Madeline Miller
Privacy regulations are becoming more prevalent as internet users and their data are more regularly targeted for fraudulent activities. Some simply want a little more privacy, and we get it! For those worried about their internet privacy, small lines of code that store your data and follow your every move online aren’t very appealing. Cookies are very valuable for authentication, tracking insights and advertising, as they can help businesses target ads to consumers who will find them the most relevant based on their online behavior. They are a huge part of modern internet innovation. The way that it works is when you visit a website, some of your data will be stored on your device to make it a little bit faster to return to that website you’ve already visited and to track your behavior across other channels on the internet as well. If you’ve ever put a few items in your virtual cart and closed the tab only to find the next time you visit that site all of your items are safely where you left them, that’s the magic of cookies. They can be very powerful for marketers to analyze engagement and track every step of the customer journey, but concerns about privacy have only grown and that means that we have to evolve our practices around what users want, and what they don’t want.
In Denmark, Belgium, and Germany new legislation has banned the use of cookies without users’ consent. Data shows that 30% of users will reject a website’s request to store their cookie data in these countries. Data privacy is a concern everywhere in the world, but not everyone has come around yet to total prohibition of cookies. In the US, there is no federal regulation on the use of cookies, however, many states do have laws restricting access to users’ data. Utah, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, and Florida all have data privacy laws. The California Consumer Privacy Act and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act both consider cookies personal data and have regulations against their use. Not all laws require websites to ask for consent though, some simply require websites to disclose how they plan to use the data they collect. Most data privacy laws restrict the use of third-party cookies altogether, though they are not supported by most major browsers anyway. It’s clear that the world is moving in the direction of increased data privacy, so what does that mean for web developers and data-driven marketers?
Cookieless tracking provides insights on consumers without storing their personal data. That means that data-driven marketers and developers have to find a way to track important customer data in real time from users that they already have a relationship with. Many marketers are learning to rely on zero-party data, or data that is explicitly provided by their customers. If you’ve ever started an account with a video streaming service, they will often ask you to provide information about what genres you’re interested in. When you provide this information, you know that the service is going to use it to tailor the experience to your interests, this is an example of zero-party data. There are also tools that marketers can use to collect first-party data that don’t violate the user’s privacy. The way that this technology works is when a user visits your webpage, the server can run scripts that collect anonymous data from the user by collecting a combination of letters and numbers from their IP address. These webtracking services have successfully allowed marketers to store anonymous customer data in the server rather than on their device, the data is then sent directly to analytics platforms for statistical purposes, all without consent from the user.
Though this method of tracking user data is compliant with privacy laws, this may not be a permanent solution to user concerns around privacy. Long term, marketers shouldn’t simply find a way around regulations that are meant to protect users from their data being collected in the first place, eventually we will have to evolve away from collecting customer data and find new ways to attract users to our sites and increase conversions organically. Cookieless tracking is also not necessarily compatible with all websites and depending on where you are located you may still have to ask for users’ consent regardless. Namely, cookieless tracking does provide consistent data about your customers, but it also does not paint the full picture of your customer’s journey. Your visitor data will look different when using cookieless tracking and the data that you don’t lose can be less accurate.
Though cookies can be valuable for marketing, statistical and authentication purposes, there are many reasons why cookies can have a negative impact on your users’ experience, they can lead to security risks and can be invasive. Developers and marketers have a responsibility to continue to improve the user experience and do so in a way that is ethical. In the long run, that’s what’s best for your customers and your business.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to enable cookieless tracking for your website or want to learn more about improving your website and increasing conversions, reach out to our team of experts! Set up your free consultation today to realize your website’s true potential.