Impact of Cookie-less Tracking on Digital Marketing

Cookie-less tracking involves gathering data and insights about users without using website cookies. Digital marketers, businesses, and advertisers are using this method due to restrictions and privacy regulations by Google Chrome and other companies.

Google announced phasing out third-party cookies in June 2021. The deadline decided then was in late 2023 which was pushed back to 2024. Chrome begin restricting third-party cookies of 1% of users in early 2024. 

Chrome announced to give consumers more choices regarding cookies. It’s because consumers are getting more and more concerned about privacy. Although marketers use other digital advertising options, they must adopt new technologies prioritizing privacy. 

The first company that eliminated third-party cookies was Apple. Apple eliminated these cookies from Safari due to privacy concerns and requires applications to get user permission before collecting data about their activities. Then comes Mozilla’s Firefox which started blocking third-party cookies in 2019 for privacy concerns. 

Invented in 1994, cookies became an integral part of paid media marketing and advertising technology. First-party cookies are used to save user’s preferences on the website. Third-party cookies are used to track consumers’ habits by creating their profiles. Where first-party cookies are to enhance user experience, third-party cookies are essential to track and personalized advertising.

What are Cookies and Why do They Matter?

When you open a website, you might see a pop-up notification stating that they are cookies. These cookies are bit-size data stored as a text file in a browser. They allow websites to track customer behavior and customer browsing experience. 

Website cookies are not only used for tracking users across websites and devices but also for core website functions such as remembering login details, location settings, preferred language, shopping carts, etc. 

The digital advertising industry uses third-party cookies to help serve more relevant ads to users and therefore shrae this information between multiple websites. The cookie sync process helps smooth data sharing between websites. 

Third-party cookies are created by websites such as ad serving or live chat platforms that receive a request to provide third-party service for another website.

‍Why Are Third-Party Cookies Bad?

Vendors set third-party cookies to create user profiles according to their online behavior and activities. However, even the companies you haven’t heard of can set these cookies too. In other cases, websites even sell user data to third-party data management platforms, making the use of this website a sensitive place to visit. Nobody wants a collection of their data to go for unauthorized use. 

Moreover, third-party cookies have become ineffective for advertisers to target users. Users spread across multiple connected devices, using them interchangeably, making it difficult for third-party cookies to track a full customer journey.

 Advertiser recipes incorrect view of performance by these cookies. This issue causes a waste of resources as users don’t enjoy a seamless experience with incorrect cookies.

The shift away from cookie-less tracking is not new. There are growing concerns over user privacy and data security among users of different browsers.  There’s a broader trend of enhancing online privacy and browsers have already implementing it for some time. 

What is the Impact of Cookie-less Tracking on Digital Marketing?

Since profiles cannot be established or accessed without cookies, it is hard to collect customer data. After Google announced cookie-less tracking, marketers were concerned about tracking the right data. Now they have to adjust their strategies to use consumer-provided data in the right way. 

In first-party data, instead of tracking users by their devices, marketers gather information directly from customers using websites and apps, making it more authentic and reliable.

The Impact on Digital Marketing

The era of cookie-less traffic discovers a new landscape for digital marketers. There is a major shift towards privacy-focused first-party data strategies. Let’s explore how this change will affect digital marketing operations and tactics. 

Advertisers have to make strategies that rely on first-party data to target and perosnalize while focusing more on building direct relations with customers. They have to design new strategies for their customers such as loyalty programs, personalized experiences, and newsletters.

Impact on Business Operations

There’s a boost in the importance of data management for businesses as they have to effectively collect and utilize first-party data. Now businesses need to improve their data management capabilities including data management platforms, CRMs, and data warehouses. 

Businesses also have to adhere to privacy laws and regulations. They have to ensure that data collection must be transparent and according to privacy policies by GDPR and CCPA.

The cookie-less traffic will drive businesses to explore new technologies for ad targeting and customer tracking. These methods include consent-based universal IDs, predictive analytics, contextual advertising, etc.

Conclusion

Cookie-less tracking is worrisome to many, yet we cannot deny the fact that it enables us to collect audience insights when a user rejects cookies or the site does not support cookies.