Cookies have been a normal part of the browsing experience for years now, but with the recent news that third-party cookies will be phased out, companies need to start looking at other solutions that don’t rely on cookies for tracking.
There are many drawbacks to using traditional cookie based tracking as your main method for data attribution. Users often clear the cookies on their browser, switch browsers, or use a device that by default, only accepts first-party cookies. When it comes to the accuracy and precision of your customer targeting, using cookies is not the most reliable method of capturing online conversions.
Cookieless data attribution platforms can track the entire customer journey while also protecting visitor privacy. Here are the top 5 benefits to help you make the switch to a cookieless world:
Cookie tracking platforms have many drawbacks when it comes to showing the correct data for marketing use. The cookie data that is being stored on a customer’s browser can easily be blocked or deleted and visitors are often duplicated and seen as unique users when they visit your website more than once. This deletion and duplication of cookies lead to information gaps and a huge loss of valuable data for companies and marketing teams. It also makes it much harder to understand the full prospect and customer journey. Cookieless tracking solutions use artificial intelligence (AI) to collect data points on each visitor, providing companies 100% of their visitor data. In comparison, platforms using cookies are only able to provide roughly 60% of visitor data. This is a huge amount of visitor data that could be converted into paying customers.
Would your company benefit from seeing 40% more of your visitors and the insights they provide?
Cookieless data attribution platforms give you full visibility into your prospects and customers. This means you can accurately track attribution, return on investment (ROI), conversion paths and your top leads. This visibility gives a more accurate representation of the entire customer journey. Companies and their marketing teams will be able to better understand and target their customers effectively with a higher chance of getting leads and conversions. Better accuracy with cookieless tracking can directly impact your bottom line.
Cookie based tracking can pose a significant threat to privacy online. When visitors use a browser, numerous cookies are deployed to their browser, often by third parties without their consent. Using a platform that relies on cookies, leaves your company vulnerable to potentially being hacked (or unauthorized individuals accessing customer’s data). This can ruin a company’s reputation and negatively impact the brand. Customers can view third-party cookies as an invasion of privacy which can impact a customer's decision in selecting which company they prefer to do business with. When relying on a cookie platform, unwanted companies can track every website visited, not only on the intended website but also allowing others to access a consumer’s behaviour (i.e., personal tendencies, duration spent on a specific website). These strategic insights can be extracted by competitors and used to target customers. Cookieless tracking platforms do not allow third-parties to place cookies on your browser which improves privacy and decreases the potential of identity theft or hackers gaining access to your personal information.
Consumers are accessing the internet on a broad range of devices these days, from phones to tablets, gaming consoles, TVs, cars, and even home appliances. This has caused new challenges for companies when it comes to tracking and understanding the entire customer journey. Cookies are tied to a specific browser, meaning they are not showing you the full journey of a customer if the customer changes devices. No matter what the device or platform, cookieless monitoring makes it possible to accurately track every individual's journey from the first point of contact all the way through to conversion and beyond. Companies get a better understanding of their visitor data when they get an accurate picture of actual unique users, and how they access your content - including the devices, platforms, dates and locations they visited from.
Many indications are leading to the long-term end of the cookie. With so many changing data privacy laws in place and future ones being implemented, it makes sense to switch to cookieless customer tracking now. Most data privacy laws are built around cookie applications and in particular, third-party data that cookies track. When you use cookie applications, you are collecting third-party data. As a result, you have to make sure you comply with state and federal laws, in every country your company is active in. When you use a cookieless tracking solution, your company is only handling first-party data. Using first-party data means it is much easier to comply with any of the various data privacy laws and regulations your company may come into contact with. Cookieless platforms are data privacy-friendly and don’t sell this data to third parties or ad networks. Cookieless tracking platforms protect the privacy of visitors without sacrificing data insights for the companies that use them.
While cookies are still very much alive, the need for visible and accurate attribution and data privacy is on the rise. Using cookies for data collection and marketing is not the most reliable method of capturing online conversions. Switching to a cookieless platform will ensure you gain 100% of your visitor's data across all platforms and give you powerful insights into your customers and their entire journey for precise marketing. Even if you’re still on the fence about making the switch, the choice may not be yours for long! Cookies are being phased out imminently and companies will have to quickly adapt when this happens if they want to remain competitive and in touch with their customers.
Will you make the switch to a cookieless tracking platform?