A world without cookies will threaten the effectiveness of some advertising channels, particularly those that survive only on third-party cookies. But ultimately, advertisers will decide their destination based on where they spend their money.
We worked with YouGov, a renowned and long-standing member of the research world, to survey advertisers on how they feel as we move towards a cookie-free world. This includes whether or not they plan to move their spending and where it will go. Two canals went up to the top.
Poll says advertisers will move their money when the cookie dies
More than 200 advertising and marketing managers from companies with at least 100 employees were surveyed. Most were not ready for Chrome to drop the cookie.
Only 25% felt fully prepared for the phase-out of cookies and 46% agreed with Google’s decision to delay it.
When the day finally comes to say goodbye to third-party cookies, 44% of advertisers expect to move their ad spend across channels. Search and native advertising channels were ranked as having the strongest potential to deliver better performance and high ROI.
3 advertising channels that advertisers can count on
Search and native channels feel like a safe space for a reason: they are. Naturally, they pick up a rich set of signals that give your campaigns a good chance to perform well.
1. Google Search Ads
Search data is naturally a a lot clear signal of intentions. A consumer chooses a keyword to enter into a search browser, which means you know what that consumer wants to see without a doubt.
Advertisers bid on these keywords and ads are shown based on the context of those keywords rather than guessing what the consumer wants to see based on the user’s browsing history. This is what happens when you are targeted by a third-party cookie.
For example, when you search for “snow boots” on Google, ads are based on the contextual signal for that keyword. So you see the ads for the snow boots that won the auction.
When you run a search ad, you’re running an ad based on something a consumer is actively asking for. This signal will not change when the third-party cookie is removed from Chrome.
2. Native social
Consumers also send a diverse set of intent signals on social platforms. The data that empowers your Ads aren’t just about how consumers interact others advertisements
It’s also about the signals in the content people post, their engagement with other people’s posts, and their interactions with the network.
These algorithms are working to provide an engaging user experience by choosing what to recommend in general: an ad or an organic social post.
When ads like these are shown on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, they’re chosen in context with the broader user experience, not just past behavior related to other ads.
Also, users are almost always logged in when using social networking websites, which makes most of these first-party signals easy to pick up. This will not change when the third-party cookie dies.
3. Native to the open web
Taboola is a native advertising platform for the open web. Like social platforms, we recommend both of us editorial content and advertisements to consumers on publisher websites to provide an engaging user experience.
We work with many of the world’s most well-known websites, including CNBC, MSN, USA Today and many more. But we also work with small niche websites, blogs and magazines.
We own the code we place on our publisher partner’s web pages, allowing us to create a rich ecosystem of proprietary data and signals of intent and interest that benefit both our advertisers and publishers.
Take a hypothetical consumer, Steve, for example. Clicked on an NBC News headline about stock prices, but bounced back quickly. He then clicked on another sports article and read it all the way through. When he was done, he clicked on an Expedia ad, like the one below.
Taboola sees all of these signals and uses them to recommend both organic content and ads to Steve on our 9,000 publisher partner websites.
By working with Taboola directly, Expedia leverages our data learnings, intent signals, and contextual awareness across our publisher and advertiser network to deliver performance at scale.
4. Beyond the data of the first part
While first-party data and learning are essential in a cookie-free future, they are not a complete cookie-free solution. Taboola is investing in new technologies and partnerships to address key marketing use cases at scale.
- Make the most of Sandbox’s own data and alternate identifiers where available. We’re working with Google’s Privacy Sandbox and other data providers to build audiences that you can leverage for targeting, retargeting, and attribution/reporting based on consumer-demanded privacy standards.
- Deliver results even when your own data isn’t available. New predictive AI tools have the power to connect first-party data learning with multiple signals from multiple sources to increase scale while delivering results.
Taboola is uniquely positioned to help you thrive. In addition to proprietary data, our technology leverages contextual targeting to deliver personalized content and advertising, ensuring seamless audience engagement and superior performance in a cookie-free future.
Get ready for a world without cookies
As an advertiser, you may not feel fully prepared for the transition to a cookie-free world; you are not alone Only 25% of advertisers feel fully prepared for this change and 44% of advertisers like you already foresee a shift in ad spend across channels, with search and native advertising seen as better performance and return on investment
Don’t delay and start preparing for a world without cookies. Don’t know how to start? Check out our best practices focused on helping you get the most out of what you can do today to set yourself up for success.
Sign up today for an account to access Taboola datasets and increase the effectiveness of your next campaign.