Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari already block third-party cookies, and recently, Google revealed it would no longer support cookies on ad networks and its Chrome browser.
What does this mean for marketing teams, and what can you do to ensure your business keeps running smoothly when you are marketing without cookies? Let’s find out.
Why Are Third-Party Cookies Going Away & Why Does it Matter?
Whenever you use the internet, especially on browsers like Chrome, your actions are tracked through cookies.
These cookies can help marketing teams understand user behaviors and ad performance, but they may feel like an intrusion of privacy for many users.
By blocking these cookies, users can increase their privacy and security. Browsers like Firefox, Safari, and Brave have already started doing this. Google will also begin phasing out third-party cookies from its browsers to strengthen user privacy and promote itself as a secure search engine.
This represents a considerable change for marketers who heavily relied on cookies for their ad campaigns.
When creating paid ad campaigns on browsers and social media platforms, you need customer details to customize the copy. Marketing without cookies means you’d have to rely on first-party data (more on that below) rather than third-party cookies.
Now Google is launching “The Privacy Sandbox” as a response to the cookieless future. Here data will be stored anonymously to form a middle ground where companies can obtain customer data without intrusive cookie tracking.
Beyond this, there are various ways to market without cookies. Below, we’ll discuss some of the most effective strategies and offer tips for marketing without relying on the use of third-party cookies.
4 Tips to Prepare for Cookieless Marketing
Your marketing campaigns don’t have to suffer because you don’t have access to third-party cookies.
Using the strategies and tips below, you can learn to leverage tools like first-party data to increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts without depending on cookies.
Turn on Google Analytics 4
An upgraded version of Universal Analytics, Google Analytics 4 supports both app and website-based tracking. It helps if you use both formats (app and website), as most businesses do today.
Whether you already run GA for an existing website or you want to create a different account for a new site, turning on Google Analytics 4 is simple. Here’s a detailed guide to help you get started.
Start Gathering First-Party Data
Third-party cookies are blocked, but marketing teams can continue to collect first-party data. This means you can still use data from email sign-up forms or newsletters, surveys, and other direct methods.
The biggest benefit of working with first-party data is you own the data. You don’t have to worry about buying it from someone else or losing the right to use it.
The second benefit is first-party data tends to be more accurate than third-party cookies because you know your customers and have the tools to figure out exactly where the data came from.
Another massive benefit is your competitors don’t have the same data. When you buy third-party data, there may be another company, most likely your competitor, that buys the same information.
Sounds exciting? Here are some ways to collect first-party data to help you get started:
online surveys
sign-up forms
newsletters
community polls
SMS answers
mobile notification responses
direct mail (offline post), etc.
These are some of the tools marketers typically use to gather first-party data from both new visitors and seasoned users. You may not want to start using all of them at once as it could overwhelm your customers.
Instead, try one or two approaches first. See how your audience responds to it. Are they receptive to your methods, or do they need a different approach? Experiment with different techniques to see what best suits your business model.
Invest More in Market Research
Market research goes hand-in-hand with collecting first-party data. When marketing without cookies, you need to know who your audience is.
Understanding their needs and pain points will help you tailor your campaigns to suit their needs without having to rely on external cookies data.
Collect questions and feedback from your current users.
Work with analytics to understand what’s working and what isn’t.
Hold focus groups with incentives for participants.
Observe how customers interact without interfering with their actions.
Post simple polls in community forms to get a broad view of audience interests.
Leverage the power of social media to understand what your target market wants.
No matter which method you choose, the bottom line is this: Start investing more in market research. Get to know your customers and target market with surveys, buyer personas, and most importantly, constantly testing your findings with A/B testing.
Focus on Personalization
What would you prefer? An email that addresses you by your name, or one that starts with a “hello there!?”
Research says people prefer the first option. Studies show 90 percent of users find personalization appealing and 80 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands provide personalized experiences.
If you want to take your marketing efforts to the next level, it’s best to focus on personalization.
Now that you’re already working with first-party data, this will be easier.
Start with using the customer’s name. There are dozens of tools in the market, including ones that work with newsletters to automatically personalize your campaigns.
Then address customer pain points. Get really specific about what bothers them and position yourself as a solution for those problems. This will help customers connect with your brand better.
