SKUs. This not only restricts your overall performance on Shopping, but also hampers the sales potential of your broader product range.

How do I know if I have an inventory issue?

Luckily, it’s not hard to gain insight into possible issues. To pinpoint the root cause of any suspected inventory anomalies, we recommend you to follow these steps:

• Navigate to your Google Ads account.
• Go to the "Products" tab on the left hand side.
• Next, click "Diagnostics" in the "issues" section of your dashboard.
• You’ll see the notification that reads: "No campaigns advertising this product" along with the number of affected products. This indicates that these products, despite being in your GMC, are not currently included in any Google Ads campaigns and therefore won't appear on Shopping.

A detailed breakdown is provided in the image below:

The following table illustrates recommended benchmarks. (Remember, these benchmarks can vary depending on your specific market).

By strategically increasing the number of targeted offers, you'll maximise your visibility and sales potential, ensuring your products are showcased whenever potential customers search for relevant items. With more offers clicked, you can drive higher sales of those products and contribute to your overall business growth. Now, let's explore some practical ways to put these strategies into action.

3. Reducing the number of your untargeted offers

The catch-all campaign: an effective way to improve targeted inventory

What is a catch-all campaign? It’s a simple, yet powerful way to monitor and often significantly improve targeted inventory. By capturing a wide range of products, it reduces the risk of items being left out of your campaigns and minimises potential product targeting errors, regardless of their category, price point, or other attributes.

Untargeted offers won't appear in Shopping or PMax campaigns. To fix this, first review and update your campaign settings and filters. Then, use a catch-all campaign to capture and alert you about any products that are still excluded. Consider this a diagnostic tool to pinpoint issues rather than a solution to fix them. This strategy is particularly beneficial for businesses with a large number of products or those who are just starting their Shopping Ads journey. Let’s take a look at the campaign structure below:

4.  Implementing a "Zombie campaign" to improve your engaged inventory

Think a "Zombie campaign" sounds scary? Think again. A "Low Volume SKUs" campaign, also known as a "Zombie Campaign", is a straightforward way to breathe new life into products that aren't getting much attention. It's like a testing ground for targeted products that haven't gained traction yet.¹ This strategy is useful for businesses of all sizes, especially those with a large product catalogue or those just starting with Shopping Ads.

Low engagement with certain products can happen for various reasons, such as seasonal trends or even competition from your more popular items (as these could be eating up more of your ad budget). A "Zombie campaign" can combat this, and help you to stay ahead of the curve.

Step-by-step guide: implementing a ''Zombie campaign''

Let's walk through how to set up a "Zombie campaign" and get your products the attention they deserve.

This campaign should be used to increase data volume for the SKUs, and to expose them to various user purchase behaviours. It is important to note that the values assigned within the chosen custom label will determine if an SKU is better suited for this campaign or the broader campaign structure.

Conclusion

Phew! Was that a lot to take in? Good inventory management is not just about logistics, as this guide has shown. Done right, it can be a key strategy for successful Shopping Ads. By understanding how your inventory moves through its lifecycle and proactively addressing challenges like untargeted or non-engaged offers, you can significantly improve your Shopping & PMax campaign results.

Why not keep our step-by-step guides to hand for the coming peak season? By making sure you always have the right products, in the right quantities, at the right time, you can stay ahead of your customers’ needs and build a lasting relationship that benefits everyone.

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1. "Zombie Campaigns" is a common and informal way to reference these types of campaign structures across the industry.