There’s been significant chatter surrounding the impending demise of third-party cookies. With the process already underway, Google is set to completely eliminate third-party cookies. As of early January, Google began rolling out this change across a small percentage of its platform, with plans to phase out third-party cookies entirely by the end of 2024.  

But what exactly does this mean and why does it matter? 

A brief history of third-party cookie blocking 

It’s worth noting that Google is somewhat behind the curve in its efforts to remove and block third-party cookies.  

Safari and Firefox have been blocking third-party cookies as standard for some time now, and Opera allows users to opt out manually. So why is Google’s move causing such a stir if others have already taken similar steps? The significance lies in the sheer number of users on Google Chrome, which surpasses the collective user base of most other browsers, combined. 

Google has built a substantial advertising and targeting economy around third-party data, making its decision shift particularly impactful. 

Understanding third-party cookies 

To grasp the implications of eliminating third-party cookies, it’s essential to understand how they function.  

Cookies are text files that enable websites to remember user information, such as login details and browsing history. First-party cookies are generated by the website being visited, while third-party cookies originate from domains unrelated to the current site.  

These third-party cookies track user activity across multiple websites, allowing companies to create detailed profiles of browsing habits. 

Reasons for blocking third-party cookies 

Google’s decision to remove third-party cookies stems from societal concerns regarding data privacy. However, given Google Chrome’s dominance in search and advertising revenue, the move presents a complex scenario. Digital marketers have long relied on third-party cookies to drive engagement and conversions, building a successful business model, which makes this transition even more challenging. Google has reaped the rewards of this. 

The search engine brings in around 90% of its revenue through its Google Ads platform. 

They’ve created a mutually beneficial eco-system and, for a very long time, a lot of people have been building their platforms and their success on the foundations of Chrome and its third-party cookies.  

Anticipated changes 

In real terms, the biggest changes are likely by the end users. 

The removal of third-party cookies is expected to have significant implications for businesses and brands reliant on targeted advertising and tracking data. They are going to have to adapt to new ways of targeting their core audiences for themselves and for clients. From an advertising, marketing and re-marketing perspective, those who have previously relied on third-party data will have to shift. 

What are the alternatives?  

The future of Google’s proposed proprietary alternatives, known as the Privacy Sandbox APIs, remains shrouded in uncertainty. Testing on these products has faced prolonged delays and Google has offered scant information regarding their functionality.  

Until we gain clarity on these new products, it’s difficult to provide definitive answers. Moreover, there’s uncertainty regarding their compliance with GDPR in the UK. 

In addition to Google’s Privacy Sandbox APIs, other alternatives such as device fingerprinting, OS-level tracking, and hardware tracking are under discussion as potential replacements for third-party cookie tracking.  

However, there are concerns about the ethical implications. With the risk that they could become ethically opaque and open to misuse. This raises the possibility of replacing one morally ambiguous solution with another, further complicating the landscape of data tracking and audience segmentation. 

Without clear guidance from Google on alternative solutions, uncertainty looms over the future of online targeting. Various alternatives, such as device fingerprinting and contextual targeting, are being discussed but come with their own set of challenges and ethical concerns.  

Shifting mindsets and approaches 

The conversation surrounding third-party cookies reflects a broader shift towards ethical data practices emphasising first-party data. This could be data taken directly from website users on owned sites and apps.  

Another alternative being discussed is contextual targeting; which analyses the content of any given page visited without divulging private user data. This presents new opportunities but also requires regulatory frameworks to ensure accountability and transparency.   

While contextual targeting offers certain advantages, it also poses challenges. One potential downside is that websites would need to increase the amount of text and content to extract meaningful data or signals. Unlike third-party cookies, contextual targeting lacks the same level of granularity in understanding user interests and intent. 

Furthermore, models built on contextual targeting rely heavily on sophisticated natural language processing algorithms. The development and implementation of such algorithms would necessitate unified global AI legislation and regulation, which is currently lacking.  

This underscores the complex regulatory considerations associated with transitioning away from third party cookies. 