Here’s an eye-opening graphic about pain points to keep in mind when working on personalization.
Rethinking PPC: 4 Tips for PPC Marketing Without Cookies
If you’ve ever run online advertising campaigns, you know the best way to get effective results is to target your ads to specific audiences. How can you do that when marketing without cookies? Here’s how.
Use AI-Based Bidding
By analyzing search data, AI-driven bidding determines which keywords and trends generate the most conversions. Then it optimizes your bids in real-time, maximizes efficiency for your ad spend, and improves the return on your investment.
The Smart Bidding feature of Google AI-based bidding provides bid strategies based on conversions. As a result, you can make targeted bid decisions for every auction in which your ads are entered.
What does it mean? Simply speaking, it means you can get more reliable results without resorting to guesswork.
Such automated bid decisions are based on data that includes information about the device, the current location, the time of day, remarketing list, enabled languages, operating system, and other relevant details.
Still confused about AI-based bidding? Don’t worry. Here’s a Google guide to help you get started.
Reconsider KPIs
Key performance indicators (KPIs) measure progress towards achieving ad campaign goals, so the success of your PPC marketing campaign often depends on what you’re actually measuring.
Here’s where it gets interesting. When marketing without cookies, you may have to reconsider these KPIs to better align with your business goals. For instance, you may want to pay more attention to conversion numbers (how many users convert vs. how many users bounce from your homepage).
Cost per acquisition is another important KPI you need to consider to ensure your ad campaigns are profitable in the long run.
Fully understanding and leveraging these KPIs can help you make better marketing decisions, especially when you’re navigating this new territory of a cookieless marketing future.
Use Contextual-Based Advertising
Now that third-party cookies are out of the picture, you may be wondering: How can I know which ads to place where if I don’t have data about consumer behavior?
That’s where contextual advertising comes in. In context-based advertising, ads are placed on web pages according to the website’s content. For example, a tech blog may display ads about computer accessories, while a vegan-living website may display ads about vegan food products.
The Amazon Prime Video ad copy literally talks about being a “bookworm.” This is contextual advertising as users who read the NYT Books section are obviously readers in some capacity.
One more: Look at WSJ’s Life and Work section. It has a classic lifestyle content ad, considering users visiting this section have already shown an interest in lifestyle content.
Target Based on Location and Time
Say you want something more personal than contextual advertising. Then consider targeting users based on their current location and time of the day.
This can be as simple as “geotargeting,” where you change the ad copy to suit users from different regions. You see this in most search results.
For example, if you look up “coffee shops” from New York, you’ll see ads and search results for coffee shops in NY, even if the same brand has a franchise elsewhere.
The most interesting part? It doesn’t even have to be a huge brand. As long as the business has some web presence and works with geotargeted ads, it’ll show up for location-based searches.
Time-based marketing is similar, with the only difference being you’re now using time data to personalize your copy. Imagine getting an email greeting you with a Good Morning when it’s actually morning in your region. Feels good, doesn’t it?
This approach can also be useful to determine when ads will appear for users.
Say you want to market coffee products. It’s better to show these ads in the morning when users are considering buying coffee, rather than at night when they are more likely to avoid it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Marketing in a Cookieless Future
Here are some frequently asked questions about marketing without cookies.
Why is Google getting rid of third-party cookies?
Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies comes as part of a comprehensive strategy to create a privacy sandbox so users can be tracked (for marketing purposes) while maintaining their privacy.
How will the end of third-party cookies impact marketing?
Most marketing teams were used to using third-party cookies for launching marketing campaigns. Losing access to those would mean you have to rethink your strategy, find better ways to collect information (first-party data), and personalize ad campaigns without relying on cookies.
What is the Google Privacy Sandbox?
Google has launched the Privacy Sandbox initiative to develop web standards that allow websites to access user information without compromising privacy. In essence, it facilitates online advertising without relying on third-party cookies.
What does cookieless marketing mean?
Cookies are bits of data that contain identifiers for consumers (personal and usage information), so cookieless marketing relies less on them in comparison to other marketing approaches. This involves using first-party data and personalization to increase the effectiveness of ad campaigns.
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Cookieless Marketing Conclusion
Marketing without cookies may seem like a daunting task at first. However, it doesn’t have to be so hard.
