Cookie Tracking 101 – November Client Insider
November 21st, 2024 by
Digital advertising targeting is changing, and it’s not as scary as it might sound.
You may have heard chatter about the “death” or deprecation of third-party cookies. Today’s Client Insider will help you better understand what this means and how it’s changing the world of digital marketing and advertising.
Background
For years, browsers have explored suppressing third-party cookie-based tracking on websites. Safari was first, and Google Chrome was expected to follow in 2025. Google, however, announced alternative plans: instead of deprecating third-party cookies, Google Chrome intends to let users make an “informed choice” about how they are tracked (there is no timeline for this).
The good news: Search Influence and our clients do not rely solely on third-party cookies for targeted advertising or tracking. For example, first-party data collected directly from interactions on a client’s website is a key component of our campaigns. This data is more reliable and privacy-compliant than third-party cookies, allowing for effective conversion tracking within the client’s digital properties.
We view the phasing out of third-party cookies as an opportunity to adopt more sustainable, privacy-friendly practices that strengthen customer relationships and trust.
Impact
Two key elements are affected:
- Targeting: Advertising platforms can still target some users based on data gathered by cookies, but it will be limited.
- Conversion Tracking: Tracking conversions in the future will require more client involvement. Your account manager will speak with you about upgrading your conversion tracking as needed.
To ensure our client campaigns remain effective, Search Influence routinely uses and explores alternative methods for tracking and targeting, such as first-party data, contextual advertising, and browser-based tracking solutions like Google’s yet-to-be-released Privacy Sandbox. See “What’s next?” below for more.
What’s the difference between first-party cookies and third-party cookies?
| First Party Cookies | Third Party Cookies | |
|---|---|---|
| What are they? | Tracking code that a website owner places on their own site. The website owner receives the data. | Tracking code for companies other than the website owner. The data is shared with the third party. |
| Examples | Google Analytics Meta Pixel Advertising Conversion Pixels / Tags |
Advertising Networks Data Companies Meta Pixel (first and third-party cookie) |
| How is the data used? | Understand your website’s visitors and user behavior; remarket to your website visitors | Drive interest-based targeting; understand user interests and behaviors across sites |
| Who collects the data? | Data is collected by the website you are currently browsing | Data is collected by other companies/websites (like ad and data platforms) that track users across multiple websites or devices |
| Are these cookies suppressed by browsers? | NOT impacted by the deprecation of cookies | Impacted by the deprecation of cookies |
What’s next?
What is Search Influence doing to keep clients’ digital ads effective?
- Targeting based on first-party data
- Leveraging other targeting that doesn’t rely on third-party cookies, including contextual targeting, addressable geo-fencing, and campaign audience retargeting
- Upgrading conversion tracking
- Staying tuned in to platform updates and adapting quickly as new options are available
What can you do?
- Maintain and grant us access to up-to-date CRM records
- Score your leads so the data can fuel your campaigns to drive more high-quality leads
- Allow access to our team to set up server-side tracking
Final thoughts
This isn’t the first major disruption to ad tech. Platforms will adapt to protect their revenue and provide effective advertising services to businesses.
Your Search Influence team is also ahead of the curve! In our almost 20 years, we’ve navigated countless industry changes and algorithm updates to serve our clients and meet their goals. Thank you for trusting us to navigate yet another change for you!
If you want to geek out with us, you can learn more about the details in this blog post.
