Deep Dive Into Google’s Third-Party Cookie Deprecation
Google Chrome is planning on deprecating third-party cookies during the second half of 2024, a change that will impact how we collect and use data in marketing. Rather than allowing cookies to track users as they navigate from site to site across Chrome, third-party cookies will be restricted by default, limiting cross-site tracking.
The way we collect and use data online is changing forever. But that's just how the cookie crumbles, right?
All jokes aside, as Google phases out third-party cookies, it's important to:
Familiarize yourself with what cookies are
Know how they're currently used across the internet
If you don't feel ready to continue your marketing efforts after third-party cookies get phased out this year, you're in the right place. Now is the time to educate yourself on the coming changes so you're not scrambling to make sure your marketing efforts are still effective once the cookies are already deprecated.
This guide digs deep into the cookie conversation, helping you navigate this major change in a way that makes sense for your business. Let's get started.
Cookies are simply text files that hold small pieces of data used to communicate between your browser and a website. They help websites identify you as you're browsing, personalizing your overall browsing experience via user data.
From a technical standpoint, cookie text files contain data labeled with a unique ID that helps networks recognize your device. Your computer sends the file to the network server, which can read the ID and understand what information to send to you.
This might seem complicated, but what you really need to know is that cookies make your online experience more personalized to you. They help you pick up where you left off on a given website after you close out of a tab, return to your cart with your items still in it, stay logged into a site, select a preferred location and not have to select it again, and more.
And while all of these things undoubtedly benefit the user, they are also a form of data collection. Cookies store information and track user behavior. Because of the information cookies can store, they are also used for cross-site tracking, which provides better insight into targeting for advertising and for understanding how users are engaging with your site. They allow you to track how many pages a user visits, how much time was spent on a page, how many times a user visited a page – all of that good, useful stuff.
Overview of different types of internet cookies
Let's quickly review the different types of cookies to get a better understanding of what exactly is getting deprecated and how you'll need to prepare your site.
Starting at the highest level of differentiation, cookies can be divided into two categories: first-party and third-party.
First-party cookies
First-party cookies are only activated on the site a user visits by that site. They are used to improve the user's experience on that particular site and exchange only the most fundamental data, saving the information you provide and maybe your IP address. They don't track across sites and generally don't present risks to the website user, depending on the site you're using.
Here are some ways first-party cookies are commonly used:
Remembering visitor info: tracks user information to recognize you when you log back into a website.
Tracking what's in your cart: remembers the items you've added to your cart so you can go back to it and easily make a purchase.
Related product recommendations: understands the products you tend to prefer and show you similar products.
Some first-party cookies are required for a website to function. If you dismiss these cookies, the website could error out or not function properly. For example, you might not be able to purchase something without first-party cookies.
Who benefits from first-party cookies?
Both the user and the website owner directly benefit from first-party cookie usage. The user experiences a smoother website session through first-party cookies, including personalization, remembered login information, cart recovery, product recommendations, and more.
The website owner also benefits by collecting information on their customer that can help them create better experiences in the future, understand their target audience, and inform their decision-making.
Third-party cookies
Third-party cookies are generated by domains outside of the one the user navigates to and can track and collect user data throughout their online journey. Generally, these types of cookies are used for advertising and are placed on a site with a script or a tag. The cookie is accessible on any site that loads the third-party server's code. They aren't essential to the browsing experience and are typically just tracking cookies.
Third-party cookies provide the advertiser with better analytics and tracking information, leading to improved ad performance and audience targeting.
Here are common services that leave third-party cookies on your browser:
Ad retargeting: these cookies can follow your browsing and track what you're looking at before generating ads based on those things.
Social media plugins: plugins that allow sharing or liking content on social media activate third-party cookies that can then start tracking your activity on that social media account.
Live chat: a live chat pop-up service will activate third-party cookies in your browser to understand what you've done so far so it can better assist you.
Most of these cookies have no direct impact on the user or their browsing experience aside from serving more personalized ads and experiences, but because anyone can access them, they can sometimes lead to malicious activity. The cookies themselves aren't inherently malicious or dangerous.
Who benefits from third-party cookies?
