What is the post-cookie world and why does it matter for mobile app marketers?

The post-cookie world refers to the scenario where third-party cookies, which are used to track and identify users across websites or apps, are blocked due to privacy concerns. Third-party cookies have been the backbone of online advertising for decades, enabling marketers to segment, target, personalize and measure their campaigns across the web. However, with the rise of consumer awareness and regulation around data privacy, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), third-party cookies have come under scrutiny and criticism for being intrusive and opaque. Apple has blocked third-party cookies in its Safari browser since 2017, and Google plans to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome by 2022. These privacy changes forced marketers to find alternative ways to reach and engage their audiences online.

According to Forbes, the death of the third-party cookie will affect many aspects of online advertising, such as identity and addressability, targeting, data privacy and content monetization.
For mobile app marketers, the post-cookie world poses both challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, mobile apps do not rely on cookies for tracking and identification but use other methods such as device IDs or SDKs. On the other hand, mobile apps are not immune to the privacy changes that affect the web, such as Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework or Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiatives. These changes mean that mobile app marketers need to adapt their strategies and tactics to comply with the new privacy standards and expectations, while still delivering relevant and personalized experiences to their users. For instance, Apple’s ATT framework makes it so that app developers must now ask users for permission before tracking and collecting data from them, which limits the amount of data that can be collected and used for ad targeting.

How can mobile app marketers leverage data and technology to enhance the benefits of targeted marketing?

Mobile app marketers were forced to adapt to the post-cookie world by shifting their focus from third-party data to first-party data, which is collected directly from users who have interacted with the app or the business online or offline.

And it comes with a certain advantage, as first-party data is more accurate, relevant and consent-based than third-party data, and can provide a richer and more holistic view of the user journey and preferences to the marketing team. To collect, manage and activate first-party data effectively, mobile app marketers need to use platforms that can unify user data from various sources, provide insights and analytics, and enable personalized and omnichannel experiences. Some of the platforms that can help mobile app marketers achieve these goals are customer data platforms (CDPs), data management platforms (DMPs) and master data management solutions (MDMs).

What are some of the trade-offs between using CDPs, DMPs and MDM solutions for mobile app user acquisition?

CDPs, DMPs and MDMs are different types of tech platforms that serve different purposes and users in the marketing ecosystem. Here is a table that summarizes their main features and differences:

As you can see from the table above, each platform has its own strengths and limitations depending on the type of data it collects, processes and activates.

CDPs are best suited for creating personalized user experiences based on first-party data that is consented, persistent and actionable across channels.

DMPs are best suited for targeting anonymous audiences based on second- or third-party data that is aggregated, transient and limited to online advertising.

MDMs are best suited for creating a consistent and reliable master data set across the organization based on first-party data that is standardized, verified and governed.

How can apps optimize marketing spend to drive conversions?

Apps can optimize their marketing spend by using a mix combination of CDPs, DMPs and MDMs to leverage the best of each platform and create a comprehensive and coherent data strategy for their marketing plan. For example, apps can use CDPs to collect and unify first-party data from their own app, website, social platforms, email campaigns, loyalty programs, in-app purchases etc. and create a 360-degree view of the user.

Apps can then use DMPs to enrich their first-party data with second- or third-party data from external sources such as publishers, ad networks, data providers etc. and create audience segments based on various attributes and behaviors.

Apps can also use MDMs to ensure that their first-party data is consistent and accurate across different systems and departments within the organization and that they comply with data quality and privacy standards.

By using these platforms together, apps can create a data-driven marketing strategy that can help them:

• Identify and target their most valuable users and prospects across channels and devices.
• Personalize and optimize their messages and offers based on user preferences and context.
• Measure and attribute the performance and impact of their campaigns on conversions and revenue.
• Test and experiment with different variables and scenarios to improve their app marketing effectiveness.

To conclude all of this, as marketers we are forced to quickly adapt to new scenarios, changes in the market, costs and more, all while still being able to deliver the best results we set up as goals. We developed new strategies to serve our users better and to ensure their data is secure. We also went a step further and implemented a system to monitor and detect when data is being accessed without permission, giving us peace of mind. All of this was done to protect our user’s privacy and ensure their data is secure.
That end of third-party Cookies was that major change that forced us to dig deep into the data we already have and understand how to make the most of it.
Once done we understand that it’s more valuable to our plans, creating a better relationship with our app users, knowing that their privacy is being respected.    

