.jpg)
In the marketing world, cookies are more than just a delicious treat – they’re also a powerful tool, used to track website visitors, improve user experiences, and collect data for ad campaigns. Cookies on browsers are essentially snippets of code that allow marketers to learn from in-depth data about consumer behaviours. So, what happens when they disappear?
Back in 2021, Google shared its plans to eliminate third-party cookies, after the European Union began investing in Google advertising operations. By 2022, the company had announced that all third-party cookies would be removed from Chrome by the end of 2024.
As promised, Google began restricting third-party cookies by default for 1% of users, in January 2024. Now, many marketers are left wondering what a cookie-free future will mean for their campaigns, and their advertising data. So, what can we expect from a cookie-less world?
For a lot of marketing teams, third-party cookies are an excellent resource, packed with useful data and insights that help to boost the ROI of advertising campaigns. So, why phase them out? The simple answer is regulations around cookie tracking and digital data are evolving.
As consumers spend more time online, they’re expressing greater concerns about how their information is collected, stored, and used. Governments around the world have been investigating and cracking down on privacy issues for a while now. For instance, in 2019, Europe’s highest court ruled all users in the EU must actively consent to any analytics cookies used on the web.
The GDPR ruling also means websites can’t rely on implicit opt-in for user consent. That’s why so many websites now force you to actively “accept” the use of cookies. As privacy guidelines continue to evolve, third-party cookies are growing more problematic.
By phasing out third-party cookies, and implementing new “tracking protection” solutions, Google hopes to respond to the privacy concerns of both consumers and regulators. The brand has even created a new privacy-friendly alternative to third-party cookies, known as “Privacy Sandbox”, which is generally available to developers in Chrome.
Google isn’t the first or only brand to crack down on third-party cookies. Other browsers like Safari and Firefox have blocked third-party cookies by default since 2013. However, the change to Google Chrome is likely to have a bigger impact on most companies.
Chrome held around 63.55% of the browser market share in 2023, with Safari trailing behind in a distant second place, with only 20%. Once Google removes cookies from its browser, they’ll officially disappear once and for all, forcing marketers to find an alternative to third-party cookie tracking.
However, the end of third-party cookies doesn’t necessarily mean the end of tracking. Third-party cookies aren’t the only tools used for tracking users on the internet. There are various alternatives, such as Web SQL, Local Storage, and IndexedDB technologies.
Additionally, innovators like Google are already working on new solutions for privacy-friendly tracking, like new “trust tokens”. The reality is that tracking will still exist, but the strategies marketers use to collect and leverage browser data will change.
Here are a few things you should know about the end of third-party cookies, and what it means for marketers:
First, Google isn’t banning cookies completely. It’s only removing the third-party cookie on its browsers. First-party cookies, that track basic data about visitors to your website, will still work. These cookies will still be valuable to modern marketers, and customer experiences.
First-party cookies are great for remembering passwords, basic visitor data, and other preference information. They also allow companies to tap into information about what users do when they visit your website. This means you can develop more data-driven marketing and sales campaigns, based on what you know about the buyer journey.
While lost access to certain cookie data might be a worry for marketers, it’s not the only concern for digital brands. Without cookie data, users will still be able to access and customise Google Ads, using first-party cookies and Google’s Privacy Sandbox tools.
However, certain ad software and platforms reliant on third-party data will take a hit. Many ad platforms that use cookies to generate revenue will need to evolve or die. This could mean companies have fewer ways to expand and diversify their advertising strategy.
As mentioned above, the end of third-party cookies doesn’t mean the end of tracking. While Google won’t be investing in technology that tracks people at an individual level, it will still be exploring alternatives, such as the Privacy Sandbox, and solutions from FloC.
FloC technology tracks “groups” of people, rather than individuals, allowing for greater levels of privacy. Google has said it plans on making FloC-based cohorts available to its advertising consumers. So we can expect to see more tracking opportunities in the years ahead.
Since tracking won’t disappear, and privacy regulations will continue to grow, there’ll be an increasing focus on consent in the years ahead. Businesses will still need to ask for and obtain explicit permission to track customer data, even when they’re not using third-party cookies. You’ll still need to inform end-users about the technology you’re using to collect data, and how you use that data too.
This means going forward, companies may need to rethink the popups, banners, and terms and conditions sections they add to their website, based on the marketing strategies they choose. The good news is that a transparent approach to data capture should help you earn the trust of your audience.
Even if the end of third-party cookies sparks panic in some marketers, like any change, it’s also an opportunity for innovation. Browsers like Google are taking a stand for user privacy, based on changes in consumer preferences and browsing activities. As privacy laws evolve, this allows companies to rethink how they collect customer data and retain their trust.
It might be the perfect time to explore other, unique strategies for collecting insights, from using first-party cookies to sending out surveys and cultivating direct customer feedback. You might even discover new ways to build stronger relationships with your target audience.
When major changes happen in the digital marketing world, it’s easy to panic. However, the evolving landscape may not be as daunting as it appears. Marketers, advertisers, and data engineers alike are already looking for solutions to help support the future of advertising.
Plus, since third-party cookies have already been banned by numerous browsers for some time now, likely, they weren’t as valuable to your campaigns as you thought anyway. Right now, the best thing marketers can do is stay up-to-date and be ready to innovate.
Ensure you’re complying with the latest data privacy regulations and guidelines as you emerge, and consider experimenting with alternative tracking tools. You could even start setting up “Enhanced Conversions for Web”, an enhanced tracking feature that enables more accurate conversion measurements for your advertising campaigns, by capturing hashed customer data.
Alternatively, you might revitalise older marketing strategies, like contextual advertising. Although third-party data was great for placing ads in front of people that matched certain profiles, things like contextual advertising allow you to circulate ads on websites that rank for the keywords you’re targeting. You could even brainstorm other basic strategies to reach your cookies without cookies, or mass amounts of data, such as using your proprietary consumer insights.
.png)
.png)
.png)