The best part is these methods give you more control and accuracy compared to cookie-based marketing, which has you sharing data with your competitors.
Which strategy will you try for marketing without cookies?
Especially if you want to rank for competitive terms like “auto insurance” or “credit cards”.
But there must be a list of keywords that you can rank for today that is super easy to rank for, yet the keywords are still good in which they will drive traffic and sales.
And to help you find those keywords we released a new Ubersuggest feature that will show you a list of keywords that are perfect for your site in less than 60 seconds.
What do you consider “easy” Neil?
What’s easy for my site NeilPatel.com to rank for, maybe hard for your site.
And what may be easy for Wikipedia to rank for, maybe hard for my site.
“Easy” is very relative to the site. Depending on your domain authority and the age of your site, a keyword could be easy or hard to rank for.
So, with Ubersuggest, we took that into account when it came to giving you a list of keywords that are “easy” to rank for.
The list is based on your site and what would be easy for you. We base that on a wide variety of factors such as domain authority, age of the site, what you currently rank for, and your current organic traffic level.
How to find easy keywords that are still valuable
Now let’s go find you some keywords that you can start ranking for.
I want you to head over to Ubersuggest and type in a keyword related to your space and click on “Search”.
If you are unsure what keyword to type in, it can be any related to your website and it can be generic. For example, if you have a site that sells “dog food” you can type in the keyword “dog food” or even something like “dog”.
For this example, I used the term “digital marketing” as the NeilPatel.com site isn’t just about SEO I cover all aspects of online marketing.
You should see a report that looks something like this.
It’s an overview of the keyword. It tells you how many people search for the keyword each month. It even breaks down how many people search for that keyword on mobile and desktop devices.
In the left-hand navigation click on “keyword ideas”.
You’ll see a report that looks something like this:
This report is showing you all the similar keywords of the phrase you typed in. In this case, these are all the words and phrases related to digital marketing. There are also tabs on that report, such as related, questions, prepositions, and comparisons. These tabs show even more keyword ideas for you.
Now click on the button that says “Page 1 Ranking Potential”:
Once you enter your domain you’ll see all the keywords you can rank for.
When I put Npdigital.com, my ad agency, it filters the results and shows me keywords that are easier to rank for.
When I put in NeilPatel.com it doesn’t really filter much because the site has so much authority I have the ability to rank for most keywords.
When I put in brand new sites it filters much more. Like when I put in my holding company site it shows me keywords that aren’t competitive at all, but of course, I have even a smaller list as I barely have any authority with that site.
Once you have a list, I want you to look for keywords that contain the following traits:
Traffic greater than 100 – even if a keyword is searched 100 times it doesn’t mean you will get 100 visits if you rank number 1. You will only get a fraction of that. So you don’t want to aim too small.
High CPC – CPC stands for cost per click. That is what someone pays per click if they advertised on Google Ads. The higher the number the better as it typically means the keyword converts from a visitor to a customer standpoint.
Low SEO difficulty – the lower the “SD” or “SEO difficulty” number the easier the keyword is to rank for. So, target keywords with the lowest number first assuming they meet the above 2 points as well.
Relevancy – even if a keyword meets the above 3 points, you have to make sure the keyword is relevant to your business. If it isn’t related to what you do then you wouldn’t want to waste your time targeting it. Traffic for the sake of traffic is just a waste of money because you are putting in time and energy optimizing your site for keywords.
Conclusion
SEO is great, but it does take time.
It’s the reason why some people think SEO is dead when it really isn’t. It is just more so competitive and takes longer to rank for popular terms.
So, give this new feature a try. Head over to Ubersuggest and put in a keyword and see what is easy for you to rank for today.
Are you looking for a bit of customer love online?
Tinder could be the hookup your brand is looking for.
With a monthly user base of 66 million people and 50 percent between 18-25, Tinder is the perfect place to connect with younger audiences, no matter the product offering.
Ready to swipe right?
Let’s take a deep dive into how Tinder Ads can help your business.
How Do Tinder Ads Work?
You can purchase Tinder ads with a direct buy through Match Media Group, who also manages advertising on the dating apps Hinge, Plenty of Fish, Match, and OkCupid, if you can meet their minimum spend requirements.
