Somewhere in your Google Shopping account, products are quietly draining your budget every single day. They get clicks. They cost money. But they never convert. These zero-conversion products are the silent killers of Shopping campaign profitability—and most advertisers don't realize how much they're losing.
The math is brutal: a product spending $5/day with zero conversions costs $150/month, $1,800/year. Now multiply that by the dozens or hundreds of non-converting products hiding in your catalog. For many e-commerce businesses, 20-40% of their Shopping budget goes to products that will never generate a sale.
This guide will help you identify zero-conversion products, understand why they're not converting, and decide when to pause, optimize, or (occasionally) keep running them. For a broader view of wasted ad spend, see our comprehensive guide.
What Are Zero-Conversion Products?
A zero-conversion product is any item in your Shopping campaign that has:
- Received clicks (users are seeing and clicking your ads)
- Spent budget (you're paying for those clicks)
- Generated zero sales (none of those clicks resulted in purchases)
The Core Problem
Zero-conversion products have a 0% conversion rate but a 100% cost rate. Every dollar spent on them is a dollar that could have gone to products that actually sell.
Important distinction: Zero-conversion products are different from products with zero impressions. Products not getting impressions have visibility problems (disapprovals, low bids, feed issues). Zero-conversion products are getting visibility—they're just not converting. These require different solutions. If your products aren't showing at all, see our guide on fixing products with no impressions.
The True Cost of Zero-Conversion Products
Most advertisers underestimate how much zero-conversion products actually cost them. It's not just the direct spend—there are opportunity costs too.
Direct Costs
Calculate your direct waste by filtering your product report for items with Cost > 0 and Conversions = 0:
| Scenario | Monthly Waste | Annual Waste |
|---|---|---|
| 50 products × $3/day average | $4,500 | $54,000 |
| 100 products × $2/day average | $6,000 | $72,000 |
| 200 products × $1.50/day average | $9,000 | $108,000 |
Opportunity Costs
Beyond direct waste, zero-conversion products create opportunity costs:
- Budget displacement: Money spent on non-converters can't go to products that do convert.
- Campaign learning: Google's algorithms optimize toward conversions, especially with automated bidding strategies. Zero-conversion products dilute the signal.
- ROAS dilution: Your overall ROAS is dragged down by products that contribute cost but no revenue.
- Management time: Large catalogs with many non-converters are harder to analyze and optimize. Products that convert but poorly fall into the low-performing products category and need different handling.
Why Products Don't Convert
Before taking action on a zero-conversion product, understand why it's not converting. The cause determines the solution.
1. Pricing Problems
The most common cause. If your price is significantly higher than competitors, users click to compare but buy elsewhere.
How to check: Review price competitiveness data in Merchant Center. Products with "High" price gaps are conversion risks.
Solution: Adjust pricing, add value (bundles, free shipping), or reduce bids to account for lower conversion likelihood. See our price competitiveness guide for detailed strategies.
2. Poor Product Listings
Weak titles, low-quality images, or missing product information reduce trust and conversion rates.
Signs: Low click-through rates combined with zero conversions suggest the listing attracts clicks but disappoints on the landing page.
Solution: Improve product titles, upgrade images, add complete product attributes.
3. Landing Page Issues
The product ad might be fine, but the landing page fails to convert. Common issues:
- Slow page load times (especially on mobile)
- Poor mobile experience
- Complicated checkout process
- Missing trust signals (reviews, security badges)
- Product out of stock or different from ad
Solution: Audit landing pages for conversion blockers. Test on mobile devices.
4. Wrong Audience
Products may be shown for irrelevant search queries, attracting clicks from users who never intended to buy.
How to check: Review the Search Terms report for products with high spend and zero conversions.
Solution: Add negative keywords to block irrelevant traffic.
5. Insufficient Data
Some products genuinely haven't had enough clicks or time to convert. This is especially true for:
- New products (less than 30 days of data)
- Low-traffic items (fewer than 50-100 clicks)
- High-consideration purchases (expensive items with longer buying cycles)
Solution: Be patient. Set minimum thresholds before evaluating.
6. Conversion Tracking Issues
Occasionally, products are converting but the conversions aren't being tracked. This happens with:
- Broken conversion tracking pixels
- Cross-device conversions not attributed
- Phone orders not tracked
- Attribution windows too short
Solution: Audit your conversion tracking setup. Check for tracking errors in Google Ads.
The Decision Framework: Pause, Optimize, or Wait
Not every zero-conversion product should be paused immediately. Use this framework to make data-driven decisions.
When to Pause Immediately
Pause products that meet ALL these criteria:
- Spend threshold exceeded: Cost > 3x your target CPA (e.g., if target CPA is $25, pause at $75+ spend)
- Time threshold exceeded: 45+ days with zero conversions
- No fixable issues: Price is competitive, listing is good, landing page works
Quick Decision Rule
If a product has spent 3x your target CPA over 45+ days with zero conversions and no obvious fixable issues, pause it. You've given it a fair chance.
