Google’s Phase-Out of Third-Party Cookies Has Begun

One of the most anticipated industry changes is happening in 2024 – the start of Google’s third-party cookies phase-out. With Google’s initial testing underway from the 4th of January, the long-awaited cookie-less era is steadily approaching us. But what novelties does this gradual process bring to the online advertising world? What can publishers and advertisers expect, and how can they prepare for Google’s total shutdown of third-party cookies?   

The Post-Cookie Era Starts!

With the age of privacy before us, GDPR and CPRA regulations – user data protection, is the primary focus. So, it’s not surprising that third-party cookies that raise many privacy concerns have no place in this new digital landscape. While many browsers, such as Safari and Firefox, have long ago banned third-party cookies, when a major player like Google takes this step, as the browser with more than 60% of the global web browser market share, it can cause grave concern within the advertising industry. 

However, Google ensures that the new privacy features implementation will give both publishers and advertisers enough time to test and adjust to this change, until Q3 of 2024, when it is estimated that 100% of Chrome will be free of third-party cookies. 

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What to Expect From Google’s Privacy Initiative

The implementation of tracking protection for Chrome browser users is expected to heavily impact digital advertising. However, Google plans on and has already introduced some alternatives to help navigate the advertising community through this transition, while at the same time prioritizing user privacy. As part of the Privacy Sandbox initiative, Google has introduced features that will still allow for effective digital advertising. 

Topics API

The Topics API is a tool within the Privacy Sandbox designed to enable interest-based advertising (IBA) without tracking users across websites. It sorts users’ interests into topics and shares them with third parties like advertisers and ad tech platforms but without revealing specific browsing details. The topics are organized by a predefined list of website addresses, while interests are updated weekly for each user. The API works as follows:

Connects what users do online to specific topics of interest;
Figures out the most important topics for each user;
Gives advertisers a way to find and use these relevant topics for their ads.

How Does the Phase-Out Impact Advertising  

One of the more obvious changes the phase-out brings about is the declining relevance of behavioral targeting. However, many may argue that this change predates the cookie phase-out. Since companies have, for a while now, pointed out the problem with behavioral targeting not only in terms of privacy but also reliability.  Nonetheless, behavioral targeting has been the backbone of digital advertising for a while now. So, where does this deprecation of third-party data leave advertising targeting? 

One immediate solution gaining popularity with advertisers is the use of IP addresses, despite all its privacy concerns. Notably, IP addresses were already widely in use in mobile advertising post-Apple’s IDFA deprecation. However, they do lack cookie accuracy and are ineffective when users have VPNs. In addition, identifiers like MAIDS (Mobile Advertiser ID) are also gaining traction. 

The previous are only temporary measures, as marketers have also started testing new alternatives, such as LiveRamp’s UID2, as long-term solutions. In the months to come, advertisers will have to:

Employ new technologies that comply with GDPR – rely on privacy-focused technologies similar to Google’s Topics API; 
Focus on alternative advertising methods – contextual targeting will definitely gain momentum once third-party cookies are out of the picture;
Prioritize first-party data for advertising – first-party cookies will remain and play a huge role in the Sandbox initiative. They will be the main drive for new advertising strategies.

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How Can Publishers Prepare for the Phase-Out

Advertisers aren’t the only ones who need to brace themselves for the upcoming changes. Publishers also need to become familiar with the stages of third-party cookie deprecation and regularly follow Google’s updates. For starters, here’s the breakdown of the initial preparation process:  

Publishers should audit all cookies to identify potential issues;
Secondly, they should test for breakage by simulating the post-phase-out state;
They need to migrate to privacy-preserving solutions (Google’s CHIPS, Storage Access API, Related Website Sets, and Federated Credential Management API); 
Finally, contact Google’s support if they are in need of assistance or a temporary exemption.

Work With a Trustworthy Partner – TargetVideo 

If you’re looking to partner up with a GDPR-compliant video ad solution powerhouse that will help guide you through these new changes in online advertising look no further than TargetVideo. 

TargetVideo offers its publishers a premium monetization solution and ad revenue optimization along with industry-standard ad formats all in accordance with GDPR. For advertisers, TargetVideo guarantees 100% brand safety and offers full-blown campaign production and access to exclusive video content, along with a network of premium publishers. 

See what more TargetVideo has to offer and join our all-in-one premium video solution for digital publishers and advertisers.

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