Eliminating the cookies that track our every move online is meant to guarantee users more anonymity on the web. However, by ending the era of "cookies," Google is doing a lot to monopolize the advertising market even further. Media publishers, meanwhile, have plenty to offer potential advertisers. User data without the need to collect cookie crumbs.
The online advertising market is facing a revolution. Google, the global internet giant, has announced that by 2022 it will phase out so-called cookies, the small files that make it possible to track users of internet portals. The information collected by "cookies" allows ads to be matched later to an internet user's interests, age or gender. Even a random visit to, say, a shoe website is enough to keep seeing ads tailored to that for days afterward.
– In just over a dozen months, a lot will change and a certain era on the internet will come to an end. Even today, data from browsers such as Safari or Firefox is not passed on to the sites visited, but it is Google's declaration that is the "game-changer." In Poland, about 70% of internet users use the Chrome browser – that is, Google's product. That is a huge number of potential ad recipients who will need to be reached in another way – comments Bartosz Ferenc, owner of Sembot, a company that uses automation in running online campaigns, both in delivering IT solutions and in providing services.
Ferenc adds that Google's official motives meet the expectations of internet users.
– Google argues that, following the example of others, it is trying to safeguard privacy and the greatest possible anonymity online. However, that does not mean it will stop tracking our activities after eliminating cookies. It will continue to do so, but it will not share that data, so it will monopolize the online advertising market even more – argues the owner of Sembot.
Ad automation is soaring, but is the bull run already over?
Google's monopoly after the cookies era?
According to the portal eMarketer.com – outside the Chinese market – Google and Facebook absorb as much as 60% of online advertising worldwide. Another 10% belongs to Amazon, leaving only about 30% for the rest.
Meanwhile, according to IAB Polska's May report for PwC, in 2020 online advertising spending rose 4.9% year on year. For the first time in history, the previously unreachable barrier of PLN 5 billion (by two hundred thousand) was exceeded, and this happened in a year of pandemic savings in many areas. The main growth factor was advertising displayed on mobile devices and in the programmatic model. Both segments grew by as much as 20%.
The programmatic model relies on a fully automated ad sales process, the basis of which is collecting information from cookies.
– A natural consequence of this is the emergence of data warehouses that sell or exchange such data. Abandoning cookies will make such practices impossible. In addition, Google owns DoubleClick (Google Ads 360) – the most popular tool for programmatic advertising. So the changes will affect Google to a significant degree; the giant will probably find an alternative solution by using "log in with Google" on other services, which will make it possible to link a user's session to a specific advertising profile – explains Bartosz Ferenc.
What after cookies? Will brands turn to publishers?
Publishers as new data intermediaries
How will the revolution in the online advertising market affect publishers?
How will the revolution in the online advertising market affect publishers?
Google will manage without problems, because it has already announced the creation of a new tool, namely Privacy Sandbox. So when using the Chrome browser, we will no longer be tracked by hundreds of intermediaries who may fail us on the security front, but by one "tracker" that will presumably take very strong care of its monopolist interests.
– Google's tool will use the data we leave in the browser, and for ad personalization purposes, interest groups to which a given user belongs will be sent to advertisers. Instead of the previous unique identifiers. Creating target groups with similar behaviors and interests will become the standard, and such data will be used on the advertising market – describes Tomasz Dwornicki, president of the management board of Hostersi.pl, a company specializing in delivering IT solutions in the areas of server infrastructure design, cloud computing implementation, administrative support and data security.
However, what may be a problem for advertising agencies does not necessarily have to be troublesome for media publishers. Dwornicki explains that both brands and internet portals will have to develop new promotional strategies, and this may result in interesting solutions. – Publishers have a lot of data about their users. Very often they require their audiences to log in, and thus it is easier for them to collect information. Once cookies are withdrawn and it is impossible to obtain data from brokers, the knowledge held by publishers may be priceless for brands – says Dwornicki, adding that publishers will be able to place advertising much more precisely in a context that suits a given brand.
The first such offers are already appearing on the Polish media market. Publishers are creating tools that enable brands to display ads after selecting a specific thematic group. In addition, they provide the ability to advertise across many channels. No longer only on internet portals, but also in newsletters or during podcasts.
- However, that may still not be enough. To collect information from users, a portal must be created so that internet users want to spend time there and, most importantly, log in and allow data to be collected. A friendly "user experience" is becoming more important than ever before - adds the owner of Hostersi.pl.
Page speed is the key to data
One of the most important elements of a user-friendly website is how quickly the portal loads. According to a Kissmetrics report, internet users are impatient and may give up visiting a portal after just three seconds if it still has not loaded. Hostersi conducted a study of page loading speeds on the Polish internet. The best results were achieved by the portals of global giants, namely google.pl and facebook.com, which fully load in 1.1 seconds. Gazeta Wyborcza and TVN24 services already take more than three seconds to launch (3.2 and 3.3 seconds), while Radio Zet's portal needs nearly nine seconds for the site to be fully functional.
– Website optimization is a process that can be time-consuming. Especially when adequate resources are not allocated to it, but it is an essential process. The research results show that "Big Tech" companies do not skimp on this. Advice? Site administrators must also remember to use the right language on the server, as well as to add SSL certificates that speed up website performance, and above all to identify the main causes that slow down their sites and remove them quickly – summarizes Dwornicki.
Summary
Google is eliminating cookies, which is meant to increase privacy, but according to experts it will strengthen its monopoly on the advertising market. Media publishers, who hold data on logged-in users, may become key partners for brands in the new targeting model.
The Polish online advertising market exceeded PLN 5 billion in 2020, and portal loading speed – as Hostersi's research shows – can be a critical factor in obtaining data. Portals such as Gazeta Wyborcza or TVN24 need more than 3 seconds, while the giants need only 1.1 seconds.
