My z-rank went down in every shop as well after increasing my royalty to 14% from a range of 9-15% (usually around 11% or 12%). I'm not absolutly sure the zRank drop is related, but I don't of any other action that would have triggered this.
I've had recent sales in every store and have been adding cover photos for months. I've been careful to add new products slowly, always with a cover image, and to ensure they get views before creating the next one. I refresh products periodically and promote multiple products daily. However, all of my shops are now ranked lower than they've been in years.
Given that I'm within the overall royalty guidelines, albeit perhaps not using Zazzle's "preferred" royalty, I am disheartened. I was hoping to offset all the royalty inconsistencies and discounts with a small percentage increase, but in the long run, I've inadvertently somehow shot myself in the foot. This came as a hard blow right before Christmas, and on the heels of challenges with Collections, file uploads, diminishing affiliate marketing results, et all. If our Z-rank is related to the royalty we set (and especially its still within parameters), than Zazzle needs to be more transparent about it (e.g., it's not mentioned in the zRank help article), but perhaps the two were unrelated.
I am trying to not be derailed, maintain hope, and push harder to promote products, but I'm still processing this unexpected impact and what to do about it. I'm sorry this happened to you, as well!
