Rest assured that we’re referencing third-party cookies being tossed aside and not the popular baked treat. After Google officially announced in 2020 that it was banning website cookies from its web browser Chrome—a platform that the digital advertising industry has used to monetize content—the future of data and analytics has become less clear. To help you ease the transition, listed below are some ways your business can strategically work to conquer a cookieless future.

What are cookies?

Known as website cookies, these snippets of code are unique IDs that is assigned to website visitors. Remembering each user, the first-party website cookies collect information to deliver a more personalized experience, whereas the third-party website cookies allow brands to re-engage targeted audiences across domains for digital advertising. 

Why is Google killing website cookies?

Following suit with competitors Firefox, Safari, and Apple, Google’s browser has been pressured to step back from the use of website cookies with ongoing concerns surrounding data privacy and regulations. 

How do businesses and digital advertising companies manage a cookieless future?

While website cookies helped to underpin audience-based digital ad campaigns to allow businesses to retarget and reach lookalike audiences in the hopes of completing a sale, there are other ways in which brands can contextualize and build their audience segments. 

Listed below are some cookie-free techniques:

• Use site lists for alternative targeting: Discover which referral sources account for the top sectors of your incoming traffic and build a whitelist to reach your target audience. Conversely, building a blacklist so your ads don’t appear on the wrong domains. 
• Leverage the intelligence of your competitors: Cross-browsing behaviours can help to identify the top competitor audiences to convert to your own.
• Monitor pay flows: Pinpoint channels that drive subscriptions to your competitors by monitoring pay flows. This will help you to allocate the budget between paid channels and search engine optimization (SEO). 
• Power your pitch: Boost customer acquisition by optimizing your ad sales. You can harness granular traffic information and pitch to clients through ad sellers. 

Do you have any other tips for business owners and digital marketers when Google gets rid of website cookies? Drop a comment below to share.