One of the latest trends in the tech world is people shifting their focus towards data safety and privacy. Nowadays people care about how their data is being tracked and shared online.
Tracking website cookies is a prominent method using which websites and browsers track users on the internet. With website cookies being a matter of conflict for many users, the websites and browsers are now moving towards cookieless tracking methods.
In this guide, you will understand cookies, how they work, why they shift towards cookieless tracking, and everything else about cookieless tracking. This guide will help you optimize your B2B eCommerce store better for cookieless tracking.
Contents
Before we go into cookieless tracking and ways to do that, it is important to understand what cookies are and why they are important in a tech context.
Whenever you visit a site, you will notice that they have a small popup saying this website uses cookies. Or you will also get a popup asking to allow cookies when you visit the site.
A cookie is a small text-based file. It is used to track a person’s online activity. This mainly involves your login activity and browsing history.
Cookies are used to create a personalized browsing experience and target advertisement for the user. Over time, cookies have gained a bad reputation because they share a lot of private data across several platforms. Many browsers block cookies by default and if not, they suggest you block them.
Perhaps one of the biggest questions amongst people is whether all cookies are bad? It is not entirely true. The original intention of cookies was to make a more personalized user experience for every user on the internet.
There are two main types of cookies that you need to know about. There are First-Party Cookies and then there are Third-Party Cookies. Let’s understand them a little more so that you know which cookies are good and which ones are bad.
First-Party Cookies are also called “harmless cookies”. This is mainly because they are created by the website to provide a more seamless and personalized experience.
For example, when you log in on a website once and it uses first-party cookies, the next time you visit the same website, the site will autofill your username and other details. This saves time for you and gives you a better and more personalized experience.
The First-Party cookies are harmless provided you use a reputable website to share your data.
These are the cookies that you need to be careful of because they share your private data across different websites. These cookies help other companies and advertisers to gather data about you.
One of the main sources of income for a lot of websites is via ads. The ads displayed on the websites might also contain third-party cookies. So even if you don’t click on them or just hover around the ads, they can still track you.
You might have noticed that you search something online and instantly, you just get ads for products matching your search on all the websites. Well, third-party cookies are responsible for that.
The rising concern of third-party cookies and privacy has led websites to find cookieless ways of tracking. Third-Party Cookies are not something people prefer these days and they can also harm the user experience for many people.
Public dislike for cookies combined with the advantages of cookieless tracking contributes to a new way of tracking user data.
Data Privacy and Security
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of cookieless tracking is data privacy and security. The cookieless tracking methods use a server-side tracking approach. This in turn reduces the risk for affiliate fraud.
Accurate Tracking
Cookieless tracking methods allow you to get accurate tracking by generating unique tracking IDs. So every time a user clicks a tracking link, you are going to get the most accurate information.
Mobile Tracking
Two of the main mobile operating systems are Android and iOS. Both of the OS are very aggressive towards cookie-based tracking.
They remove cookies by default. With most of the business happening via mobile phones nowadays, cookieless tracking methods are the only way to track mobile users and their preferences.
Cross-Device Tracking
Cookies are only limited to the browser on which they are used. They can’t be used to track the overall online journey of a user. This is also where cookieless tracking helps a lot.
Cookies aren’t the only way of tracking a user’s online journey. If you have a B2B eCommerce platform or a B2B eCommerce store then these are the cookieless tracking methods that you should know about.
Not only will they help your B2B eCommerce store in tracking and creating a more personalized experience for your users but they will also create a sense of trust in your customer base.
First-Party Data
While Third-Party Cookies may soon be banned for good, first-party cookies and data are going to stay here for the long run. Although it is not as reliable as third-party data, it is still trustworthy.
By combining it with other tools such as CRM tools, web traffic, and generic in-app data, you can still make a lot out of it. Also, it is the data collected mainly from the users who have already shown an interest in your products or services. Using this as a starting point, you can make better conversions.
Contextual Advertising
Contextual advertising is also an effective method for cookieless tracking. The great thing about contextual advertising is that it does not require any cookies. It uses the website’s content, keywords, and topics.
In contextual advertising, the ads that are displayed on a website are somehow related to the content of the website.
For example, if you have a blog on your B2B eCommerce platform, it will mainly show ads related to the type of products and services you offer.
Whitelisting
Whitelisting is another great approach for cookieless tracking. In Whitelisting, the site developers prepare a list of domains, channels, and apps that are connected or relevant to the industry somehow.
They show the ads from the companies on the list to the user. It is in turn good for both the user and the site owners.
The only thing to pay attention to here is periodical maintenance and optimization helps the conversion rate in Whitelisting.
What Does the Future Look Like?
Third-Party Cookies are going to be out of business or won’t have that much presence in the coming future. So if you really want to track user data through your B2B eCommerce software, it is important for you that you also explore the Cookieless tracking methods.
Closing Phrase
So that was all about everything you needed to know about cookieless tracking for B2B eCommerce stores. Cookieless tracking methods are the way forward when everyone is concerned for their privacy on the internet. Plus, they also help you look at the bigger picture.
I hope this guide helps you in understanding cookieless tracking and how it works.
