So, I would have to say that I am more than a novice chef. I LOVE to cook and I love to eat! Some of my favorite cookies aren’t even baked, I just love the dough! But when it comes to digital marketing, there is a a different kind of cookie and there is also “dough” involved in using these cookies.
It’s obvious that both of these doughs are appealing, but when it comes to digital marketing one important component is digital cookies. These are comparable to a tracker for your online travels. Your computer stores these cookies to use as a marketing tool to convert you into a customer. How does this work?
About a year ago, I got the cutest sweetest dog. I brought him home when he was 8 weeks old. One of the first things I did was potty train him. I have hardwood floors throughout my home, and I also have an area rug in my living room. During this potty training phase, let’s just say that occasionally, Rocco my dog would mistake my area rug for grass. I would clean the rug as best as I could, but once that dog was completely trained, that rug had to go! One of the easiest ways to find a new rug is online shopping- who doesn’t love a little shopping! So I searched for several things relating to area rugs and several different websites.
As I was checking my emails the next day, several photos of rugs as advertisements came up on the right hand side. I had been retargeted! But it worked. I clicked on a rug and it to me to their website where I spent a good amount of time searching for the next perfect area rug for my living room. I researched for the right size of rug, what colors I wanted, and if I wanted a loop rug, shag rug, or a wool rug. This is the moment that the Zero Moment of Truth came in…and in in the end the marketing did not get me to become a customer. I ended up buying my new area rug locally at TJ Maxx. I signed up for Wayfair emails during my search, but I have since opted out. They did NOT stick to the once a week rule with the email blasts.
What does the future of cookies and retargeting look like? There could be a new sheriff in town when it comes to tracking user interests. PID is aan identifier that tracks users across several devices including desktops, mobile phones, and tablets.
Google seems to be the king of the internet and digital marketing in my opinion. They are taking steps to block third party cookies. The digital world is constantly changing, so it is no surprise that other avenues for collecting consumer data is evolving and being developed constantly.
“It is predicted that in the future, the online advertising industry will be looking at streamlining the types of data they obtain and use”
The end of retargeting through cookies: What does the future look like for advertisers? . (2020, March 04). Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://www.yieldkit.com/news/retargeting-alternatives/
These new ways of targeting the consumer will likely be more complex, but in this world, they aren’t going anywhere, just evolving.
These methods of retargeting typically come with a cost. The cost can vary based upon the methods used. Google, the king of the internet offers advertising options that you can pay per click. In my business, we are currently not paying for these methods. We are putting ads on google for free. I get my insights to see how many people click on these ads, and I will say that the numbers are not astounding. I get phone calls weekly of solicitors promising me more presence on google and higher SEO. That is why I am trying to learn more about digital marketing. The average price I am getting quotes is more than $1,000 a month. We currently are doing well with the clients we have organically, but the real estate market can change at anytime, so I am trying to stay ahead of the game.
“You can’t optimize what you don’t measure. SEO requires a basic understanding of Google Analytics (or equivalent) to know which pages to optimize and which are performing strongly” (Brown, 2020)
I am a numbers person. I track all of our teams data. If they need to know their numbers for sales, units, production, finances, I am your girl. The next step in my career is gaining a better understanding of these analytic numbers. If it were up to me, I would be calculating the ingredients on making my next batch of chewy goodness. But I will have to save that for the weekends, and after I’m done with this course.
Brown, J. (2020, June 04). 11 Do-it-yourself SEO Tips to Save Money. Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://www.practicalecommerce.com/10-do-it-yourself-seo-tips-to-save-money
Eagle Digital 
I am very paranoid of cookies and how much data is out there and tracked. I swear I’ll be thinking of something, and moments later I’ll see an ad for it on Instagram. Nice post!
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As a marketer, cookies are such a great tool. Being able to retarget customers is incredibly valuable. As a consumer though, I hate it. I hate that my data is so heavily tracked, especially with all the data breaches companies experience. It makes me think of Minority Report where people are walking through public areas, and the ads change for each individual based on their retinal scan. It’s creepy, and sadly I can easily see something like this actually happening in the not too distant future. We’re already seeing this kind of IRL tracking from our smartphones.
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