When to Optimize First
Optimize before pausing when you identify a specific fixable issue:
| Issue Identified | Action | Re-evaluate After |
|---|---|---|
| Price 15%+ above benchmark | Adjust price or reduce bids | 30 days |
| Poor product title | Rewrite with key attributes | 30 days |
| Low-quality images | Replace with better images | 30 days |
| Irrelevant search queries | Add negative keywords | 14-21 days |
| Landing page issues | Fix page speed/mobile/UX | 30 days |
When to Wait
Keep running products that:
- Haven't hit thresholds: Spend is below 2x CPA or runtime is under 30 days
- Are new: Products launched within the last 30 days need time
- Are high-ticket: Items over $500 may have 60-90 day consideration cycles
- Show positive signals: High CTR, good engagement metrics, assisted conversions
Important: Conversion Lag
Google Ads conversion attribution can take 7-30 days. Recent data always looks worse than reality. Use 30-60 day lookback windows for accurate analysis. Learn more in our conversion lag guide.
How to Find Zero-Conversion Products
In Google Ads
- Navigate to your Shopping campaign
- Click Products in the left sidebar
- Set date range to Last 30 days (or 60 for more accuracy)
- Add filter: Conversions = 0
- Add filter: Cost > 0
- Sort by Cost descending
- Export for analysis
Key Metrics to Evaluate
For each zero-conversion product, review:
- Total cost: How much has been spent?
- Clicks: How many clicks (sample size)?
- CTR: Are people interested? (High CTR + zero conversions = landing page or price issue)
- Impression share: Is it getting visibility?
- Avg. CPC: Is the cost per click reasonable for the product value?
- Days active: How long has this product been running?
Tracking this manually across hundreds of products is time-consuming. Tools like SKU Analyzer automatically surface zero-conversion products with the metrics you need to make decisions, combining Google Ads performance data with Merchant Center product information.
Taking Action: Pause vs. Exclude vs. Bid Adjustment
Option 1: Pause the Product Group
What it does: Temporarily stops ads for that product. Easy to reverse.
When to use: You want to stop the bleeding while you investigate or plan fixes. Good for seasonal products you'll bring back.
How: In Google Ads, find the product group and set status to Paused.
Option 2: Exclude the Product
What it does: Removes the product from the campaign entirely using inventory filters.
When to use: You're confident the product shouldn't advertise—low margin, consistently fails, or not a priority.
How: Update inventory filters in campaign settings, or use custom labels to segment excluded products.
Option 3: Reduce Bids Significantly
What it does: Keeps the product eligible but at minimal spend.
When to use: You want to maintain some visibility for discovery while limiting waste. Good for products you're testing price changes on.
How: Set a very low manual bid or move to a separate campaign with minimal budget.
Setting Up Ongoing Monitoring
Zero-conversion products are a recurring problem. New products get added, market conditions change, and previously converting products can start failing. Set up systematic monitoring:
Weekly Review Process
- Export product data with cost, conversions, and key metrics
- Filter for zero conversions with cost above your threshold
- Flag products approaching your action thresholds
- Take action on products that exceed thresholds
- Track total zero-conversion spend as a KPI
Automation Opportunities
Consider automating with:
- Custom labels: Tag products by performance tier in your feed; update weekly based on rolling data
- Google Ads rules: Create rules to reduce bids on products with high cost and zero conversions
- Scripts: Google Ads scripts can automatically flag or pause products exceeding thresholds
- Third-party tools: Analytics platforms that monitor and alert on zero-conversion products
Pro Tip
Track your "zero-conversion product count" and "zero-conversion spend" as weekly KPIs. Both should trend downward over time as you systematically address the problem. If they're increasing, your monitoring isn't keeping up with new products.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a zero-conversion product in Google Shopping?
A zero-conversion product is any item that has received clicks and spent budget but hasn't generated any sales. These products are consuming ad spend without contributing revenue.
How long should I wait before pausing a zero-conversion product?
Wait at least 30 days and ensure the product has spent 2-3x your target CPA. This accounts for conversion lag and ensures statistically meaningful data. For high-ticket items, extend to 45-60 days.
What percentage of products typically have zero conversions?
In a typical account, 40-60% of products that receive clicks will have zero conversions over 30 days. However, many simply need more time or spend. The key is identifying chronic non-converters versus products still gathering data.
Should I pause or exclude zero-conversion products?
Use pausing for temporary action while investigating or when issues might be fixable. Use exclusion for permanent removal of products that consistently fail despite optimization. Pausing is easily reversible; exclusion is more deliberate.
Can zero-conversion products still provide value?
In some cases—through assisted conversions, brand awareness, or cross-device tracking gaps. However, these indirect benefits rarely justify significant spend on chronic non-converters. If a product has spent 5x+ your CPA with zero conversions, it's unlikely providing meaningful value.
Conclusion
Zero-conversion products are one of the most fixable problems in Google Shopping. The solution isn't complicated—it's consistent attention. By systematically identifying, diagnosing, and addressing non-converting products, you can recover significant budget and reinvest it in products that actually sell.
Key takeaways:
- Quantify the problem: Know exactly how many products are draining budget and how much they're costing you.
- Diagnose before acting: Understand why a product isn't converting—the cause determines the solution.
- Set clear thresholds: Define when to wait, optimize, or pause based on spend and time.
- Monitor weekly: Zero-conversion products are a recurring problem that needs ongoing attention.
- Track improvement: Measure zero-conversion spend as a KPI and aim to reduce it over time.
Every dollar you recover from zero-conversion products can be reinvested in winners—improving both your ROAS and total revenue.