Tag: google update

The death of third-party cookies was announced by Google – at least as far as its chrome web browser and ad networks. This represents a monumental change in the world of digital marketing and a step towards protecting consumer privacy. Of course, it does not mean Google is not collecting users’ data or using it to target ads. Still, it does mean that they will stop selling web advertisements targeted individuals browsing habits, and its chrome browser will prevent cookies from collecting data. 

Let’s take a step back. What are third-party cookies?

Advertising companies use them to track you as you go around surfing the internet. They build a profile of you and your interests based on the sites you visit and, through that profile, send ads that are specially tailored for you. 

Google’s third-party cookies are on millions of websites, and they provide the company with a colossal amount of information about the sites you visit. This is the engine that powers its massive ad business. However, with increasing public scrutiny and desire for greater privacy and regulators passing new privacy laws, Google has removed them.

How do Advertisers use them?

• As a Measurement Metric

Third-party cookies have been vital in enabling marketers to optimize their advertisement campaigns. They do so due to their ability to enhance the measurement of attribution capabilities. 

An example of this would be third-party cookies’ ability to track users across various platforms. Through this capability, a holistic view of the route to conversion can be seen. However, with third-party cookies phased out, these multi-platform models that marketers used to depend on heavily are now significantly less reliable.

• Targeting

Third-party cookies give marketers a wealth of information on consumer behaviour, including frequently visited websites, purchases, and interests. Through this data, advertisers can precisely target the ideal consumer and send them the perfect messages to increase traffic. 

For example, suppose a potential customer has visited a couple of different websites that sell phones over a week. In that case, an advertiser can deduce that they are interested in purchasing a mobile device. With that, the marketer can create a tailored advertisement on phones for the customer.

What will replace Third-Party Cookies?

To replace Third-Party Cookies, Google has created new privacy-first alternative technology. Enter Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC). This proposed replacement of third-party cookies groups together users with similar browsing interests.

These groups are created by anonymous data that advertisers can use to target, retarget, measure, and optimize their advertisement campaigns. According to Google’s testing, advertisers can expect up to 95% conversion through this new system.

What does all this mean for the world of marketing?

With any significant shift involving data and privacy, there are repercussions on the marketing community. Google’s privacy policies will significantly impact some keystones of digital marketing. However, many other aspects will remain unchanged and maybe even have greater importance placed on them. Here are a couple of alternatives to help ease you into the new digital marketing age after third-party cookies.

• Contextual Advertising is back. 

These are ads that are relevant to what is on a user’s screen. For example, if a user is looking for cars, car advertisements will be shown. These ads tend to come across as significantly less invasive and creepy for customers compared to third-party cookies-based behavioural retargeting. 

The move to contextual targeting will mean a return to focusing on the production and distribution of relevant content. Relevant content is essential to attract the right traffic. 

This article outlines seven tips to master the art of content writing. It emphasizes the need to have significant research on keywords and the need to incorporate a powerful Call To Action (CTA). Check it out to improve your content writing.

• First-Party Cookies are more important than ever.

A first-party cookie is a piece of code that generates when a user visits a website and is stored on its computer. Typically, this cookie is used to improve the User Experience (UX). It does so by remembering the user’s passwords, preferences, and some primary data.

Through a first-party cookie, a marketer can learn about what the user did on the website, how many times they visited the website and other basic analytics. This information can help them develop and automate a marketing strategy that is effective at targeting the user. Unfortunately, these cookies cannot access data from the user’s visits to other websites. 

Next step

To hit the ground running, businesses must have the right tools to engage in digital marketing. As a Google-Partner, MIU is constantly in the loop about updates and developments that may impact our clients. Through this, we develop tailored solutions that give an edge to our clients to ensure they can achieve their digital marketing goals. 

If you need a partner to work with you to adapt your marketing campaign in light of the phasing out of third-party cookies by Google, feel free to leave your contact details here.