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Understanding Netcore Unbxd Promotions
To customize product placement in Search Results Pages (SRPs), retailers can leverage the Promotions section under merchandising in the Netcore Unbxd Self Serve Console. This feature allows businesses to strategically control and prioritize the visibility of products based on their marketing goals.
1. Boost products
Giving a boost to certain products lets you place high-priority items at the top of search results for specific queries.
For example:
- An outdoor gear store could display “insulated water bottles” as a top result when users search for “camping essentials.”
- When new arrivals like “designer handbags” are introduced, merchandising rules can prioritize them in search results to give them visibility, even if they haven’t yet accumulated sales data.
2. Bury products
You can exclude certain products from search results to maintain relevance if they are irrelevant to specific queries. For instance, in a beauty store’s search for “vegan,” products containing animal-based ingredients can be hidden.
3. Pin products
Pinning allows you to fix selected products in specific positions within search results, ensuring that high-priority items are always visible to shoppers.
For example:
- A fashion retailer can pin their latest seasonal collection, like “winter coats,” to the top of search results when customers search for “outerwear,” ensuring that trending items are highlighted.
- For a grocery store’s search for “organic snacks,” pinning popular, high-margin products ensures these items are always seen first, regardless of other search results.
4. Slot products
Slotting enables you to assign particular products to a fixed rank within search results, allowing for strategic placement based on shopper intent and merchandising goals.
For example:
- An electronics store could slot popular items, like “noise-canceling headphones,” in the first few positions for searches related to “headphones,” ensuring they stay prominent among options.
- A furniture store can position specific items, like “ergonomic office chairs,” in visible positions for “home office furniture” searches, maintaining high visibility for top-performing products.
5. Sort listing page
Sorting enables you to organize search results based on a chosen attribute. You can display products in ascending or descending order for numerical attributes, while text-based attributes allow for alphabetical sorting from A-Z or Z-A. By default, products appear in order of relevance to best match your shoppers’ search intent.
For example:
- For categories like electronics or furniture, sort items by price to show products from lowest to highest, helping price-sensitive shoppers make quick comparisons.
- For lists with brand names or product types, an alphabetical A-Z or Z-A order will allow shoppers to navigate quickly, especially if they’re looking for specific brands or product lines.
6. A/B Testing
Experiment with different merchandising tactics by showing alternative versions of search results to different shopper segments. Analyze which configurations drive the highest engagement and conversions.
For example:
- Test different placements for new arrivals versus best-sellers to see which increases engagement.
- Compare conversion rates between displays that prioritize high-margin items vs. popular products.
7. Landing Pages
Create custom landing pages tailored to specific search queries, seasonal themes, or promotions. Dedicated landing pages enhance the shopping experience by gathering relevant products in one spot.
For example:
- For “Back to School,” create a landing page showing backpacks, stationery, and lunch bags.
- For “Mother’s Day Gifts,” curate a landing page with gift recommendations across multiple categories.
Types of rules you can configure in the Promotions section
It is applied universally across all queries and segments, ensuring consistent promotional strategy throughout the site.
- Only one Global Rule can exist per site.
- The Global Rule impacts all site search queries.
- It is automatically created when a site is set up.
- Only Boost/Bury or Filter merchandising strategies can be applied through the Global Rule.
Query-specific merchandising rules allow you to customize promotions for specific queries or segments, offering a more targeted approach to shopper engagement. With Query-specific rules, you can design your merchandising strategies using one or a combination of these options:
- Boost/Bury: Increase or decrease product visibility.
- Sort: Arrange products based on specific criteria.
- Pin: Fix key products at any exact position from 1 to 50.
- Slot: Assign multiple products to predefined positions in a single go.
- Filter: Exclude or include products from a superset.
In terms of product display order, query-specific rules take priority over the global rule.
For example, suppose you have a Global Rule that boosts the visibility of “Summer Dresses” across all search queries. However, for the query “Winter Sale,” you apply a Query-Specific Rule to bury “Summer Dresses” because they are irrelevant for winter promotions. In this case, the Query-Specific Rule for “Winter Sale” will take precedence, and “Summer Dresses” will be hidden in the search results for that query, even though the Global Rule boosts them.
