Did the Banning of third-party cookies lead to the emergence of Zero Party Data?

A short time ago, Google declared that third-party cookies would no longer be used, at least to its advert networks and Chrome browser. This was a significant shift for the advertising industry and appeared to be a step in the right direction for privacy, but it also had some limitations. It didn't imply that Google would stop gathering user information or using that information to target advertisements.

The sale of web adverts catered to specific users' browsing preferences would halt, and Google's Chrome browser would no longer support cookies that gather that information. Advertisers who relied on cookies would need to find another method of user targeting.

While this was happening, Google would continue to track and target users on mobile devices and continue to target people with advertising based on their online activity on its platforms, which continue to generate the majority of its income and are unaffected by the change.

Google had been preparing for this for a while. In August 2019, the business unveiled its "Privacy Sandbox", a project to target or customize web adverts while still protecting user privacy. Google stated in January 2020 that it planned to disable third-party cookies from its Chrome browser by 2022, a change that Firefox and Safari had already made. Google intends to substitute Privacy Sandbox-developed technology for third-party cookies.

By tracking users' online activities and constructing profiles of them and their interests based on their websites, ad businesses may target consumers with relevant adverts. Millions of websites employ Google's third-party cookies, which provide the firm with a wealth of data about the websites users visit and help fuel a significant portion of its enormous advertising business. However, as the public's awareness of privacy issues grows, regulators are implementing additional privacy legislation.

This is where Google's Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), which the company describes as an "interest-based" and "privacy-first" advertising engine, comes into play. With FLoC, Chrome will monitor a user's online surfing patterns and classify them into different audiences, or "cohorts," according to those patterns. Then, rather than targeting a specific person, advertisers will focus on cohorts. Therefore, you might want to try a different browser if you're seeking one that doesn't collect your data for advertisements, either individually or as part of an anonymous audience.

Therefore, Google will still technically show the user targeted ads, but it will do so more privately. Google is now testing FLoC with advertisers to see if it would function as its cookie replacement. Google claims that advertisers can obtain roughly the same return on investment via FLoC as they would through cookie-based tracking. Even though FLoC might not pan out in the end, Google is at least confident enough in it to declare that cookies will be eliminated. And once more, Google has stated that it will not be doing so with a similar kind of personal tracker.

Google will continue to gather users' first-party data, or what they do when using its products like YouTube and Search, and it will use that data to target individual advertisements, as was noted last year. As third-party data sources disappear, that first-party data becomes even more desirable to advertisers. This is fantastic for Google, whose platforms receive billions of hits daily. According to its most recent quarterly earnings report, Google earns more than half of its revenue from ads on Google Search, significantly more than it does from its ad network, which now relies on third-party cookies.

The emergence of 'zero party data.'

Zero-party data is any information a client voluntarily and knowingly gives to a business. It is optional information that consumers choose to provide to a company willingly.

With Zero Party Data, brands significantly diminish their dependence on third-party advertisers and build meaningful relationships based on personalization and trust.

Knowing each customer's preferences, needs, and pain areas is integral to developing relationships. This goes beyond simply gathering their phone numbers and email addresses.

In fact, according to the 'customer behaviour report', 71% of customers are inclined to share this information if it means getting personalized recommendations from brands.

In today's significant, globalized marketplaces, it's not often that we get to feel special, understood, and taken care of.

When zero-party marketing is done right, it can make customers feel valued while gaining the necessary information to strengthen their business and improve customer experiences. Many E-Commerce brands have already incorporated it into their companies and are seeing the benefits.

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