Google abandons third-party cookie phase-out
In a saga that has stretched out for years, Google yesterday announced that it will no longer be sunsetting third-party cookies. In this latest twist, Google now plans to leave it to users to disable third-party cookies.
“We are proposing an updated approach that elevates user choice. Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time.” wrote Anthony Chavez, VP Privacy Sandbox.
Yes, it was only 6 months ago that Google announced their decision to fully phase out third-party cookies by the end of this year. 👇
So what does this latest development mean for B2B marketing? Does it change anything, or is it a case of business as usual?
For us at Dreamdata, the points we made in this substantive article earlier this year - about the importance of first-party data - remain unchanged.
Third-party cookies still unsupported on Safari and Firefox
Safari and Firefox, which account for 21% of global browser users, have not supported third-party cookies since 2020.
Chrome maintains 65% of the global share, but there will no doubt be a not insignificant portion of users who end up disabling third-party cookies under this new experience.
This means it’s not exactly a home run for advocates of third-party cookies, and those using them will have to bear in mind the shrinking user base.
For B2Bs first-party data is still preferable
Yet, even ignoring the number of users who do not allow third-party cookies, first-party data is still preferable for the advertiser - especially in the B2B setting.
This is for two primary reasons: 1) ownership and data control, 2) long, ‘offline’ customer journeys.
First-party data ownership and data control
To maintain campaign effectiveness and data control, B2Bs should transition to a first-party and consent-based data strategy, which allows you to fully own your data, unlike third-party cookies. Google and regulators, like the EU’s Court of Justice, have advocated this approach since 2021.
First-party data tracking involves collecting data from your website, app, and CRM. It includes:
First-party cookies: These enhance user experience and ensure high security and privacy. With user consent, these cookies track behavior on your site, targeting users who already have some brand awareness.
Analytics tracking: Utilize mechanisms like “Visitor Hash” and session cookies to gather essential, non-personal analytics data.
CRM data: Incorporate down-funnel data for measurement and attribution, enabling highly personalized (re)targeting campaigns.
You can find all the details in this article here →
Combining tracking and CRM data in your data warehouse offers a comprehensive view of the B2B customer journey. This tracking strategy ensures accurate targeting, complete data ownership, and full privacy compliance, aligning with browser and regulatory trends.
It also allows you to benefit from offline conversions and integrations with the ad platforms.
Google Offline Conversions and LinkedIn CAPI
As B2B companies, purchases do not happen in a single session on the website, the journey is long, involves a bunch of people, and a lot of it happens ‘offline’.
Tracking this journey with third-party cookies can never work for B2B companies.
All the main ad platforms now offer offline conversions integrations which enable you to send conversion data directly back to the platforms.
With a comprehensive first-party data setup (from the previous steps above) you can feed your ad campaign manager with very high-quality conversion data.
LinkedIn has found that on average those using LinkedIn CAPI see a 20% reduction in their CPA, and an 31% increase in attributed conversions to LinkedIn ads.
(These results of course are based on third-party cookies still being wholly available on Google Chrome - will be interesting to monitor how this shifts as users start disabling them under this new approach.)
Some solutions, like Dreamdata, also offer offline conversion integrations out-of-the-box - bringing the end-to-end (first-party) tracking cycle under one roof. (Dreamdata currently sends online and offline conversions data - split according to your pipeline conversions - to Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads.)
In summary
Despite Google’s announcement to maintain third-party cookies in Chrome, B2B marketers should continue to prioritize first-party data strategies.
First-party data remains crucial for B2B marketing due to its advantages in data ownership and control, its alignment of long customer journeys and the benefits of offline conversion integrations.
By using first-party data from across the B2B go-to-market tech stack, marketers can achieve comprehensive tracking, accurate targeting, and full privacy compliance. Which facilitates benefiting from offline conversion integrations with major ad platforms like Google and LinkedIn.
