As we recently reported, Google Ads is phasing out third-party cookies. Where does this leave marketers, then? How can small businesses effectively reach their customers and advertise in a personal manner? Though it seems like Google Ads left marketers high and dry, there are actually several solutions that will still enable advertising to any and every audience. 

The End of Third-Party Cookies...

Third-party cookies are a great way for brands and businesses to keep track of user data in order to effectively market to them. By keeping tabs on customer’s interests, shopping habits, their age, gender, and other defining characteristics, third-party cookies are essential when it comes to online shopping. 

Third-party cookies, for instance, can help decrease cart abandonment. By efficiently marketing products to people who are most likely to buy them means that there is a bigger chance to make a sale, and therefore make profit. 

Understandably, marketers - especially those who rely on ad clicks - believe that the elimination of third-party cookies will hurt their advertising process and therefore their earning potential. 

...As We Know Them

Google has found a way around this issue, however. Google plans to use lump users together based on shared interest and similar browsing activities. This is just a different way to target advertising, yet it can be more beneficial than using an individual advertising approach. 

For instance, grouping users by their shared interests and shopping habits means that it’s possible to reach a wider audience of people who are guaranteed to buy what you’re selling. Furthermore, Google will implement programs to stop advertising fraud. Users will see a reduction in the number of CAPTCHAs they encounter. 

Furthermore, Google isn’t going to get rid of cookies completely. Though third-party cookies will disappear, first and second party cookies are here to stay. First party cookies in particular are a great way to track exactly what customers do on your website, whether it’s keeping track of how often a person visits the webpage, and even what they click on. This can still drive ad revenue and allow for targeted ad placement. 

Third-party cookies are also a great way for marketers to keep track of their user’s information. Specifically, third-party cookies keep track of user’s online behaviors. This can range from everything from purchases to frequently visited websites and even to interests across a wide variety of platforms. Third-party cookies are a great way to build a user profile that will enable you to to send ads to both new and returning visitors. 

While Google is revolutionizing the ad industry, cookies certainly aren’t going anywhere. So get your favorite - chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, or even second party cookies and relax! 

Advertising isn’t going away overnight and there’s always going to be a way to adapt to whatever Google has in store. It’s no use crying over spilled milk, after all, so sit back, enjoy your cookies, and remember that just because third-parties cookies are going away doesn’t mean that advertising is done for.