Let me tell you a horror story.
A client I was auditing recently had 2,278 products in their Performance Max campaign. Sounds great, right? Big range, lots of chances to sell…
But then I ran the number.
1,347 of those products had never spent a penny or received a single click.
Google never tested them. The client never made a penny from them. They were just sitting there, rotting away. Zombies.
This is more common than you think.
Another client? 171 products, 92 zombies.
And another? 2,480 products, 1,022 zombies.
And if you have more than a handful of SKUs, I bet you have a lot of walking dead in your account too.
So, in today’s blog post I’m going to show you:
What zombie products are.
Why they’re quietly murdering your revenue.
How to find them.
And how to fix them.
Let’s get stuck in.
What Is a Zombie Product?
A zombie product is a product or SKU you’ve got live in Standard Shopping or Performance Max, but it’s had zero clicks and zero spend.
Meaning Google never tested it.
That product might be a banger. It might make you thousands. But if Google doesn’t give it a shot, you’ll never know. It’s like stocking a bestseller and leaving it in the warehouse.
Every zombie product is a missed opportunity.
How to Find Zombie Products in Your Account
You don’t need fancy tools to find your zombies. Just do this:
In your Google Ads account, set a long date range (I use “All Time”).
Go to the “Products” section under your Shopping campaigns or Performance Max asset groups.
Apply a filter: Cost = 0
Scroll to the bottom and note the number of products that show up.
Boom. Zombies identified.
The Simple Fix: Create a Zombie Campaign
Once you’ve got your zombie list, here’s what you do.
Step 1: Pull all your zombies out into their own campaign.
Step 2: Set the bid strategy to Maximise conversions or Maximise conversion value.
Step 3: Remove any Target ROAS or Target CPA.
This setup gives Google breathing room. No strict ROAS targets. No constraints. Just permission to go test the untested.
Here’s why this works.
Reason #1: CPC Bidding Constraints
When you lump all your products into one campaign with a single ROAS target, Google averages out your CPCs. So lower-performing or unproven products (like your zombies) might just never get enough CPC bid to even show up.
It’s a classic chicken-and-egg situation.
Google won’t spend unless it sees performance. But it won’t see performance unless it spends.
So you separate them, strip away constraints, and let Google run some experiments.
Reason #2: Some Zombies Deserve to Be Dead
Let’s be honest. Some products just suck.
Maybe no one searches for them. Maybe they’re too niche. Or maybe your other products are just better fits for the intent.
Not every zombie can be saved.
But that’s okay. The idea here is to test them. The winners go back into your main campaigns. The losers? Kill them for good.
The Advanced Fix: When You’ve Got Thousands of Zombies
Now if you’ve got hundreds or thousands of zombie products, chucking them all into one campaign might stretch your budget too thin.
Say you’ve got a $100 daily budget and 2,000 zombies. That’s five cents per product per day.
You won’t revive anything. You’ll just have a slightly more organised graveyard.
So here’s what to do instead:
Step 1: Curate a Smaller Zombie Batch
Use your knowledge of your product range, margins, categories and audience. Handpick the top 50–100 zombies you think have the best shot at converting.
Step 2: Optimise the Feed First
Before launching them into the zombie campaign, give them a glow-up.
Update:
Product titles.
Images.
Descriptions.
Product type field.
Only then do you launch.
Once those are tested, rinse and repeat with the next batch of 50–100.
This strategy keeps your budget focused and ups your odds of reviving the right products.
How to Automate It With Custom Labels
To keep your campaigns clean and easy to manage, use custom labels in your product feed.
Label your zombies. Then set up your zombie campaign to only include products with that label.
Most of the tools we use at Big Flare have this functionality:
Optmyzr – with its Shopping Labeller.
Product Hero – auto-labels based on performance.
Feed Optimise – same deal, good for feed-first workflows.
You don’t need these tools to make it work. You can manually label products if needed.
But if you’re already using a feed or campaign tool, check if they’ve got an automated custom labeler (sometimes called a labeliser). It might save you a tonne of time.
Wrap Up: Revive, Replace or Kill
If you’re running Google Ads with more than a handful of SKUs, you’re probably bleeding revenue from zombie products.
To fix it:
Find your zombies with a cost = 0 filter.
Move them to a separate campaign with maximise bidding.
Test, revive the winners, and kill the losers.
For big accounts, test in curated batches and optimise listings.
Use custom labels to make it all easier to manage.
That’s the system. Revive, replace or kill. Your campaigns will thank you.
Summary
This newsletter tackled the problem of “zombie products” in ecommerce Google Ads accounts — products that have zero clicks or spend, and are ignored by Google’s algorithm.
We covered:
What zombie products are and how they hurt your account.
How to identify them using a simple filter in Google Ads.
The basic fix using a dedicated zombie campaign with maximise bidding.
An advanced fix for accounts with thousands of products: curate top candidates and optimise their listings before testing.
The use of custom labels and tools like Optmyzr, Product Hero, and Feed Optimise to streamline the process.
If you follow this process, you’ll revive hidden winners, cut dead weight, and give your best products the budget they deserve.