Navigate to the Promotions section
- Login to Netcore Unbxd’s self-serve console ↗
- From the Site Key Picker, click the site you want to apply a merchandising strategy.
- After selecting the appropriate site key, navigate to Merchandising.
- Hover over Search and click Promotions.
Promotions overview page
After navigating to the Promotions section, you will end up in the Promotions overview page. Via this page, you can,
- Edit and publish the Global Rule
- Add query-specific merchandising rule
- Edit existing campaigns
- Publish draft campaigns to the live site
- View a comprehensive list of all campaigns
- View summary of campaign rules
- Duplicate existing campaigns
- Apply the same rule to additional queries
- Create new campaigns for the same query
- Stop active campaigns when necessary
- Preview how the site will look with the campaign changes
- Bulk upload promotions for efficiency
- Import campaigns from one site to another
- Export existing campaigns via email
- Access campaign performance data
To view a comprehensive list of all your launched campaigns, select the site key, click Merchandising, navigate to Search, and then Promotions.
Key information on the campaign list
- Campaigns are grouped by query. If multiple campaigns are set for the same query, they will appear in the same row of that query.
- Details available on each listing:
- The campaign’s date range
- The segment it’s applied to
- Its current status (Active, Upcoming, Draft, Stopped, or Expired)
- Whether it’s a Merchandised Page or a Landing Page
- Analytical data on the campaign performance
- Log in to Netcore Unbxd’s self-serve console ↗
- In the Site Key Picker, select the site where you want to apply the merchandising strategy.
- Once the site is selected, go to the Merchandising section.
- Hover over Search and click Promotions.
- You’ll be directed to the Promotion overview page, where you can view a list of all campaigns—draft, live, upcoming, and expired.
- Use the search bar to find the campaign you want by entering the associated query.
- You can also apply filters to narrow your search and quickly locate the campaign. You can filter campaigns based on the following criteria:
- Status – Active, Upcoming, Draft
- Page Type – Merchandising, Landing Page
- Created On – Date range
- Created By – The user who created the campaign
- Segment – Associated Segment
- Collection – Associated collections
- After selecting your desired options, click Apply Filters.
The listing page will now display only the items that match the filters you have applied.
If you have created a Promotions campaign and saved it as a draft or want to make changes to a live campaign, you can follow the steps below to publish it on the live site.
- Locate the campaign you wish to modify.
- Click the Edit icon to open the campaign.
- Review the campaign details and make necessary edits to the rules by clicking the Edit icon next to the respective rule or condition.
- After verifying all the changes, click Publish rule to make the campaign live.
To view the summary of a specific campaign, locate the campaign in the list and click the Eye icon at the far-right end of the row.
Sometimes, you may want to apply the same rules to additional queries without duplicating the entire campaign. For instance, if you’ve set up a campaign to hide out-of-stock products, it might be beneficial to include other high-performing queries under the same campaign.
To do this:
- Locate the campaign you wish to modify.
- Click the More options icon next to the existing query.
- Select + Apply same rule to more queries from the dropdown.
- In the popup window, enter the additional queries in the Add Queries section. Separate multiple queries with a comma.
- Press Enter to confirm.
- Review the added queries and click Apply Changes.
Now, all the rules defined for the original query in the campaign will also apply to the newly added queries.
It allows you to manage and prioritize multiple promotions or strategies for a single search term. Here’s why you might want to do this:
- Segment-specific targeting: Tailor campaigns to different audience segments (e.g., new vs. returning customers) for the same query to deliver personalized experiences.
- Time-bound promotions: Create separate campaigns for short-term events (like flash sales) while maintaining an evergreen campaign for the same query.
- Diverse objectives: Address different goals, such as promoting new arrivals while also pushing best-sellers for the same search term.
- Flexibility in prioritization: Set up campaigns with different priority levels to ensure the most critical rules take precedence based on the timing or business need.