Impact on SEO 

While the removal of third-party cookies may not directly impact organic search rankings, it could affect the relevance of promoted search items and snippets. These will likely become less relevant to users.  

Businesses will instead need to focus on creating high-quality owned content to maintain visibility in organic search results.  

Adapting to change 

The transition away from third-party cookies signals a fundamental shift in online advertising and marketing practices. 

As targeting capabilities become more generalised, strategies across various channels, from content creation to digital PR, will need to evolve to capture audience attention effectively.  

In summary, the end of third-party cookies heralds a new era in digital marketing, characterised by a balance between ethical data practices and effective audience engagement strategies. While challenges lie ahead, adaptation and innovation will be key to navigating this evolving landscape.

The post The Impact of Third-Party Cookies ending on PR and SEO appeared first on SiteProNews.

Google news first launched the new way of viewing news on mobiles in 2019, but it has been rolled out to desktops more recently. Many brands are now finding that news articles appear top in search results rather than their content. Google has put the focus on useful and relevant content from third parties rather than from brands themselves. 

Principles of a Great Content Marketing Strategy 

Content marketing has rapidly become a core discipline of forward-thinking marketers and brands. Rather than pushing products and services in an outright plug for the brand, content marketing exists to support customers with relevant, insightful and consistent content to help them solve their issues. The result is far more engaging, and it builds that all-important brand loyalty, a marketing panacea. But content can also drive sales for a business, and the best part is that it is a cost-effective approach that works for both large and small brands. 

Of course, there are different ways of using content marketing in a PR and communications strategy. Whether it’s lead generation or brand awareness, having the right content show up in the right places can be extremely powerful, no matter the size of brand.  

Content Marketing and Google 

There are many common themes between the way that we approach content marketing for brands and the way that Google selects which news to feature in Google news. Brands should think of themselves as ‘content publishers’. They are creating and distributing valuable content that will insight and inform their desired readers. Choose your platform carefully, whether it is your brand’s own blog, a third-party website or social media. If you’re consistently leading your industry as a thought leader, the chances are it will boost your chances of being picked up by Google. This will help with maximising exposure and your chances of resonating with even more readers. 

And it’s not just the news search function in Google that will display Google news, or News.google.com. The Google App, discover page and even YouTube also has Google news coming through as breaking news topics.  

So How Can My Brand Appear in Google News? 

Firstly, let’s look into how Google decides which news articles to display. This article provides a good explanation about Google news article rankings and how they are determined algorithmically. It explains that the following factors are taken into consideration: 

• Relevance: whether the story is relevant to the user’s query. This factor is key to determining what users see in query-based experiences such as in Top Stories. 
• Interests: the interests that are defined when a user sets up Google News, coupled with the user’s reading behaviour, will determine the content that appears on both Google Discover and the “For you” section in news.google.com. Google ignores political or ideological perspectives when ranking content. 
• Location: this factor helps to surface stories relevant to the user’s geographical location in the “Your local news” section. This setting also factors in regional nuances in search queries, allowing a query such as football to return different results in different countries. 
• Language: the audience and how they consume news content is important to tailor for that particular language result. 
• Prominence: this reflects both the number of articles a publisher is producing on a certain topic — with more being better — as well as whether the topic itself is trending. 
• Authoritativeness: Google’s algorithm is set up to search for authoritativeness and trustworthiness signals to prioritise the most reliable sources. This system is designed around feedback from search results, click-through rates (CTRs) in search engine results pages (SERPs) and backlinks. 
• Freshness: recent articles that provide additional information on an evolving story have a higher chance of surfacing than older articles. 
• Usability: Google considers how usable and accessible a website is when presenting search results. Loading speed, responsive design and cross-browser compatibility are key requirements. 

Prominence, Authoritativeness and Freshness 

Prominence, authoritativeness and freshness of content is valued highly by the Google algorithm. They are also the common denominators of any successful PR or communications campaign.  