For centuries, people have found hundreds of ways to communicate and collaborate for both professional and personal aims. Since the time when the Internet came into play, these channels of human communication have witnessed prominent progress. It has become especially significant and impressive in the last decade, with broader availability of the Internet and the development of new technologies.

Ten or twenty years ago having a website was seen as a kind of luxury, while today it is a widely used and important factor of personal, professional, and business growth. More specifically, since the rise of corporate websites, the core business of companies was to create websites with compelling, relevant, and searchable information — from product descriptions, location pages to blog posts. However, many of these companies have put too much emphasis on external search engine results and rankings, while overlooking the importance of internal search function capabilities within their websites — claiming that this functionality receives a low priority due to a false assumption of “a low percentage of our users are proactively searching for content within the website itself”, which we know is quite the opposite.

Up until recently, users were often faced with an overabundance of hazy or off-point search results, too few results, or, in some cases, no results at all. The search engines were implemented without consideration of user-profiles — thus the search suffered, and the site visitors made notice. When users encounter a bad search experience, they remember it.

Are publishers investing resources in the correct revenue channels?

In recent years publishers have started to understand that if they spend most of their resources on optimizing their SEO efforts but neglect optimizing the specific search capabilities and inquires within their website, they are basically not completing the goal of getting their readers to the final destination, which means failing to lead each user to the right content at the right time. In other words, when a prospective reader is searching within a website, their intent is different than when they conduct an external Google search because they are devoting time on your site. They offer you clues into what specific content, product or service they are interested in.

Today’s internal website search solutions provide both navigational and informational benefits. In addition, most modern websites and apps are jammed with information in multiple formats organized in a variety of ways across different microsites and subdomains.

By analyzing how and what visitors are searching for via your internal search tool, you can define what new content you can offer, update your keyword strategies for an organic search or even adjust your site structure to present the most searched for topics first. Furthermore, if your existing users are looking for specific information that you don’t have available yet, you can create new site pages accordingly. Utilizing search analytics will also help identify and determine website navigational or site structure issues. By solving these issues, users can get to the content they need most, including key transactional pages like forms and contact pages.

After talking with and meeting hundreds of online publishers (website owners, digital editors, design directors, etc.) from many different verticals, I was astonished to find that while many of them understand the importance of having an internal optimized search solution that improves their overall user experience, they don’t necessarily agree on spending resources for development and for conducting day-to-day maintenance. As a result of an ecosystem that keeps growing and that is getting more competitive every day, most publishers are very strict about measuring each expense carefully, thus neglecting maintenance and development on their own internal search widget/tool/solution. Their lack of attention and investment concerning this important issue can also result in a loss of extra revenue. Most publishers I talked to had the basic assumption that investing in an internal onsite search is an expensive business, which in most cases it is, but they were happy to hear about an existing alternative that is free — YES, we offer it for free.

Thus, we now see a crucial need in the ecosystem for the vast majority of content-based websites to find a cost-effective solution for this problem. We at Zoomd have recognized this new opportunity. We have created a top of the line, patented on-site search solution that will solve this exact need and much more. In recent years, we also started to offer monetization solutions for those publishers interested in improving their overall eCMP (average of an additional 3%-4% revenue within the first month), inviting publishers to add us to the existing waterfall.
Our search formula saves publishers’ resources and also provides the most optimal user experience. Who wouldn’t want to use it?

From years of experience and bulk data analysis from our publishers and longtime partners, we came to understand that up to 40% of online website visitors use a site search box when it’s offered.

It’s not enough to just create a nice internal search solution “on the fly” (i.e. one that is developed in-house or by a 3rd party) simply because you don’t have or want to spend the resources necessary to improve the search algorithms.

So……how easy is it for visitors to find information on your website?

As a site grows more substantial with more resources, content, and blog posts, it becomes harder for visitors to find the content most relevant for them.
How can customers find the specific topic or resource article they are looking for without scrolling through an entire library of content?

The answer is simple.
Customers can effortlessly find content on your site using a customizable internal search tool that Zoomd has invented — completely free of charge.

About Adam:
Adam is the Senior Business Development Manager who defines, develops and executes Zoomd’s business strategy, leading the onboarding of new partnerships that mainly consist of tier-one websites from top markets. Adam has an international background and prior to Zoomd, has worked in sales and business development at ad tech and MarTech companies for over six years.
He is highly knowledgeable of publishers’ pains and needs in a market that changes on the fly. When he finds some time off, he enjoys sports activities and cooking.