Options to achieve this in the Netcore Unbxd console:
- Duplicate an existing campaign
- Create a new campaign for the same query
Key Difference: When duplicating a campaign, all existing rules and conditions are carried over, saving you time. However, when creating a new campaign for the same query, only the query is pre-selected, and you must configure all rules and conditions from scratch.
- Locate the campaign you wish to modify.
- Click the More Options icon at the far-right end of the row.
- Select Duplicate Rule.
- A copy of the respective campaign will be created and opened.
- Apart from the query, you can edit and change every other section.
- It is mandatory not to have overlapping date ranges for two campaigns with the same query if the target segments are the same. It is advised to change the same to avoid errors in saving or publishing. Learn how to setup the merchandising strategy.
- Once satisfied, you can
- Click the Save button to retain the Campaign as a draft.
- Click the Publish rule button to push it live.
Learn why to create multiple campaigns for the same query.
To do this:
- Locate the campaign you wish to modify.
- Click the More options icon next to the query.
- Choose Add Another Campaign from the menu.
- Configure the new campaign as per your requirements.
- Once done, you can
- Click the Save button to retain the Campaign as a draft.
- Click the Publish rule button to push it live.
- Locate the campaign you wish to stop from being live.
- Click the More Options icon at the far-right end of the row.
- Select Stop promotions and then click Stop.
- Locate the campaign you wish to preview.
- Click the More options icon at the far-right end of the row.
- Select Search preview.
You’ll be directed to the preview site, where you can review both the campaign results and its details for quick verification.
You can bulk upload Promotion rules using a JSONL file. To do this:
- Navigate to the More Options button at the top and select Bulk Upload Promotions.
- Upload the file by either dragging and dropping it or clicking Upload File.
- If you want to override existing rules, check the corresponding option.
- Once the upload is complete, the imported Promotions will appear on the Overview page.
If you manage multiple sites—such as dev, stage, and prod—and want to replicate campaigns from one site to another, you can use the Import option.
To import campaigns:
- Navigate to the More Options button at the top and select Import Rule.
- Choose the Source Site from which you want to import the rule.
- Select the query for which you want to import campaigns.
- The system will retrieve the campaigns, their duration, and the segment they were set for. Review the list and check the campaigns you want to import.
- Click Import to complete the process.
- If you import campaigns that conflict with existing ones, the system will override the campaigns at the target site.
- For all other cases, new campaigns will be created for the imported query at the target site.
You can export all your existing campaigns via email for easy access.
To export campaigns:
- Click the More Options button at the top and select Export to Email.
- Once initiated, you will receive an email containing all your campaign data as a JSONL file within 10 minutes.
Overall campaign performance
On the Promotion overview page, you can find the performance of each campaign.
Product specific performance
- Locate the Campaign: Find the campaign you want to analyze for product-specific performance.
- Open Quick Preview: Click the Eye icon next to the campaign to access the Quick Preview page.
- Access More Options: In the top-right corner of the preview page, click the More Options button.
- Enable Performance Metrics:
- Site Performance: Activate to evaluate how a specific product contributed to your site’s overall performance.
- Query Performance: Activate to analyze how effectively a product appears and performs for the selected merchandised search query.
- Once enabled, performance metrics for each product will be displayed in the preview.
For more comprehensive performance reports, navigate to the Reports section in your console.
- Locate the campaign you wish to delete.
- Navigate to the More options icon at the far-right end of the row.
- Click Delete Rule and confirm Delete.
The Quick Preview section is customizable to help you better visualize and analyze your merchandising strategies. Access these options by clicking the More Options button in the top-right corner:
- Performance Metrics
- Site Performance: Displays key metrics such as clicks, add-to-cart actions, and orders for each product, showing how every product contribute to the site’s overall performance.
- Query Performance: Highlights product-level metrics like clicks, add-to-cart actions, and orders specific to the merchandised search query.
- Insights
- View campaign-level performance insights, providing an overall assessment of how the campaign is performing.
- Display Settings
- List View: Switches the preview to display products in a vertical list format, one after the other.
- Grid View: Displays products in a grid format. You can adjust the number of products displayed per row to mirror the layout of your live site.
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