A lot of changes have happened with Data Privacy lately, as people have grown more aware of information that companies have on them. Cookies were introduced to allow sites to improve the visitor experience. But their usage has mushroomed so much, we now need pop-ups on sites just to say how many cookies are being used.
With privacy regulations passed and more looming, big tech players like Apple and Google are pre-emptively changing data tracking. Google’s taking away the individual targeting on which they have sold ads for the last 20 years.
There will be more episodes on this topic, because it is changing and we won’t know how it fully impacts marketers for another year or two. But for now, let’s explore all that’s happened and look at tactical alternatives we as site owners and marketers can take to react to this.
People/Places/Concepts
- GDPR – EU General Data Protection Regulation
- CCPA – California Consumer Privacy Act
- VCDPA – Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act
- Canada Modernizing its Privacy Act
- First-party and third-party cookies
- Cambridge Analytica scandal
- RDP – Restricted Data Processing (Google)
- LDU – Limited Data Use (Facebook)
- ETP – Enhanced Tracking Protection (Mozilla)
Apple Technologies:
- ATT – App Tracking Transparency
- ITP – Intelligent Tracking Protocol
- IDFA – Identifier for Advertisers
Google Technologies:
- FLoCs – Federated Learning of Cohorts
- FLEDGE – First “Locally-Executed Decision over Groups” Experiment
- Turtledove – “Two Uncorrelated Requests, Then Locally-Executed Decision On Victory”
Lawsuits brought by Governments in US against Google
Surveillance Capitalism (term coined by author Shoshana Zuboff)
Porter Model:
Resources:
Google Ads Announcement on Privacy Sandbox and FLoCs
Page that Julie Bacchini and the #ppcchat community are curating: Privacy & Cookieless Resources
Eric Seufert’s podcast on this topic
Episode Reboot:
Ensure your site complies with opt-in provisions and limited data collection policies.
Collect first-party data on your leads/buyers, including which advertisements they saw. Form inferences on which ads your entire potential-buyer population should see, based on this statistical sample.
Encourage visitors to provide their email early, so you can track them as they go from visitor to lead to customer. You will be better prepared when Google Ads switches to selling cohorts of users based on interest.