How First-Party Data is Replacing Cookies in PPC Targeting

First-Party Data 

First party data is information collected from customers directly. It is collected through the business' own channels, such as website, mailing list, app, or customer services. This data includes email addresses, website interactions, survey responses, and purchasing history.

Privacy Regulations for Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Privacy Regulations have made a major impact on digital marketing, Regulations, such as the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation, provide consumers with control over their personal data, limiting how business track and use the data when it comes to their advertising efforts.

Google has taken a firm stand when it comes to privacy, phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome. Apple's iOS updates are also restricting tracking, making it harder for businesses to target their audiences, retarget, and track conversions.

While this may appear daunting, it provides an opportunity to rethink PPC strategies, building a stronger relationships with customers.

The Future of PPC Targeting with First-Party Data

First-party data has become important for any modern PPC strategy, as it:

• Provides accuracy and reliability
• Ensures compliance with privacy regulations
• Builds stronger customer relationships
• Improves audience segmentation

What You Can Do

As a business owner, it's important to start focusing on first-party data as soon as possible if you want your PPC targeting to be accurate and effective. Genie Crawl have put some effective steps in place to get you started:

1. Direct data collection – use lead generation forms on your website to collect customer email addresses. You can also offer discounts for sign-ups or create a loyalty programme that rewards repeat customers
2. Google's enhanced conversions – this privacy-friendly tool helps you track conversions using first-party data
3. Google's customer match – upload customer data into Google Ads and Google matches it with the users on its platform, providing personalised adverts

Future-Proof Your Campaigns

Adapting to first-party data collection is a proactive approach. In order to ensure your PPC campaigns continue to perform well in a first-party data world, we recommend:

• Adjust your data collection methods with clear cookie consent
• Invest in a CRM to organise and segment data effectively
• Use AI-powered Google bidding strategies
• Diversify your strategies

Conclusion

Rather then seeing first-party data as a limitation, you should be embracing the opportunity to build lasting relationships with your customers, boosting trust. When you implement first-party data strategies, you can gain a competitive edge, running high return on investment PPC campaigns. Contact Genie Crawl today if you want help aligning to the online privacy regulations.