News hijacking and thought leadership has long been an effective way of getting your brand noticed. It allows you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding on topical events going on within your sector by sharing views and opinions within relevant publications and news outlets. Articles based on topical events increase the ‘shareability’ and credibility of a brand and help to build a reputation.

When it comes to getting noticed; being quick to get your comments out there and keeping them brief and on topic will increase your chances of them being picked up, not only by a news outlet but also by Google news. The effect of this could be incredibly advantageous for a brand.  

The post Content Marketing – How Being More Useful Pays Dividends With Google appeared first on SiteProNews.

Meetings via Zoom and Teams make the working day go round as we use hybrid working practices away from offices.

The way the media operates has also undergone a dramatic transformation since Covid-19 first emerged. It’s important to keep up to speed and embrace the spirit of change so that you can find new opportunities.

It’s certainly worth the investment of resource in terms of time and effort and funding expert help because there are so many online opportunities to amplify the positive things that are going on within your organisation.

And now it’s easier than ever for people to take part in television and radio interviews. You can be quizzed by journalists from the comfort of your own home or from the security of your office.

Print Media is Changing Tactics

The print media has also got in on the act. Newspaper reporters and trade specialists will often use Teams because it’s an efficient way to generate video content.

There’s also a chance that they supplement their content for their website. Video content produced via smartphones is a familiar sight on news and content outlets, especially in regional media, such as the Bristol Live website.

If the content is strong there’s every chance it will go straight to Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and more. It’s vital that you know what you’re doing when you’re in the thick of it and treat everything in your stride.

Media Training for Social Media Appearances

It’s important not to be taken off guard by the sight of a smartphone. Smartphones mean that anyone can, in effect, be a citizen journalist, as many public figures have found to their cost, as per this Bournemouth University study.

Social media can be a really positive force but it’s important that it’s treated seriously. That means making sure that companies, public sector organisations and charities go about their business in a professional manner.

The key to success is preparation and effective training will ensure that you have all the basics to provide the foundation for success on the social media front.

That training should examine ways to get the best out of your social media activity by looking at:

• The different ways that platforms can be used – thanks to their instant nature and user-friendly flexibility, platforms like Facebook Live are a great way to share on-the-move action, behind-the-scenes activity and live events as they unfold.

• How best to present yourself – While you don’t need to be suited and booted, as they say, like you would when visiting a TV studio, if you’re representing a company, a public sector organisation or a charity, the casual look is fine but you do need to look professional.

• Where social media interviews appear – From TikTok to Facebook Live and from Twitter to Instagram, and lest we forget LinkedIn – interviews pop up here there and everywhere on the social media airwaves. Interviews could be conducted by bona fide journalists, influencers or in-house colleagues.

• What organisations can be found on social media – We’re living in a digital-first era and the fact that John Lewis released their Christmas advert via their social media channels shows that it’s open to everyone from household names to up-and-coming small businesses.

• Your audience – It’s worth taking time to study who is watching, reading and listening to your content whether they’re videos or podcasts to make sure that you pitch things perfectly.

• What is the value of being on social media? It’s like the Wild West out there in the world of social media and sadly it’s not all positive because you’re wide open to public scrutiny. That’s why it’s worth establishing how best to monitor your social media activity to make sure that your output is targeting the appropriate platforms and paying dividends.

• The new normal – Whether you like it or not, there’s no getting away from the need for an online presence. So while you can’t control everything, it’s best to establish how you can embrace the ways to maximise your control.

• How can you use your own channels to boost your profile – The Peso Model, which stands for Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned, is the best model for spreading the word when you’ve got something to shout. It could be re-purposing content that you might have worked hard to achieve in a national newspaper or sharing it on your social media channels.

Using Social Media to Your Advantage

The digital age is an exciting time for all things media and there are lots of brilliant opportunities which can be used to enhance the profile of your organisation.

Right from DIY broadcasting via a Twitter account to coping with the unexpected, there are lots of ways to enhance reputations.

Some people make it to look easy but that’s only because social media training has become an important part of personal development plans and overarching strategies.

An investment in training makes sure that people are ready for the all the different challenges that social media poses.

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