Third-party cookies primarily benefit advertisers as they enable adware that allows for the tracking of users and the collection of data. They can also be convenient for the user in showing ads that are relevant to them or by creating integrations for programs like paying through PayPal, but they mainly benefit the advertiser who can better understand the user's journey, interests, behaviors, and more to influence their advertising efforts.
Why is Chrome deprecating third-party cookies?
While third-party cookies aren't inherently bad, they breach some assumed level of privacy and can open the door for your data to end up in the wrong hands. Google's decision to go cookieless stems from increasing concerns about data collection and user privacy that have grown over the past few years – to the point where many digital platforms, browsers, and social media apps have decided that it's time to address them.
Many of these concerns have arisen from cross-site tracking, which is the process of tracking a user across multiple sites during their browsing experience using cookies. The data can be gathered by the website doing the tracking or by other third-party entities. Data is collected by placing widgets and scripts on a website, or through social media sharing buttons, which are triggered when a user visits a site that enables those cookies. The third-party cookies are then placed on the user's browser and track the user throughout their browsing journey.
For example, you might navigate to Nike, add a few pairs of shoes to your cart, and then navigate away to check out an article on Search Engine Land about the latest Google broad core update, where you're met with ads showing the exact shoes you left behind in your Nike cart. This is possible through third-party cookies used on the Nike site that then follow you across the Internet and serve you with related advertisements.
Chrome wants users to feel more confident about the safety measures the browser has in place, and its solution for that is to get rid of the third-party cookies that enable cross-site tracking, leading to Chrome cookie deprecation. While retargeting advertising won't disappear with the deprecation of third-party cookies, advertising platforms will have to come up with alternative solutions that aren't enabled by third-party cookies. And in the meantime, advertisers should prioritize marketing and advertising using first-party data.
Additional context around cookie deprecation
For additional perspective on this issue, KPMG surveyed 2,000 people and found that 86% of US adults say data privacy is a growing concern. In response to this issue, Google created its Privacy Sandbox, an initiative to "create technologies that both protect people's privacy online and give companies and developers tools to build thriving digital businesses." The Privacy Sandbox reduces the amount of cross-site tracking, limiting the overall use of cookies and the amount of data available for collection.
For the record, Chrome isn't the first browser to block cookies. In fact, plenty of browsers–Firefox, Microsoft Edge, DuckDuckGo, Safari–already block third-party cookies. Google is just late to the game. But in Google's defense, none of those browsers boast anything near the amount of ad revenue that Google does.
For Google, this process has been a balancing act of making sure website users feel safe using Chrome while simultaneously ensuring Google can still service its online advertisers without losing revenue or advertising quality.
Timeline for cookie deprecation
Google's third-party cookie deprecation plans are already underway. The tech giant deprecated 1% of cookies in Chrome earlier in 2024 and plans to phase out all cookies for all Chrome users in the second half of the year.
These plans are currently contingent on addressing remaining competition concerns from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, which means that until Google addresses their concerns, the CMA isn't going to allow Google to move forward with its cookie deprecation plans.
The CMA identified at least 39 areas of regulatory concern that Google must address before moving forward with the third-cookie phaseout. As cited in this blog post, CMA is primarily concerned that Google may be able to continue benefitting from user data while limiting competitors' access to that data, creating an even sharper competitive edge, that Google will be able to control the inclusion of ad tech rivals, and that publishers and advertisers may not be able to effectively identify fraudulent activity.
We'll provide updates here when we know more about the status of the timeline.
Implications for digital marketers
If you skipped straight here, welcome to the fun stuff!
This change directly impacts advertising and analytics, but we'll go over other potential areas of disruption here so you're fully prepared to deal with the transition.
Increased emphasis on first-party and zero-party data
With the deprecation of third-party data, first-party and zero-party data will become the primary ways for obtaining information about customers.
First-party data is information that you collect through your owned and maintained channels, like social media profiles, website and app analytics, company surveys, etc. Data from those sources could include demographics, user journey information, and content preferences.
Zero-party data is a form of first-party data that characterizes data that the user willingly gives to an organization through things like forms or surveys. It's any willing communication about their preferences or characteristics.
