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Third-party cookies are about to expire. Will server-side tracking help?

 Regardless of the method, cookies are the vehicles that deliver data. As a result, privacy regulations focus on what type of data is collected. While cookies may be necessary, they are not the only tool that will help you keep track of visitors to your website. For example, using server side tracking can help you determine which cookies your customers have opened and which are about to expire.

It all comes down to the purpose of the data collected at the other end. An identity matching system is required to link behavior events across devices and sessions. Servers collect information by stringing together information using session IDs. This is not good for understanding behaviors that occur over long periods of time or cross-browser. 

Third-party cookies are about to expire.

With third-party cookies on the decline, how can marketers make sure they don't lose any of their online data? By 2023, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari will no longer accept third-party cookies. This decision is a significant step forward for the tech industry, as Chrome currently controls 67% of the market and represents a significant shift. However, it does pose several challenges.

As privacy regulations continue to limit cookies, many advertisers are trying to find alternatives. Google recently announced that it would cut the cord for third-party cookies in Chrome. While the company said this would be beneficial to advertisers, publishers, and users, it also noted that the ad tech industry was working on workarounds. The company also plans to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome by the mid or end of 2023. This announcement has spurred considerable increases in ad tech stock prices. 

They require a unique event tracking set up on your website.

Luckily, there are several ways to prevent any turmoil with regard to digital marketing. First, you can set up a cookie erasure function in the event tracking section of Google Analytics. You can also configure your website to allow visitors to delete cookies at any time. You need to set up a custom HTML event tag on your website to enable this function. Once set, this function can trigger whenever a user logs in to your website. You can also specify the cookies you want to remove.

The third-party cookies you currently use are affecting your site in many ways. First, you need to remove any third-party cookies. These are cookie codes generated by a different website and stored on the computer of a visitor. These cookies can provide you with detailed information about your website visitors, including their session duration, bounce rate, conversion rate, geographical demographics, and referring sources. However, these cookies will no longer be functional if you wish to analyze user activity outside your website.

 

They expire every time a customer reloads the web page or visits a new page.

The same-site cookie is backward compatible, but older browsers may not recognize it and may restrict it. If you want to allow third-party cookies, make sure to configure your browser to accept them. This setting will limit the functionality of specific Flash applications and our services. For more information, see the Blink-dev announcement. However, keep in mind that third-party cookies are not required by law.

Third-party cookies have a bimodal distribution: they can last for less than a day or two weeks. Cookies that are seen by a campaign will remain longer. The more frequently a customer visits a site, the more cookies it will be stored. If you want to use this cookie, make sure the domain of your website is secure. Third-party cookies are not allowed on all websites.

 

They can be tracked by server-side tracking.

Most of the client-side events can be tracked by server-side tracking, though some are too complicated to replicate on a server. One example is IP address collection, which is a natural client-side event. Additionally, cookie blockers affect the ability of server-side tracking. Let's look at the differences between these two tracking methods and how you can use them to improve your website's performance.

Server-side tracking requires that you create one stream for all behavioral events. The server can then send these to the appropriate data collection endpoints, not the browser. This will decrease the browser's load and transfer the responsibility to the servers. Multiple sequential requests are much more efficient without affecting the user experience.

Browsers that block third-party cookies are already a step closer to a more secure internet. In addition to blocking third-party cookies, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari have already made it a default feature. But a few browsers are still holding out. Google Chrome is one notable exception, with a commanding 67% market share. But if you're an advertiser, it's a good idea to plan ahead and use server-side tracking to transition to a world without third-party cookies.

 

Is server-side tracking really the way forward?

Tag management server-side systems function in a similar manner to their client-side counterparts. The benefit comes when you update your user tracking logic to create a one-to-many relationship between all the events you collect about the user.

Among the top server-side TMS’, MagicPixel prepares your organization for a future without third-party cookies. Such is achieved with a first-party data collection strategy. The ability to use data closer to an individual, such as a Customer ID or phone number, will improve user data accuracy. These IDs are unlikely to change between sessions, browsers, or devices.

Server-side tracking may not be the best option for all data collection methods. Considering all data collection methods, server-side tracking is currently not available. Most of them work with minor modifications. It is possible to make the change today using a hybrid approach. This means that most data collection tools are run from server-side managed data, while others still use data sent via the browser. It is crucial to ensure that permissions are correctly handled when a user opts-in or out of data collection.

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