Preparing Your Google Ads Digital Campaigns for Privacy Changes 

There is a near-constant flurry of information about privacy, big tech companies, and how ad platforms will have to adapt in the coming months. It can all feel a bit overwhelming and you might find yourself unsure of what you can actually do to prepare for this new landscape where tracking tags may not be what they used to be. We wanted to share a few concrete things you can do now to help prepare so that your growth goals aren’t rocked by these policy changes. 

Enhanced Conversion Tracking 

This is one thing you can do right now. Google now has an option to use “enhanced conversion tracking”. Basically, having this set up in your account means that Google will be pulling in conversion data from other sources instead of just relying on the Global Site Tag and conversion event snippets to be the sole source. For example, if someone is logged into their personal Google account, and then they fill out a form on your website or landing page, Google can match the user’s email address and count that as a conversion. In time, Google conversion tracking will rely more heavily on modeling, and the sooner you enable enhanced conversion tracking, the better data the models will have to accurately report conversions in the future. 

Smart Bidding & Value-Based Bidding

We strongly encourage our clients to use smart bidding strategies for their Google Ads campaigns. Smart bidding allows you to leverage all of the data Google has to help you get more conversions at an efficient rate. But now, we can layer value into smart bidding through Value-Based bidding. So instead of trying to get as many conversions at a certain CPA, we can optimize towards getting more of your most valuable conversions. For a client in higher education, that might mean valuing an application higher than someone simply requesting program information. 

Non-Last Click Attribution 

Last click is the way of the past! We know now that users online conduct research over a period of time, so someone may initially click on a display ad, but then later search for you, click on a search ad, but only convert finally through a Discovery remarketing ad. This customer journey is complex and data-driven attribution gives credit to the clicks along the journey that make it happen, instead of all that credit going to the last click. 

Leveraging First-Party Data

First party data has always been powerful. Think of people on an email newsletter list, or a list of past enrollees or customers. Having a list of the type of people you’d like to target with your ads is very powerful. We can use this to have platforms like Google, Facebook and LinkedIn find more people who are similar to that list. Don’t have much first party data? You can always run a campaign to help capture it! 

Confused about how to optimize your campaigns without tracking tags? We can help! Our experts at Chair 10 Marketing are ready to help your marketing campaigns succeed. Contact us today to learn more.