First-party data collection is an effective way to analyze real customers and site visitors. A lot of information can be gathered from your website visitors, including behaviors and preferences, which can help you make more informed decisions about how to approach your digital advertising and how to reach an audience similar to your website visitors.
Marketers can collect this data by monitoring contact form submissions, downloads, and heat maps, checking out website sessions in tools like Microsoft Clarity, and more. And predictive AI tools will be an asset for first-party data collection in the wake of third-party cookie deprecation; marketers can pair predictive AI tools with their historical data to glean insights into common behaviors and predict future activity, which could be a useful alternative.
Changes to targeting strategies
Marketers who have relied on tracking data across various websites will have to find alternate ways of collecting customer data. Rather than relying on third-party data to target audiences, advertisers will have to get creative in how they reach their target audience.
Instead of being able to run a retargeting campaign that uses third-party cookies to target consumers based on online behaviors, you may have to pivot to running an ad campaign around a specific audience that reflects your website visitors or customer list. You can still run highly targeted ad campaigns around your customers or products, you'll just have to adjust your tactics to meet privacy restrictions. Advertising platforms will also have to pivot to offer advertising options that work without third-party data.
Another option for ad campaigns is contextual targeting, which shows advertisements related to the content on a page rather than based on a user's actions, like what they have in their cart or pages they've viewed.
First-party data will again be crucial for finding alternatives to cross-channel advertising solutions. Advertisers will have to be smarter with their first-party data, keep it highly organized, and use it to their advantage to create audiences and targeting capabilities.
Rise of privacy-focused marketing
All of the conversations around data collection and cookie deprecation have made consumers even more wary of data collection. This increased focus on privacy isn't going anywhere, and marketers need to figure out how to comply with privacy policies while collecting data.
This applies to advertising but goes beyond it. Consumers want to know what websites are tracking and how their data is being used.
Rather than navigating to a website and getting tracked without your consent, users will likely have more control over their data privacy, so marketers will have to ensure their websites reflect privacy regulations and consumer preferences while still providing an optimal experience.
Impact on personalization and ad effectiveness
It's natural to worry that the quality of advertisements will worsen due to the lack of cross-channel data available to advertisers. While this concern is valid, there are alternatives that will still allow advertisers to create targeted ad campaigns.
Marketers will be forced to change their approach to advertising by relying on first-party data and focusing on in-session marketing, or ads that are displayed within a session based on a user's engagement on a page, to remain relevant and engaging.
Alternatives to third-party cookies
Each of these options comes with its downfalls and challenges – after all, there is no perfect replacement for third-party tracking.
But these are all great options for ensuring you're still getting the data you need to make smart business decisions. And many of these can work in unison to give you the most information possible.
First-party data
As mentioned above, first-party data will likely be the biggest alternative to third-party tracking. First-party data does carry its own unique advantages that will be useful for marketers to pay more attention to once third-party cookies are no longer at their disposal, namely that this type of data is more reliable and relevant. Because first-party data comes from your owned channels, like email, customer feedback, and website interactions, you know you're getting information that applies to your efforts and can be trusted.
Privacy Sandbox
As Google moves through its phase-out plans, it's testing other options through its Privacy Sandbox Technologies. Its goal is to create privacy-preserving tools that adhere to privacy policies, protect the consumer, and offer solutions for tracking and advertising. In doing so, they're decreasing cross-site tracking while keeping online content and services free.
There are a number of APIs available through the Privacy Sandbox that help with anything from fighting spam and fraud to strengthening cross-site privacy boundaries. Here's the list:
If the deprecation of third-party cookies is impacting any of these topics for you, consider checking out the available APIs to see if they could be a viable solution for your brand.
Universal ID solutions
This option is a privacy-compliant way to track users across sites with their permission. Universal ID solutions use encrypted identifiers, like email addresses and phone numbers, to create an identity for digital advertising. Advertisers can then target and measure the success of their campaigns without using third-party cookies.
These solutions require an integration with a Universal ID solution, like Unified ID 2.0. Users can opt out of this solution if they prefer to not be tracked at all, making it privacy-friendly.
Contextual advertising
We also briefly touched on contextual advertising earlier in this guide, but it's worth sharing more about it here.
