Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies over the next two years will significantly impact digital advertising and marketing strategies. While the timeline gives the industry time to adapt, businesses must start preparing strategies for a “post-cookie” landscape.

The shift from individual tracking using third-party cookies has significant implications beyond digital advertising. Many commonly used online marketing tactics must be re-evaluated. However, many questions still need to be answered until more data is available to indicate the actual impacts. For now, marketers should prepare to make the necessary changes. Below are some areas of online marketing that could be impacted and what marketers can do to adapt:

Rethinking Data and Targeting

Most current online marketing methods rely heavily on individual-level tracking using third-party cookies. Since this is no longer possible, companies must move away from one-to-one targeting and measurement and focus instead on aggregate audience insights based on broader demographics and interest groups. First-party data collected directly from customers will become even more valuable. Companies should build robust customer profiles through login accounts, purchase histories, surveys, and consent-based interactions. Contextual signals on company websites can also provide clues for audience segmentation and target without cookies. Tools like cohort modelling and probabilistic matching may help attribute traffic and sales without direct identifiers.

Testing New Technologies

Companies should stay involved in developing new privacy-safe standards through organizations like the IAB. Approaches like Topics and Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) aim to balance privacy and personalization. Companies should test emerging techniques in sandbox environments before full implementation. They can try contextual/on-site targeting, cohort modelling for attribution, and identity resolution providers to see how well they can support their current strategies.

Communicating with Partners and Customers

Companies should audit all ad tech vendors and partners reliant on cookies to understand potential impacts and limitations. They should have candid discussions about evolving approaches. Companies should communicate upcoming changes to clients, partners, and customers. They should explain how targeting, measurement, and personalization may adapt away from individual profiles, maintaining transparency around data usage and privacy. By proactively preparing strategies now, businesses can ensure a smooth transition when third-party cookies are fully phased out. The cookieless future requires changes but also opens opportunities with a privacy-first mindset. Companies can start testing options to gain insights for the road ahead.

Attribution and Optimization

Marketers must attribute traffic, conversions, and revenue to specific channels, campaigns, and touchpoints to optimize spending and inform strategy. Losing direct user identifiers could hamper these capabilities. Marketers should test new attribution models that are not reliant on long-term user profiles.

Audience Segmentation

Marketers use detailed audience profiles segmented by interests, preferences, and other traits to guide targeting and messaging. Without cookies, marketers rely more on first-party data declaration and contextual signals for segmentation.

Retargeting and Re-Engagement

Remarketing to past website visitors or app users is a core tactic, but it may be disrupted without cross-site/cross-device tracking capabilities. Alternative re-engagement strategies need to be explored.

Measurement and Reporting

Analytics tools commonly used to measure engagement, attribute actions, and report performance leverage third-party cookies extensively. Integrations and dashboards may be impacted, and marketers may need to adapt dashboards to the new data availability.

Personalized Advertising

Ad targeting, delivery, and creative testing optimized for individuals will face limitations. Contextual signals and aggregated cohorts may replace direct personalization. Marketers need to develop innovative new approaches that prioritize user privacy and consent. Collaboration between marketers and technology partners will be key over the coming years to successfully navigate this transition.