Drive ad performance in a privacy-first world

Higher expectations for privacy are changing the way marketers reach their audiences and measure results.

This is a guide to measuring and driving ad performance with the right strategy and solutions, all with privacy in mind.

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Making ads useful, relevant and more secure

At Google, our goal is to enable an ad-supported, open internet that creates opportunities for businesses to grow, while respecting people’s preferences for privacy.

That’s why we approach our products, programmes and partnerships with a long-term privacy lens that’s focused on adapting to a changing, complex environment.

Learn more about our commitment to privacy.

The changing digital ads ecosystem

Consumer expectations

People want to be in control of their data and expect it to stay secure, private and unexploited.

Regulations

Lawmakers around the world are putting comprehensive data privacy laws in place to give control to internet users and to protect user data.

Platform changes

Browsers and mobile operating systems like iOS and Android are shifting away from tracking people across sites and apps by restricting third-party cookies and identifiers.

Key regulations where you are

We recommend researching which privacy regulations apply to your business and seeking legal counsel to stay up to date on the evolving regulatory landscape in your market. The main regulation to consider in Europe is:

  • UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)

    The UK GDPR specifies requirements for businesses established or operating in the UK, and regulates how they collect, use, and store personal data.

  • The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR)

    PECR complements the UK GDPR and, among other things, sets out specific rules around the use of cookies and similar technologies.

  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - EU

    The GDPR specifies requirements for businesses established or operating in Europe, and regulates how they collect, use, and store data. Learn more about Google’s EU user consent policy.

    Google is always working to stay compliant with regulations like these to help make compliance easier for your business.

  • The respective national transpositions of the ePrivacy Directive - EU

    The ePrivacy Directive, through its national transposition laws, primarily regulates the processing of personal data, confidentiality of communication and accessing data on users’ devices, such as cookies.

    These changes could impact ad performance

    Without proactive measures, regulatory and technology changes could affect your ability to reach relevant audiences, measure their marketing performance and win customer trust.

    Measurement

    Ad and analytics platforms may lose conversion tracking data for same-device and cross-device conversions.

    Audiences

    Restrictions on third-party cookies can make remarketing lists smaller, impacting your ability to reach an engaged audience.

    Reporting

    Loss of data hinders accuracy and complete measurement of conversions. Over time, this could mean drops in return on ad spend and top-line revenue.

    Trust

    In today’s digital environment, brands that don’t give privacy the attention it deserves risk losing customer trust.

    Build your privacy-first Google Ads strategy

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    Taking steps to be privacy-ready can be daunting. Google is here to help you continue to drive advertising performance while protecting people’s privacy.

    With the right strategy and privacy-preserving technologies in place, you can continue to reach customers with relevant ads and measure the results – even when relying less on third-party cookies.