In digital marketing, effective product feed management is essential for achieving positive results in lower-funnel campaigns. However, there are often problems that can compromise the performance and effectiveness of the strategies implemented.

Some common difficulties are related to:

• Catalog segmentation: an effective online activity requires the ability to segment the catalog in a targeted way to meet business needs, such as in terms of product segmentation and profitability. This becomes a challenge especially when managing a large and varied catalog.
• Valuing products in the most correct way for the business: it often happens that some products get low online visibility because they are “cannibalized” by successful products or because the algorithm does not highlight them.

The main tool that allows you to solve these situations is using a Feed Manager, which simplifies the technical operations of collecting, organizing, and managing product data from different sources up to distribution on feed-based marketing channels. This allows you to maximize return on investment through the application of a feed strategy.

However, a feed manager isn’t always a viable option. In such cases, what solutions are available?

Based on our experience, there is an alternative method to handle product feeds and at the same time create new attributes.
This is possible thanks to the implementation of a Supplemental Feed in the Google Merchant Center, which can prove to be an effective alternative, particularly when providing detailed and specific information about ad results. This enables targeted adjustments to the marketing strategy, ultimately enhancing overall business performance.

Focus on: Result Monitoring & Campaign Optimization

Through the supplementary feed, it is possible to monitor and optimize the feed based on different product performance information, such as the number of impressions, clicks, CTR, and conversion rate. This data can be used to identify successful products and those that are less performing and to make changes to the marketing strategy based on the results.

Once relevant KPIs for analysis are identified, they become valuable in distinguishing well-performing products from less successful ones. By analyzing the results of each product, for instance, with the assistance of a spreadsheet, it becomes easy to identify high-performing products based on metrics like ROAS and CTR.

This type of analysis proves particularly valuable, for example, when the intention is to split the catalog into two different Performance Max campaigns: one for best-in-class products that meet all our variables, and another for other products. This allows for a different strategy for each campaign with varying ROAS and budget allocations.

This practice not only improves the visibility of products that are already performing well in terms of results but also increases the visibility of products that previously did not appear due to limited budget available (cannibalized by the best products) or that were not identified by Google as performing – therefore not promoted by the algorithm.

To make all this possible, it’s essential to update the supplementary feed with product performance data daily, especially if the catalog primarily comprises seasonal products. For instance, sunscreens might be considered low-performing products in winter but could become top performers in the summer season.

Conclusions

Supplemental feeds can significantly enhance the performance of our Performance Max campaigns, offering improved targeting and optimized budget utilization for higher conversions, even without the use of a Feed Manager.
Once the supplementary feed is uploaded to Google Merchant Center, it’s crucial to regularly monitor and assess product performance, making necessary adjustments as needed, always keeping the underlying strategy in mind.