Should we be deleting old unsold products? (and other newbie questions)

[Zee]

Does that help or hurt zrank?  I have some old ones from when I was still learning how to post listings that have never sold and I was thinking of deleting but I don't' know if it will hurt my rank in any way.

Also, is there a strategy to nesting categories?  It seems the more levels deep they go the more confusing the navigation would be.  I was thinking of removing all category folders within other category folders and making them all top level (if that makes sense).  Is there a certain number of top folders that are recommended not to go past?  Like would 10 be too much?  15? 

And last question, what does editor's pick mean?  Does it mean the product was showcased at one point or just picked to have the tag on the listing page? 

[Windy]

I can't see your store, so I don't know how "new" you are, but I would say delete those practice products if you do not LIKE them. If you like them, optimize them and promote them and give them another chance. Time can be your friend. I don't pay much attention to Z rank because no one knows how it's formulated. If you want to worry about it, there's plenty of time to try to tweak it in the future. First order of business is to create a large gallery of items you are proud of. Many people here say that magic threshold number is one thousand products. 

[Zee]

Is that 1000 products per store?  Or per account?  I have no where near that many.  As far as new, I started 2 years ago, got overwhelmed and confused, abandoned it, and now I'm back with a simi-plan and wanted to tidy things up and try again.  So I have "old" products, but I'm still a "newbie" as far as experience goes.  There's still so much I don't really know yet.

[Windy]

That matches my experience, except I started in 2005. I have had at least four false starts, maybe double that. At this point, I now at least know how the place works, and I am nearing my 1000 products. I think that's per designer, not per store. I am not even sure why people in the forums recommend this particular number, but apparently many people really did not see many sales until having a catalogue that large. 

[Deseades]

I am actually living proof that 1000 products threshold is a myth;) Once I reached it, my sales actually has almost stopped! I am still new here so I know that it takes time, but I seriously have no idea how the Z sales algorithm works;)

[PacifierCity]

@Zee Editor's picks are chosen by Z staff.  It is an honor to get one.  They used to stick forever, but recently they adapted the program so that EP's will change every now and then.  We've been told they will be chosen for Z promotional efforts and/or seasonal campaigns. 

The 1000 product marker is an interesting one... only because it often takes making that many products to get a handle on what one is doing at Z, IMO.  But having that many products in internet land does help bring attention to what you are doing.  So I would say overall.  I have one store with close to 3,000 and 3 with 200 - 500.  I also have 1 store that should be disbanded but I let it struggle along just to see shat happens to it...lol.

As far as nesting categories... that is a tough one.  There are many high level designers who nest and nest well.  They probably drive traffic to there stores and actually have traffic going to there store fronts.  Something most of us don't have.  Many people actually us categories and sub categories simply to help them find their own products... so there is that too.

zRank is indeed a mystery.  Most of us believe that sales, sales to product ratio, driving traffic to your products, and views help it rise.  Though there is no clear guide as to how it works.  You need a 4 or higher to be seen in the MP.  So as long as you have at least a 4, your heading in the right direction.

- Do a search for ... wedding invites in the MP.  Open a few of the ones found on the top page and go to that designers store.  See if there level (pro, bronze, silver....platinum) is listed.  Find a few that are diamond, platinum, even gold and poke around and see how they set up there stores...  Do so with the understanding that how the store is set up now, is not how they started...  But where they ended up over time.  Many of those folks have 10's of 1000's of products.

Just my thoughts,

PC

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[Zee]

Thanks!  I just need to jump in, add products, and stop overthinking things.  I actually do want to delete a bunch of older products so if it's not going to negatively effect my store in any way then I'll go ahead with it.  I want to put fresh designs up and I'm spreading out to other stores this time.  I'll get to 1000 eventually but in the meantime I'm not going to worry about it and just take it day by day.  I wish I would have been consistent from day one but zazzle is very confusing when you first try to tackle it.  Digging though other stores is good advice, I need to do that.  I'm sure I can learn a lot about how to structure and organize my store by looking at how others have organized theirs.  I wasn't sure if there were any basic rules like never more than 9 categories visible on a page or something like that.  But things seem to be very flexible here.  And very mysterious with the zrank thing.

[PacifierCity]

@ZeeYep, get your feet wet.  Have fun.  Play around a bit.  Explore the MP and other designers stores.  Follow their links and look at their websites, blogs, social accounts.  Focus on Titles tags and descriptions for the products you create.  Make products and then promote them.

Deleting lots of products in a day can bring your zRank down.  Best to do it a little bit at a time.  If you create 10, delete 10... or delete 10 one week, wait a week or two and then delete some more.  As everything at Z has to index, and that can take a day when things a functioning properly, or a week when things are all bogged down, it is generally a good idea not to delete a 100 products in a day... and maybe not in a single week.  But do so slowly and in balance with what you create.  It is also not the best idea to create 100 products in a day... the algo that monitors things probably would not believe that you could create 100 high quality products in a day and it would throw the other metrics used for zRank out of balance.  You would probably lose a point.  But if you had 50,000 products, that advise might not apply exactly the same... does that make sense?

And here another kicker... some high level designers don't have much organization when it comes to categories, but utilize collections very well.

This platform can be utilized in a variety of ways, so there is no clear path to follow that will equal success for everyone.  Which is a great thing... but can be frustrating none the less.

Happy designing, Happy sales,

PC

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[chefcateringbiz]

You can have 1 design on 100 products, so that 1000 isn't going to count for much if you do it that way. Many designs on just a few products would be my goal; Some affiliates won't promote you if you have less than 1000 in your store, or if your store is all over the place. It actually is a thing. Not the whole thing, but some of the thing.

[chriiisss]

when you click on the word zrank, zazzle says:

... 

• Review. Frequently review your public products and delete (or set to hidden) any products that are no longer relevant, haven't been updated recently, or haven't been viewed or purchased. Having a lot of products that aren't popular will negatively impact your zRank. ...

so, yes! in my opinion you must act accordingly

From my experience, deleting or hiding unpopular products only benefited my zrank. A few days ago, I thought: why is it that my sales went up in April and are stable and my z rank didn't go up? so i hid about 30 articles and my zrank went up the next day, coincidence? maybe, but I prefer not to have items that don't have high sales potential.

good luck! 🙂