Tracking Protection is Coming

Google is ringing in the new year by activating its Tracking Protection feature for 1% of a randomly-selected group of Chrome users on January 4, 2024, AdExchanger reports. With this feature enabled, websites will have their access to third-party cookies cut off, a move that will culminate with third-party cookies completely phased out from Chrome by the end of the year. An estimated 61% of marketers have not yet tested Google’s Privacy Sandbox despite signal loss concerns, but these early Chrome testers will have an option to temporarily re-enable cookies in case a website doesn’t function as it should with Tracking Protection on.

Marketers’ Holiday Wish Lists

‘Tis the season… for marketer wish lists? Digiday spoke with seven agency execs to discover what they wish for the most. Those desires include:

• One market platform instead of thousands
• Data standardization for marketing data metrics and measurements reporting
• AI transforming into useful tools instead of talking points
• Seeing more creativity from advertisers to foster user engagement

Debunking Google SEO Myths

MarTech Series discussed five common Google SEO myths, debunking each in turn:

1. Duplicate content penalty: The belief is that if website content is duplicated elsewhere, Google will penalize you for it. In reality, it won’t directly penalize your website, but Google favors original content.
2. PPC boosts rankings: While Google does favor websites that spend money on PPC advertising, its “algorithm for ranking organic webpages is separate and different from the one used to determine PPC ad placements.” PPC and organic rankings are separate systems, though PPC campaigns can benefit overall traffic.
3. Domain age matters: A common belief is that the older a domain is, the higher its ranking. While older domains may naturally acquire backlinks, age itself isn’t a ranking factor.
4. Google uses Analytics data: Another concern is that publishers with a high bounce rate or slow-loading pages will be perceived as a low-quality website. Google doesn’t use Analytics data for ranking, though user experience metrics indirectly influence SEO.
5. Domain authority: Third-party “authority” scores don’t directly impact rankings, though quality content and backlinks remain crucial.