NP Digital offers custom Tinder ad buys through a direct buy with Tinder, programmatically through Google’s DV360, and through both Google and Facebook’s Ad Networks. Reach out to my team to learn more.
Besides buying directly with a large budget, you can also run display ads via Google and Facebook’s ad platforms.
These display ads are shown to users who haven’t upgraded to the ad-free experience.
Why Should You Advertise on Tinder?
The majority of Tinder users are male and either Millennials or Gen Z-ers. If either of those demographics is part of your target audience, you should consider using Tinder ads.
Tinder Ad Tips
As with all other types of ads, there are best practices to follow when writing for Tinder. And when you’re writing ads to go with a dating app, you have some extra room for creativity and flair. So here are a few things to keep in mind when creating ads for Tinder users.
1. Be Eye-Catching
Looks are key on Tinder. Users speed swipe through profiles and only stop if the person’s first photo catches their eye.
For your ads to be successful on the dating app, you need to lean into this. Make sure your visuals are attractive to your demographic.
This could stop users mid-swipe, get them to spend time reading for ad copy, and click-through.
How do you create visually appealing Tinder Ads?
use high-res images
boost saturation
opt for clutter-free images
use images with faces
2. Write FOMO-Inducing Copy
Your Tinder Ads should use phrases that resonate with your audience and spark their interest.
On an app where people’s attention spans are short, you don’t want to waste your ad spend on copy that doesn’t convert.
Keep these tips in mind when writing your Tinder Ads:
Focus on the end solution: What problem does your product or service solve? How will solving that problem improve your customers’ lives?
Use emotional triggers: Words are powerful and can incite reactions and actions when used correctly. So sprinkle a few emotional words and phrases in your copy and start marketing with emotion.
Focus on the benefits: People care about how your brand will improve their lives.
Use FOMO (fear of missing out): Why does FOMO work so well? It’s an emotional trigger. It piques our curiosity and invites us to want to know more. It also activates loss aversion, where the pain of losing is more powerful than the pleasure of gaining something. Use this to your advantage in your ad copy.
3. Be Yourself
In general, you want to maintain your personal brand when on Tinder. As any Tinder dater will tell you, the only worse than being ghosted is being catfished.
Sure, there are Tinder Ad success stories where brands have used “fake” profiles to promote their products. Case in point: ExMachina.
Male attendees at the SXSW festival could match with a 25-year-old woman called Ava. Once shipping right and after some light banter back and forth, Ava reveals she is a robot created to promote the film Ex Machina.
The campaign was a hit, but the movie had Tinder’s blessing to create a fake profile.
People use Tinder because they’re single and ready to mingle.
Why not use your products or services to help users make a love connection? Find a way your product can help someone score that second date.
For instance, if you run a winery, offer users the chance to win a wine tasting for two. If you sell weekly meal kits, put together a perfect package for someone cooking a meal for a date. If you’re in the events industry, give away a free plus one ticket.
The Atlanta Hawks used this tactic with a “Swipe Right Night.” The event offered Tinder users the chance to win “Love Lounges.” On the night of, users could access the lounges and meet their matches face-to-face.
By focusing your campaign efforts on how you can help your customers, you’re putting their interests first and helping them make a connection.
Who knows, you could help someone find their life partner. Now, wouldn’t that be an epic brand story?
5. Keep It Simple
Tinder is a fast-paced environment. People are swiping left or right at lightning speeds.
If you want your Tinder Ad to stand out, keep it simple. Tell your viewers who you are and how you can help them, then make sure your calls to action (CTAs) are clear and convincing.
How to Create an Ad for Tinder
You can create Tinder Ads either via Facebook or Google. Here’s how to set up ads on both platforms.
How to Create Tinder Ads on Facebook
Step 1: Create a Business Account on Facebook
You can only create Facebook ads for Tinder with a Business Account and a Facebook Page.
Step 2: Go to Ads Manager to Create Your Ad
Navigate to the Facebook Ads Manager dashboard and click on the green “+ Create” button.
Select your campaign objective from the list and click on “continue.”
Step 3: Select Your Placements
A new window will pop up where you can fill in all the information Facebook needs to run your ad.
To make sure it shows up on Tinder, click on “New Ad Set” on the left-hand side of the page and scroll down to placements.
