What Is Champions and Wasters?
Also written as champions vs wasters, product labels, wasters.
Definition
Champions and wasters are product labels. A champion is a product that sells well at a healthy return. A waster spends ad money and does not pay it back. For an ecommerce store, splitting the feed this way stops one blended ROAS from hiding the products that drain the account.
Written by Christopher Krassnig, Founder & CEO of ZenoX Media. Written by the ZenoX team from the accounts we run. Definitions are general; the numbers in examples are maths, not client results.
Champions and Wasters, Explained
Google will spend across the catalog unless you tell it which products deserve the budget. A champion has high return and enough clicks to prove it. A waster has enough clicks and a poor return. In between sit potentials (not enough data yet) and sleepers (good return, not enough clicks). Those four labels, often written as custom labels in the feed, let you treat products in separate groups, not as one pile.
The mistake is judging the whole account on one ROAS number. A few champions can hide a long tail of wasters. You then scale the campaign and the extra budget lands on the drainers. Split them. Give champions room. Move wasters into a smaller Standard Shopping campaign, or cut them from the main feed, so Performance Max spends on products that actually sell.
Do not relabel on a single day of data. A product needs enough spend and enough time to earn the name. A new SKU with ten clicks is not a waster yet. It is unproven. Wait for a real sample, then act.
How We Use It at ZenoX
We split feeds into champions, potentials, sleepers, and wasters on the 200+ ecom accounts we run. Champions stay in the main feed-only Performance Max. Wasters go to a smaller Standard Shopping campaign. We do not scale a blended ROAS. We read the product labels first.
Questions People Ask About Champions and Wasters
What Are Champions and Wasters in Google Ads?
They are labels on products, not campaign types. A champion sells at a healthy return with enough clicks to prove it. A waster spends money and does not earn it back. Stores use these labels, usually as custom labels in the feed, so winners get budget and drainers do not sit inside one blended ROAS.
What Should I Do with Waster Products in Google Shopping?
Stop letting them share the main Performance Max budget with your champions. Move them to a smaller Standard Shopping campaign, or take them out of the main feed, once they have had a fair sample of spend. Do not cut a new product after a handful of clicks. No data is not the same as a waster.
Related terms
- Custom LabelA custom label is a free-text field on your product feed that you fill with values you choose, such as margin tier or performance bucket.
- Standard Shopping CampaignA Standard Shopping campaign is the older Google Ads campaign type that shows product ads from your Merchant Center feed on Google Shopping and Search.
- Feed-Only Performance MaxFeed-only Performance Max is a Performance Max campaign built from your product feed, with no extra headlines or videos from you.
- Listing GroupA listing group is a filter that says which products in your Merchant Center feed can serve inside a campaign or asset group.
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