The web has recently made a decisive shift towards greater protection of the privacy of its users. This is a major change. L'goodbye to third party cookies, although postponed to the end of 2024, and the recent decision of the Privacy Guarantor to prohibit Analytics, are in fact destined to change the world of online advertising as we know it.
No longer being able to use a variety of tools to track various user data, you need to find a solution for one online advertising targeted but at the same time respecting the rules imposed by privacy. So let's try to understand how the landscape will change in the near future.
Online advertising and privacy: the survey
In a recent interview, the president EMEA by Google Matt Brittin stated that "people are more concerned than ever about their online privacy." This aspect is also reflected in the choices that users make when purchasing online.
Google has in fact commissioned a survey on this topic a Ipsos, a company specializing in market research and surveys, from the name Privacy by design: the benefits of putting people in control. The results show that users attach great importance to their privacy, but are also willing to share their data with those who demonstrate transparency on the collection and use of data.
Online advertising will therefore be more effective for those companies that are able to offer a better privacy experience.
According to the data collected, for example, the 43% of respondents admitted that they would give up their trusted brand if they found an alternative with greater transparency on user data management. On the contrary, the strategy that provides a monetary incentive to stimulate users to share their data does not seem to work but, on the contrary, is counterproductive.
Possible solutions
Matt Brittin says there are two alternatives available right now. The first would provide for making the internet a paid service, the second would instead oblige companies to give up personalized online advertising.
In both cases the limits and the problems that would follow are evident. Paying the web would make it a luxury that not everyone could afford, giving up targeted advertising would cause damage estimated between 32 and 39 billion dollars.
Google, on the other hand, is studying alternative solutions and has already begun to move in this direction. The first move was the aforementioned waiver of third-party cookies. According to Brittin, this decision "it means reinventing the technology on which much of the web advertising system is based and developing new solutions focused on privacy. For the online advertising and for the future of the Internet, this is an urgent turning point: without people's trust, the future of the Web with advertising is at stake. The next two years will be crucial. "
"The future of the web - continues Brittin - it depends on people's trust: only in this way can it be created online advertising responsible and private to ensure a sustainable and safer network for people, more effective for companies and publishers. "
From theory to practice
Google therefore tries to predict and prevent users' privacy needs. But, in practice, how should companies act to communicate that sense of privacy transparency that gives web users trust? The president of Google suggests a "three M" approach:
The user experience regarding privacy must be meaningful (meaningful), memorable (Memorable) and manageable (Manageable). In other words, the user must feel involved in all those decisions and practices concerning privacy, he must feel that he has control over the sharing of his data.
Some good practices in this regard include:
- send e-mails to the user on how to collect and process data;
- ask the user for consent regarding the customization of the site;
- ask the user if he wants the site to remember his preferences.
The new online advertising
These measures have a positive effect on the online advertising. According to the survey above, in one user it increases:
- the perception of having control over 37%'s personal data;
- trust in sharing their 11% data;
- the perception that the advertisements seen are relevant to 11%;
- the predisposition towards online advertisements displayed by 27%.
In a nutshell, a user who perceives a company as transparent about privacy will tend to trust more, to share their data more easily and will welcome the online advertising more positively targeted.
The world of the web is changing and companies will do well to adapt, all in respect of privacy of course.
