In today’s landscape, where data security and privacy hold immense importance in public discourse, marketers must adhere to current regulations and maintain compliance with established rules and laws (ie: CPRA).Adding to this challenge is Google’s recent announcement regarding the discontinuation of third-party cookies for all Chrome users by Q3 2024.
So, what does this mean for your website and Google Analytics? Let’s rewind to 2023. GA4 replaced Google’s Universal Analytics in late 2023, ensuring its functionality in a cookie-less environment. However, it’s crucial to note that GA4 still utilizes cookies by default to track website traffic. This detail becomes significant as more websites integrate cookie consent mechanisms that will remove Google Analytics ability to function.
Consider this scenario: “Upon adding a privacy statement to my website requesting consent for cookies, my Google Analytics data plummeted by 75%!” The solution? You can either revise your consent statement to only exclude third-party cookies or, the more effective and long term approach, configure your GA4 account to operate without cookies. This involves setting up the Google Analytics property for server-side tracking, with detailed instructions available in the documentation here:
https://developers.google.com/tag-platform/learn/sst-fundamentals/5-sst-setup-analytics
To learn more about how to best prepare for the future of digital marketing in a cookie-less world, please feel free to reach out to our team.
