As we move into a cookieless future, it’s important to understand the implications of this shift for advertisers. This blog will guide you through the history of cookies, why they’re important to digital advertising, and how your business can prepare for a cookieless world.
What Does the Future of PPC Look Like?
The future of online advertising is uncertain. The market is changing, and you may have already noticed some shifts. You might have already noticed from your current PPC campaigns that Google’s cookieless ad format has become much more popular than traditional display ads (which rely on cookies) and this trend will only increase as we head closer to 2024. Fewer and fewer users are now seeing banner ads when they visit a website or app; instead seeing a myriad of content from other, less targeted advertising sources. This is a big shift for businesses as it makes them less predictable and requires new strategies to reach customers.
What Are Cookies?
In a nutshell, cookies are small files that websites and apps store on your computer or mobile device. They’re used to keep track of your activity so the site can remember things like your username and preferences. Cookies have been around for decades, but it wasn’t until recently that they started getting more attention from privacy advocates, who have raised concerns about how much information they can collect and share with third parties without user consent.
Cookies also make it possible for advertisers to remarket to you across multiple devices and browsers while you’re browsing online (the kind of cross-device tracking we’ve discussed previously in our GA4 blog). These types of ads let advertisers connect their cookie IDs with the browser IDs from other sites where users may have interacted with them previously.
The best way to think of cookies is as little text files that are stored on your computer by your browser whenever you visit certain websites (for example: if you’re logged into Facebook on one device but then go onto another device where you aren’t logged in yet). Cookies allow tools like Google Analytics to track user activity across different devices using unique IDs stored within each cookie.
How to Prepare for a Cookieless Future
While we’ve only scratched the surface of the cookieless future, it’s important to be prepared for whatever comes next. If you’re looking to implement this new technology in your marketing efforts, consider these tips:
- Use first-party data to target your audience.
- Focus on quality over quantity.
- Use creativity to reach audiences who don’t use digital platforms frequently (think print ads, radio spots and billboards).
- Create a future-proof retargeting strategy using email marketing and other user data you currently have at your disposal
It’s no secret that Google wants to move towards a cookieless web. In fact, they’ve been talking about it for years now. Cookieless ads are coming, and you need to prepare for them.
Make First-Party Data the Foundation of Your Paid Advertising Strategy
First-party data is the most accurate and cost-effective way to target your audience. With first-party data, you’re able to reach people with a relevant message in their favourite channel. This can help you create more personalised ads that are more likely to resonate with them, leading to more conversions on your site.
Using first-party data also provides valuable insights into who your customers are, so you know what they like and don’t like (and therefore how best to serve them). By understanding customers better than ever before, you’ll be able to create even better experiences for them—and get better results from PPC campaigns as well!
Conclusion
The future of paid advertising is uncertain, but there are plenty of ways to prepare. The best way to stay ahead of the curve is by keeping an eye on emerging trends in consumer behaviour and paying attention to changes in consumer preferences. You also don’t want to get caught off guard by new regulations, especially if they affect your business model or advertising strategy. With so much at stake, it’s important that you take action now before it’s too late.
But here’s the good news – our specialist PPC team at Ricemedia is here to help make the transition from third-party centric advertising to first-party focused advertising as easy as possible for you and with over 21 years of digital marketing experience under our belt, we’re sure that we can help deliver effective PPC campaign results for your business every time. If you’re looking for a future-proof PPC strategy, get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to discuss your options.
