Google is pushing back its privacy changes from 2022 to 2023. They plan to ban third party cookies which track users across multiple sites on Chrome.
Google are looking to replace these with their own ‘privacy sandbox’ system. Businesses everywhere are wondering how this will affect them and their customer reach.
What Are 3rd Party Cookies?
Cookies are trackers that use code to leave a trace when users visit a website. They can monitor users across sites to target ads and personalise these as a result of website preferences.
According to a Google blog post on 3 March 2021, the company feels that users want to have more power over their personal information and available choices about how this is used by businesses:
“Users are demanding greater privacy – including transparency, choice, and control over how their data is used – and it’s clear the web ecosystem needs to evolve to meet these increasing demands.”
Other browsers, such as Firefox and Safari, removed cookies a while back, but Google (with 64% of market share) is the most influential player.
The fact that other search engines have removed 3rd party cookies has put Google under pressure to follow suit, but it’s giving everyone a bit of breathing space by delaying until 2023.
However, it will certainly be replacing cookies with a system called the ‘privacy sandbox’. This will (according to Google) create a strategy with open standards for tracking users while protecting their privacy.
It must be noted that the privacy sandbox proposal is being challenged by the EU antitrust commission and the CMA (UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority.
This is because regulators are worried that advertising spend will become more disproportionately focussed on Google, rather than its competitors.
How Will The Google Cookie Changes Affect Your Business?
Most companies will have probably given a sigh of relief when they heard that this ban has been moved to the end of 2023. Nevertheless, getting your business prepared and set up for the changes is necessary to facilitate a smooth transition.
Google has promoted the privacy sandbox proposals as more user friendly but without destroying advertising revenue and standards. There are proposals related to how web browsers tackle spam, through to the different ways people see online ads.
Businesses will have to react to these changes in a variety of ways. One example could be that websites ask you to login, so that they can collect personal data right from the off, without consulting Google.
Also, companies might want to retarget customers through e-newsletters and social media interaction to ensure that they are attracting a new customer base while retaining existing ones.
The biggest impact is expected to be on interest-based advertising and this is where Google has suggested FLoC as an alternative.
This stands for the Federated Learning of Cohorts that Google hopes will enable businesses to target groups of people with similar interests.
Google believes this will protect individual information by monitoring ‘group’ behaviour with ‘on-device processing’ to protect people’s web browsing.
What Will The Future Look Like?
Small and medium businesses need to start preparing how they are going to maintain and increase consumer interest and loyalty.
Adapting to the challenges of the end of 3rd party cookies and being strategic in forward planning will help retain and build customer segments.
It’s also likely that businesses will need to increase their digital spend as people are spending and shopping more online.
A good way to see it is to ‘think digital first’. This could really help you and your business to find a way through that makes sense and streamlines your approach.
The following options could help your business to organise and manage the transition to a post-cookie digital world.
Managing Your Own First Party Data
In order to make the most of the data you can gain from your customers, it’s more than likely that you will need to depend a little more on customer relationships (if you don’t already) and provide a login or email access to your website or landing pages.
Customer relationships can then be made more solid through membership, e-newsletters, special email deals or social media interactions. Retargeting audiences that are already browsing your products will give you the ability to engage and draw in attentive potential consumers.
Contextual Advertising
This is targeted advertising where your business ads appear on relevant sites based on content matches. Using this form of advertising would allow your business to place PPC ads on websites that have similar keywords to your own.
Focussing on potential new customers in this way gives you the power to get your message in front of interested audiences who are looking for your services or products.
New Data Solutions
There are enhanced data systems that tap into technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence) that will help you understand and predict consumer behaviour. Software companies can provide solutions to produce predictive data to increase effective targeted advertising.
In reality, these systems can map key data touch points and formulate campaigns based on forecasting consumer performance.
Beyond 3rd Party Cookies
It’s fair to say there is no easy one-stop solution to all of this. Your business will have its own needs, strategies and challenges. It’s important that your future planning keeps what your customers need and want at its heart so that you can continue to grow and flourish.
Thinking ahead, using what works, ditching what doesn’t will undoubtedly be part of the process to begin with. Formulating better ways to communicate and interact with your customers is likely to be the best road forward for many businesses.
There is life after 3rd party cookies, it’s just how you plan for it that will matter the most