Contextual advertising is a great alternative to third-party cookies as it still allows you to target relatively specifically without actually going after a specific audience type. It helps advertisers connect with audiences around related topics and is more of an interest-based type of targeting. The best part? It's fully privacy-friendly.
Media Mixed Modeling (MMM)
Another alternative to collecting customer information using third-party cookies is by using mixed media modeling, or MMM. MMMs use aggregate data to give marketers a holistic understanding of the impact of their marketing efforts on sales across channels, both digital and traditional. This type of modeling can help marketers understand how different marketing activities are contributing to sales.
MMMs collect data, including historical marketing data, sales numbers, and external factors before using statistical analysis to find the relationships between various data points. The goal is to isolate marketing efforts to understand their impact individually as well as the overall impact. Marketers can then attribute their efforts and get a solid understanding of where your customers are converting. It's not a perfect replacement for third-party cookies by any means as it doesn't necessarily provide information on user behavior, but rather shows marketing trends over time that can help with decision-making and investments.
If you're interested in building media mixed modeling for your business, Google released Meridian, a MMM framework that simplifies the process of building out one of these models. Check it out here.
CRM integration
An extremely important way of tracking data is by ensuring you're utilizing a CRM for all of your marketing efforts. It keeps all of your data, like email outreach, sales information, and customer data, in one place for you to easily access. If you're not using a CRM, that should be your biggest takeaway from this article. Get a CRM set up for your business so that you can take full advantage of your first-party data.
Action items for digital marketers
If you've made it this far, you're probably invested in understanding third-party cookie deprecation and are here to learn what steps you need to take to prepare.
If that's the case, then you're in the right spot. Let's wrap up this guide by covering some action items you can take to face the cookie phase-out head-on.
Strengthen your first-party data collection
First-party data will be your biggest ally in the wake of third-party data collection. Ensure you've set your business up to collect as much data as possible, or as much as you need to continue your marketing activities.
That means setting up a CRM like HubSpot, ensuring you have clean data, and creating easy ways for your customers to share their information directly. The data you collect can then be used to personalize experiences and communications.
Understand the implications for your business
Google recommends that developers audit their use of cookies and make a list of the ones they'll need to take action on to ensure they're working properly. Google is also running a deprecation trial where businesses can request additional migration time. Start preparing your business for what's to come sooner so you're not scrambling when third-party cookies are phased out for good.
As for marketing teams, it's important to understand how the absence of third-party cookies can influence your marketing campaigns. You'll likely need to find alternatives for advertising, but are there other areas of your business that you'll need to find new solutions for? Now is the time to figure that out.
Explore other options for data collection
There is still a lot up in the air right now when it comes to the third-party cookie deprecation timeline, making this the perfect time to start looking into other options. Start doing your research, get familiar with Google's Privacy Sandbox, and think through the solutions that could help fill in any gaps for your business.
Communicate with other members of your team to determine the right alternative solutions
It's important to relay any plans or strategies you might have around cookie deprecation with the rest of your team so you can get everyone on board and perform any training necessary. If you're integrating a new API or working with new software, make sure to give people ample time to learn the new best practices.
Stay informed
As mentioned, the timeline for Chrome's cookie deprecation isn't set in stone and changes could be made. One of the best things you can do for yourself and your business is to stay informed on the latest news. You don't want to miss a thing while preparing for this major change, so keep up to date. We'll continue to update this post as more information becomes available, so feel free to bookmark this page for future use.
Be prepared for a world without third-party cookies
As we move along the third-party cookie phase-out timeline, now is the time to ready your business for what's to come.
As a digital agency, we're used to moving quickly and adapting to major changes. We've helped guide businesses through large transitions before (like the shift from UA and GA4) and know the importance of planning ahead and preparing for change.
If you could use some guidance around the deprecation of third-party cookies, please reach out. Our team would be happy to discuss personalized solutions for your business.
Grace Hallen is a Digital Marketing Specialist at Perrill. Her passion for communication and crafting engaging content led her to Perrill’s marketing team. She loves flexing her creative muscles and finding clever ways to reach her audience. In her free time, you can find Grace playing trivia at local breweries, exploring the Twin Cities, or getting lost in a good book.
