---
title: Set up an Optimizely Product Recommendations campaign
slug: product-recommendations/docs/set-up-an-optimizely-product-recommendations-campaign
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-07-30T20:41:29.696Z
---

To create an Optimizely Product Recommendations campaign, click **Create a new campaign** from the **Recommendations** overview, or select the **Recommendations **>** New campaign** tab. The campaign editing page displays. The set up process involves the following steps:

1. [Configure campaign details](docId\:I76wU4NBa8N013FqRc44r)
2. [Define master rules](docId\:I76wU4NBa8N013FqRc44r)
3. [Define rules](docId\:I76wU4NBa8N013FqRc44r)
4. [Apply exclusions](docId\:I76wU4NBa8N013FqRc44r)
5. [Set up activation and preview](docId\:LxFkHfpTSmo5IqhzxZF4u)
6. [Approve campaign changes](docId\:QH76cdOUPtGi5fVI3egWD)

## Configure campaign details

In the **Details** tab, configure the main details of the Product Recommendations campaign: **name**, **location**, and **position** of the widget to which the Product Recommendations campaign is applied.

![Prodrec-details.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/QD0NXszaFJDhDZZmD4hWO-20260720-150225.png)

- **Name** – Enter a name for your campaign, such as *Product  Page Strategy *or *Brand Rule*.
- **Widget location** – Select the widget location; this is the page type where the target widget of the Product Recommendations campaign is located.
- **Widget position** – Select the widget to which this campaign is applied. The widget position drop-down lists available widgets on the selected destination page.

## Define master rules

:::hint{type="info"}
**Tip**

Setting up **Master rules** is optional.
:::

Master rules let you refine the Product Recommendations campaign effects to pages, products, or visitors. If you do not specify any master rules, the merchandising rules are applied globally across the selected widget for a campaign. If you apply a Master rule, it must be satisfied to apply product recommendation rules.

A master rule lets you define where the rule will work. For example:

- If you set up a master rule that states *r.category="category A"*, the campaign operates only on category A; other categories will not apply to the campaign.
- If you do not define a master rule (a master rule is not required), then the campaign applies to every instance of that widget. For example, if you set up a campaign on the category widget, the campaign applies to every category page, such as categories A, B, C, ... Z.

For example, you may have one product recommendation rule that recommends *products that are over $50* and another rule that recommends *products only from Brand X*. You can set a Master rule that lets only products that have *at least 10 items in stock* be displayed (for the over $50 rule, or the Brand X rule).

Examples of **Master rules** frequently used:

| Use case                                                                                                  | Master rule                                                                   |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Recommend only products from the same brand as the current product being viewed.                          | Brand **equals to** and type the brand name in the Search field.              |
| Recommend a specific product SKU when a specific product is viewed (override with a hand-picked product). | Ref Codes **equals to** and type the product SKU.                             |
| Only recommend products above a specific price when a user views a product above a certain price.         | Sale Price **greater than or equals** and type in the price (such as **25**). |
| Do not recommend discounted products when a user is viewing a full-priced product.                        | Discount **equals to** False.                                                 |

1. To add a Master rule, select the product attribute for your products from the drop-down list. The attributes are based on the product feed, plus a few attributes that Optimizely creates by default. If you do not see your desired attribute, add it to your product feed.
2. Select the condition you want in your rule. For attributes with a text value, such as **Color** or **Brand**, choose between **equals **or **NOT equals to**. For attributes with a numeric value, such as **Sale price** or **Unit price**, you also can use comparison operators like **greater than** or **less than**.
3. In the text field, enter the attribute's value to be evaluated. A drop-down list shows values for most attributes when you click the text field. You also can start typing in the box to filter the results. Click a value to select it. Numeric values (such as prices) do not have a pre-populated list; enter the value manually.

   ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/UXaoGJxYwKFkm7mY6BYLC-20260720-150225.png" size="100" alt="Prodrec-master-rules.png" isUploading="false" showCaption="false"}

:::Paragraph{indent="1"}
You can add multiple rules by clicking the **Add group** or **+**. When using multiple rules, you can choose how you want them to interact by setting the **AND** or **OR** operator.
To remove a rule, click **X**.
Click **Toggle advanced** to view and edit the code directly.
:::

## Define rules

Create and configure the rules to apply to your widget's product recommendations. You can apply a rule to positions in the widget. You can also create different rules for each position or leave a position blank to show the default output of the Optimizely algorithms.

![Prodrec-recommendation-rules.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/U2NHUTai9VuKXY0Q7zgPA-20260720-150225.png)

- Click **Merchandising rule** to add another recommendation rule for a broader range of products, such as *any product with more than 10 units available*. Only products that match the recommendation rule and the Optimizely algorithms are displayed.
- Click **Hand-pick rule** to create a rule that overrides the recommendation rule when a specific product is viewed. The product recommendations are displayed regardless of the recommendation rule and the Optimizely algorithms.
- Use the drop-down fields to add the required criteria for the product recommendations in the same way as you would for a Master rule.
- You can add more than one criterion in the same rule by using **+** and the **AND** and **OR** operators.
- After setting up your rule, drag and drop the rule number to the required position in the widget where you want it applied. The following image shows rule 1 applied to product position 1, rule 2 applied to product positions 2 and 3, and rule 3 applied to position 4. You can apply the same rule to more than one product position. If you want the same rule to apply to products in a widget, click **Apply to all**.
- You can add multiple rules to the same Product Recommendations campaign if you want to apply different rules to different positions in the same widget. For example, you can apply rules for the first product to have a sale price of **25.00** or more, the second product between **15.00** and **24.99**, and the third product under **15.00**. To add another rule, click **+**.
- Click the currency code to select another currency code from the resulting menu.

  ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/G63230D1gvDcL2eHYHx07-20260720-150225.png" size="100" alt="Prodrec-currency-selector.png" isUploading="false" showCaption="false"}
- Click **Toggle Advanced** (down arrow or up arrow) to enter the coding manually.

  ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/UMuu_vBhYzVw5ptgKXWzQ-20260720-150225.png" size="100" alt="Prodrec-code-behind.png" isUploading="false" showCaption="false"}

## Apply exclusions

:::hint{type="info"}
**Tip**

Exclusions are optional.
:::

Exclusions let you specify products you do not want to show in the widget (specified in the Product Recommendations campaign in the **Details** tab). For example, you set up a product recommendation rule to show products from a specific brand – *BRAND1* – but there are some products from *BRAND1* that you do not want to show.

In the search field, you can type a product SKU, refCode, or title to find the product you want to exclude from recommendations. Click the products in the results to add them to the exclusions list, and click **Finished** after you have added your exclusions.

![MerchExclusions.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/ZCTcpbscWAdusMRlVPOG5-20260720-150225.png)

See [Activate and preview](docId\:LxFkHfpTSmo5IqhzxZF4u) and [Approve campaign changes](docId\:QH76cdOUPtGi5fVI3egWD) to complete the campaign.