Major changes are underway in the cookie world and this can have a significant impact on your business. Fortunately, a Customer Data Platform can help to limit the influence of anti-cookie measures. You can read how this works in this blog.
For several years, browsers such as Safari and Firefox have been able to block cookie applications. Recently, Google announced that it will introduce the same restrictions as the default for 2022. The consequences for online marketing are significant. This is because of this, every digital company will be limited in the use of advertising, target groups, retargeting and campaign results. Analytics, website personalization and A/B testing will also function differently under these changes. Fortunately, a Customer Data Platform (CDP) offers the solution to best prepare your organization for this and largely limit the impact.
Back to cookies: what are they and what do they actually do? Cookies were first introduced and supported in browsers as early as the 1990s, but the general public was actually only confronted with them two decades later. Since 2012, the Telecommunications Act (also known as the Cookie Act) has been in force in the Netherlands, which makes it mandatory to inform website visitors about which cookies are placed and what they are for.
Cookies are small files that are left on your computer or phone by websites. Websites store information in cookies so that they function better and can adapt the content to the user's preferences. For example, cookies are used to remember the items in your shopping cart or to store account information for a login. In addition, cookies are used by online advertising platforms to recognize visitors for retargeting and to measure conversions on your website.
Cookies are therefore ideal for offering customers a personalized experience. Positive for both the online marketer and the user, you would say. However, these functionalities also have a downside. Cookies can be used to record surfing behavior across different websites. There is a privacy risk that browsers will address.
In short: no, not all cookies will disappear as a result. Browsers will only reduce the use of cookies for privacy-unfriendly purposes. For example, by restricting who has access to the cookies on your device. For example, the website you visit can use the cookies that they have placed themselves. These cookies are called “first party cookies”. That way, your previous login can be saved and your shopping cart can still be displayed.
The changes have major consequences for so-called “third party cookies”. These cookies can be used to recognize people on other websites. After the introduction of the restrictions, other parties can no longer simply place their own cookies with a visitor to your website. A common example of this is the application for retargeting and conversion measurement by, for example, Facebook, Google or Criteo.
You can limit the impact of these stricter rules on cookies by using a CDP. In a CDP, you build a 360-degree profile for each website visitor. This collects data from all visits to your website. This data is stored securely and remains the property of your company.
With the CDP Squeezely you are linked to a large number of external marketing tools for, for example, advertising, email marketing and Analytics. By connecting from one central data source, you benefit from a number of advantages in a world without cookies.
Because all (historical) customer data is stored in your own database, it is possible to restore data every time you visit, both on a website and in the linked channels whose cookie has expired or deleted. As soon as Squeezely recognizes the visitor, the data that is already known can be forwarded immediately. In this way, your target groups in the advertising platforms remain up to date.
Of course, the major advertising platforms are not sitting still either. Facebook has included Squeezely in the Accelerator program related to the “Conversions API”. In this program, Squeezely developed a direct server-to-server link to Facebook. When you visit a website, Facebook shares an identification number that is stored in the CDP. Then, via the Conversions API, event information can be sent to Facebook.
The practical advantage of this link is that Squeezely customers are able to send updates to Facebook up to 15 times more often than without the Conversions API. This means better match rates, larger ad groups and better conversion measurements than if only the Facebook Pixel was implemented in your website.
It is expected that there will be more and more options for server-side data synchronization. With Squeezely, you can take advantage of these new opportunities right away.
Squeezely uses first party cookies. The Squeezely cookie can easily be placed on behalf of your website with a long period of validity. This cookie is accessible when a customer visits your website and is used to provide personalized experiences. This can significantly limit the impact of stricter cookie measures on your business.
Not every Customer Data Platform is the same. Many solutions only focus on website personalization and have limited synchronization options with external advertising platforms. Squeezely was developed for cross channel personalization, with the well-integrated audience builder at its core.
The Squeezely audience builder makes it possible to put data back to all linked ad platforms and offers server-side synchronization for the platforms that support it.
This blog was written in collaboration with our partner Squeezely. Want to know more about cookies and how Squeezely can help limit the impact of the changes? Take contact join us, we are happy to help you.