Select “manual placements,” and you’ll see four platforms show up:
Facebook
Instagram
Messenger
Audience Network
Audience Network is the platform that will deliver your ad to Tinder. The app is included in Facebook’s “dating apps” category.
Make sure you select Audience Network and fill out the rest of the fields to create your ad. When you’re done, send the ad in for review. Once Facebook approves it, you’ll have ads running on Tinder.
How to Create Tinder Ads on Google
Step 1: Go to Your Google Ads account.
To create an account, navigate to the Google Ads webpage and click on “Start Now.” Next, confirm your payment info, enter a valid credit card, and click on “Submit.”
Step 2: Create a New Campaign
Once you’re logged into your Google Ads account, click on the “new campaign” button.
Step 3: Set Your Campaign Goal and Type
Next, select “website traffic” as your campaign goal for your Tinder Ads.
Scroll down and select “Display” as your campaign type.
Enter your website name at the bottom and click “continue” when you’re done.
Step 4: Create a Target Audience for Your Tinder Ad Campaign
Here, you can start defining your target audience for Tinder.
Select which locations you want to target or exclude.
Choose which languages your audience speaks.
Click on “more settings” for a list of advanced tweaks you can make to your campaign.
When you’re ready, click on “Next.”
Step 5: Add Your Budget
On Google Ads, you can set a minimum daily spend for your Tinder ad campaign.
Once you enter an amount, you’ll get an estimate of what your results will look like.
Step 6: Set Your Ad Placements
Click on “placements” to define where you want Google to serve your ads. This is where you’ll select Tinder to make sure it shows up on the app.
In the browse section, select “Apps” and type “Tinder” in the search bar.
Tick the checkbox next to the app, then click “done.”
Now all that’s left to do is finalize the creative for your ad, and you’re done!
Tinder Ad Frequently Asked Questions
Are Tinder ads free?
No, Tinder ads are not free. The Facebook and Google ad platforms use a competitive bid system, meaning no fixed pricing for ads. Instead, the price depends on factors like demographics and the competitiveness of the ad auction.
Is Bumble or Tinder better for ads?
It depends on who you want to target and your ad creative. Bumble isn’t only for singles; it’s for meeting new friends and professional colleagues too.
How many people will see my Tinder ad?
It depends on your target audience’s definition (the more specific, the smaller the pool of people) and how much money you have to pump into your Tinder Ads.
What kind of ads can I run on Tinder?
You can currently only run ads on Tinder through Facebook and Google’s ad networks.
No, Tinder ads are not free. The Facebook and Google ad platforms use a competitive bid system, meaning no fixed pricing for ads. Instead, the price depends on factors like demographics and the competitiveness of the ad auction.
It depends on who you want to target and your ad creative. Bumble isn’t only for singles; it’s for meeting new friends and professional colleagues too.
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Tinder Ads Conclusion
Let’s be honest: No one is going onto Tinder intending to buy your latest product.
This is why your Tinder ads need to play off the app’s purpose. Create a campaign around your audience’s dating life. Give them something to help them out on date night and bring them one step closer to meeting “the one.”
These fun campaigns can demonstrate you care about their daily lives while delighting them with a unique customer experience.
Don’t forget, if you’d rather have our team handle your paid ads or custom Tinder ad management, reach out to my team for a personalized consultation.
Are you using Tinder ads? What results have you seen from the dating app?
PrepDD | Remote | Frontend + Fullstack Engineers | Full time | https://www.prepdd.com PrepDD is a workspace for accounting teams, helping them manage all of their projects in the same place. We run in React / TypeScript / Apollo GraphQL / RoR / PostgreSQL, but more importantly we’re looking for a good teammate to join …
I’m a senior full-stack developer with 15 years of experience (7 as a contract software consultant). I specialize in prototype/MVP development, product rewrites, automation and process improvement, and IT augmentation as a drop-in developer for your team.
I’ve helped business in a wide variety of sectors: finance, politics, charities, academia, startups, mapping, agriculture, insurance, marketing.
Looking for projects starting in March 2020 onward, with roughly 2-week to 6-month timelines and budgets ~US$10k-100k. Prefer to bill hourly or day rate, but by milestone is fine too.
Strong communication and time-management skills. Have worked with clients found via HN/Angel, some for many years. References available.
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