The tracking cookie will continue to crumble in the future. Did you know that Safari and Firefox already block tracking various cookies by default? Note that not only has Google’s famous Chrome web browser now joined this new third-party-cookie-blocking movement, the company has also announced that the company won’t roll out any alternative user-level advertising identifiers in order to replace third-party cookies.
You should know that Chrome and most Chromium-based browsers will not support third-party cookies in 2022. This change will affect everyone in the marketing and advertising industry. It is likely that traditional digital advertising and monetization methods will become less effective and may even stop working altogether, which is concerning.
Also, keep in mind that Google will instead use a technology developed from Google’s new Privacy Sandbox. One of the biggest questions on your mind might be what advertisers and marketers will do without any third-party cookies.
There is no doubt that change is coming; however, marketing will survive and live on without third-party cookies. Also, you will be happy to know that solutions are already under development.
What are Third-party Cookies?
As a marketer, you may know that third-party cookies attach to a user’s browser after they visit a site other than yours. In other words, third-party cookies are placed on a site by somebody other than the website owner (a third party) and collect user data for that third party.
This lets businesses track users around the web to better understand their habits, behaviors, and preferences.
You can use this information to target users around the web, including:
- Sending customized and personalized marketing content as well as offers to past visitors
- Delivering adverts to other users that have similar browsing interests and behaviors
Why Third-party Cookies are Going Away
You know that cookies are stored or placed on the user’s device. It is no secret that brands in all industries have long used these third-party cookies in order to track site visitors, and improve user experience. Keep in mind that many companies have already stopped using third party cookies for various reasons, meaning that the demise of cookies has started.
Note that the third-party cookies cancellation is mainly because of the users’ increasing distrust of third-party cookies. Because of cookies users find it hard to control how and where their personally identifiable information is used.
There is no doubt that users are now demanding greater privacy than ever—including more transparency, control, and choice over how businesses use their data.
How the Changes will Affect Marketers and Advertisers
Did you know that when all major web browsers, such as Chrome, stop supporting third-party cookies, setting up audience targeting as well as frequency capping will become almost impossible for 99% of users? And that is not all; cross-site audience targeting will also become obsolete.
Keep in mind that without adequate tracking capabilities, many advertisers and marketers will not be willing or ready to invest as much in online and digital advertising. In other words, brands want to show their ads to those interested in their services and products, and are often willing to pay a considerably higher price for potential customers.
However, with the decline in the value of digital advertising inventory because of lack of tracking, publishers and advertiser will need to find new and unique ways of generating revenue. For example, they may need a subscription-based payment model.
There are many ways it can play out. For example, one is that non-personalized ads may overflow the Internet. As a result, the effectiveness and efficiency of advertising campaigns (also known as ROAS) will decrease.
Third Party Cookies Alternatives and the Future of Digital Marketing
Ideally, marketers and advertisers have to start preparing now. For example, you should start looking for various alternatives to cookie tracking at the earliest. Keep in mind that if you make the mistake of waiting until the search giant has fully banned all third party cookies to learn more about alternatives to website cookies, you’ll be behind the game. Hence, your business will suffer.
While studying and researching this concept, you should ensure that you look for multiple third party cookies alternatives. It is worth noting that some of common alternatives to web cookies are looking at the user’s IP address in order to determine their location, and using Unified ID 2.0 to know more about the user’s identity. You can also analyze contextual details, and leverage information found in chat history and emails.
Final Thoughts
Although it seems pretty unsettling and scary right now for marketers, remember that third-party cookies are an old technology and you can evolve. You will probably have to use a combination of tactics.
However, moving forward, the advertising and marketing industry must not just provide more value and information to consumers from advertising, they also have to strike the right balance between profitability and privacy.
While there is less than one year left to prepare for this 3rd-party cookie cancellation, you don’t have to panic. The most important thing you should do now is to estimate the financial and other consequences for your business and then find a suitable solution that will let you maintain your digital advertising efficiency and effectiveness after 2021.
Sources
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-chrome-cookies-third-party-ads
https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/3/3/22311460/google-cookie-ban-search-ads-tracking
