Third-Party Cookie Compliance: How to Adapt Your Website

Third-party cookies are small pieces of data stored on your browser by websites other than the one you’re visiting. They track users across the web to deliver targeted ads. Due to privacy concerns and regulations, browsers like Google Chrome and Safari are phasing out these cookies to give users more control over their data.

Without third-party cookies, it will be harder to track users across websites and deliver ads based on their past interactions. This can impact the accuracy of targeted advertising, reduce the effectiveness of retargeting ads, and make it more challenging to analyse user behaviour for campaign insights.

Google Consent Mode allows your website to adjust the behaviour of Google tags based on user consent choices. It ensures that analytics and ads can still be measured to some degree even if a user declines cookies, thereby maintaining some tracking data for ads and campaigns. Without it, tracking may be significantly impacted, leading to less accurate ad targeting and measurement.

If you don’t implement Google Consent Mode, you risk losing valuable insights from Google Ads, remarketing campaigns, and analytics. When users decline cookies, data about their interactions won’t be tracked, making it difficult to optimise campaigns or measure the performance of ads. This can lead to less effective advertising spend and reduced return on investment.

Without third-party cookies, it becomes harder to track user behaviour for Google Ads and social media campaigns. This impacts your ability to retarget users with ads after they leave your website and can reduce ad relevance, resulting in a less efficient use of your advertising budget. Google is also more likely to decline ads if you don’t have a Google Consent Mode-compliant website, which would then impact our ability to run these types of ads.

Retargeting will become more challenging without third-party cookies. Users who decline cookies cannot be tracked for follow-up ads. Consent solutions, like Google Consent Mode, can help capture some retargeting data by respecting user preferences, ensuring that ads reach users who have opted into tracking.

First-party data is information collected directly from users, such as email addresses or on-site behaviour. This data is privacy-compliant and valuable for targeting users without relying on third-party cookies. Shifting to first-party data can help maintain effective campaigns, allowing you to build stronger relationships with users who have shown interest in your brand. For example, encouraging visitors to your website to sign up to your email newsletter or provide an email address in order to receive a free white paper, buying guide or special offers.

Implementing a consent management solution ensures compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR and the Google EU User Consent Policy. With Termly, your website can display clear options for users to accept, decline, or manage cookies, maintaining transparency and trust. It also ensures that your data collection practices are compliant and that you retain critical insights for marketing purposes.

Tracking limitations from third-party cookie phase-outs mean that reporting accuracy may decrease, especially for multi-channel attribution. While you will still receive performance data, it will be harder to trace the specific sources of leads and assess the complete customer journey. Consent management can help retain some data while staying compliant.

Yes, traditional tracking across multiple sites will be limited without third-party cookies, impacting detailed insights. However, implementing first-party data collection methods and Google Consent Mode will enable continued tracking of essential metrics, preserving a high-level understanding of campaign effectiveness.

When users accept all cookies on your website, tracking tools (like Google Analytics) and advertising platforms (such as Google Ads) can collect data about their behaviour, helping you understand their preferences and improve targeted marketing. This data allows for detailed insights into user activity, enabling more personalised ads, retargeting, and accurate campaign tracking.
If users choose to accept only certain cookie types (e.g. functional cookies but not marketing cookies), only the permitted data will be collected. This may limit the depth of insights available for advertising but still allows some level of tracking to enhance their experience on your site. Purplex’s implementation with Termly will ensure users can manage their preferences easily, helping maintain compliance while respecting user privacy.

1. Implement a consent management solution, such as Termly, to comply with privacy regulations.
2. Shift to collecting first-party data, such as email signups, to build direct relationships with your audience.
3. Leverage contextual advertising to target users based on the content they view, rather than their browsing history.
4. Work with Purplex to adapt your campaigns to new privacy standards, ensuring continuity in your marketing effectiveness.