The digital advertising landscape is evolving rapidly, with a strong focus on enhancing user privacy. Third-party cookies are being phased out. Apple has also strengthened privacy standards with its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature in iOS 14.5, requiring apps to obtain user consent for tracking. Meanwhile, browsers like Safari and Firefox have already implemented third-party cookie blocking, setting a new standard for privacy-first browsing.
Although Google has postponed its plan to phase out third-party cookies on the Chrome browser after July 22, the future of cookies remains uncertain. Will Google revisit this decision as privacy and data tracking concerns continue to grow? If the cookieless era does arrive, what must publishers do to adapt and maintain their performance? Let’s dive into these questions in this blog post!
What are the impacts of a cookieless future to publishers?
Publishers encounter distinct challenges in a cookieless landscape. A considerable share of their revenue is derived from targeted advertising. The absence of third-party cookies may complicate advertisers’ ability to reach specific demographics. This could result in diminished advertising revenues for publishers. This situation may be especially detrimental for publishers catering to niche audiences that depend significantly on targeted advertising.
How to adapt to the change?
The impending phase-out of third-party cookies may appear to be a significant obstacle. Nevertheless, it is crucial to understand that this transition does not signify the demise of targeted advertising. Even in the absence of third-party cookies, viable alternatives exist to maintain effective targeting and advertising methodologies.
1. Leveraging first-party data
First-party data is data you collect directly from your customers and audiences through interactions with them. It includes demographics, purchase history, website activity, interactions, interests, app data, and behaviors like email clicks or article views. This data is gathered via product sales, support processes, website forms, subscriptions, surveys, and social media connections.
Source: Nestscale
Why using first-party data is the way forward
- Privacy Compliance: First-party data is collected directly from users with their consent, complying with privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA. Unlike third-party cookies, it prioritizes user control and transparency.
- Ownership and Control: First-party data is proprietary, meaning publishers own it entirely and are not dependent on third-party vendors or intermediaries for audience insights.
- Better Audience Insights: First-party data reflects direct interactions between users and a publisher’s platform, providing accurate and relevant insights.
However, more challenging to consolidate, and the reach may be more limited in comparison to third-party data. Consequently, it cannot serve as the sole solution for brands, advertisers, and publishers.
2. ID graphs
An identity graph, or ID Graph, merges data from various touchpoints to create a comprehensive customer view. This centralized dataset includes interconnected data from different channels, providing valuable insights into the audience and helping publishers recognize or infer who is on their website.
Source: xenoss.io
ID graphs provide a privacy-focused solution to third-party cookies, safeguarding user privacy while ensuring compatibility across various platforms.
- Centralized and Holistic User Profiles: ID graphs aggregate data from multiple sources—such as website interactions, mobile apps, and offline transactions—into unified, anonymized profiles
- Reduced Reliance on Third-Party Cookies: It uses deterministic (e.g., logins) and probabilistic (e.g., device signals) data to connect users across platforms.
- Privacy-First Approach: ID graphs anonymize and encrypt user data, ensuring compliance with privacy laws. Furthermore, it aligns with user preferences by using only consented data.
However, creating an identity graph requires significant expertise and financial investment.
3. Contextual targeting
Contextual advertising refers to a form of online advertising that focuses on targeting users according to the content of the websites they are actively engaging with. Rather than depending on the user’s past browsing history or behavior, the algorithms used in contextual advertising examine the keywords, themes, and overall context of the web page being accessed to present pertinent advertisements.
To test the effectiveness of contextual targeting, Exchangewire ran two Brand Pulse experiments – one with contextual targeting and one without – and then compared the difference in brand uplift. Their results showed that contextual targeting is a true solution to deliver media effectiveness.
Source: exchangewire.com
However, the difficulty associated with contextual advertising lies in the possibility that the user may not represent the target audience envisioned by the advertisers.
4. Google’s Privacy Sandbox
The Privacy Sandbox aims to protect online privacy while offering tools for businesses to thrive, replacing third-party cookies and reducing cross-site tracking to keep online content free.
Source: clickon.vn
However, critics worry about data monopolization by tech giants like Google and its impact on digital advertising strategies and user tracking methods.
In conclusion
The advertising sector is swiftly adjusting to a future without cookies and is poised to prosper through the implementation of smart, privacy-conscious targeting solutions as previously outlined. Publishers will need support from monetization partners and advertisers to find the right balance. Running concrete experiments with partners that offer cookieless monetization that is actionable – not theoretical – is essential to developing reliable revenue streams.
Pubfuture is confident in accompanying publishers to take advertising revenue to new heights regardless of whether the cookieless era takes place or not. Contact us for advice on implementing effective online advertising campaigns.
