Everyone who uses the internet is probably familiar with cookies. You click on a site and begin scrolling, only to have a third of the screen taken up with a message that says something to the effect of, “if you want to keep seeing our content, you’ll need to accept our cookies.”
Cookies are far from a minor annoyance; they’re the lifeblood of many small businesses.
When a website collects cookies, it’s collecting user data essential for marketing and optimization purposes. Determining user habits and demographics allows businesses to better tailor the experience for their customers — and potential customers. Cookies provide useful information, but they’re starting to go away.
Google plans to block third-party cookies from its ubiquitous Chrome browser. Originally scheduled for 2022, they are now making this move in 2023 because they need to “move at a reasonable pace” and “avoid jeopardizing the business models of many web publishers which support freely available content.”
Despite this delayed implementation, make no mistake: cookies are becoming a thing of the past.
The Conundrum
The frustrating part of the situation for web marketers is that users increasingly demand more personalized experiences while at the same time desiring to guard their personal information more closely. This juxtaposition seemingly binds the hands of businesses that use cookies to make their websites and advertising more targeted and refined.
What About Other Browsers?
Google Chrome accounts for 56% of the web browser market and half of the global web traffic. In terms of optimizing sites for web marketing, there may as well be no other web browsers. Whatever Google says goes, and web marketers will need to tailor their strategies to Google’s changes. However, the news isn’t all doom and gloom.
The Silver Lining
Remember, Google is banning third-party cookies, not first-party cookies. First-party cookies are responsible for remembering information like username and password, site settings, and other such user data.
There will be situations where you will need specific analytics platforms to track these basic analytics, but you can track them. You may not be able to follow all of a user’s actions online, but you will be able to see lots of pertinent information.
Third-party cookies, on the other hand, track a user’s web activity across sites — advertisers can use the places users visit, how long they stay, and their interests to target ads based on user preferences.
These are the cookies that Google is planning to phase out, a move that has been criticized as giving Google even more power over user data and more money in their pockets. With that being said, their tracking could still be something marketers can tap into.
Part of the FloC
The FloC, or Federated Learning of Cohorts, tracks groups of people collectively to keep individuals’ habits more anonymous. Advertisers will still be able to see how many people visit sites and determine how many users with common interests are worth trying to reach.
Getting Help from Net Profit Marketing
When in doubt, consult the experts. Net Profit Marketing knows how to get messages in front of receptive users, regardless of Google’s changes! Since 2009 we’ve boosted businesses like yours into the stratosphere, and we’d love to do the same for you. Contact Net Profit Marketing today; we’re ready to talk.
Leave a Reply: