More Google updates for 2022! Google introduced an API update, Federal Learning of Cohorts (FloC), in March 2021. They’ve changed course since then and plan on rolling out Google’s Topics. This new API will provide a balance between finding privacy solutions while still providing enough data for targeted advertising.
This is a very brief summary of what Topics is. For more information, you can read Google’s official blog post about it. For now, let’s look at what this means for your targeted strategy:
Pros and Cons Google’s Topics API
Privacy remains one of the top priorities for Google. Balance is required to ensure data is still accessible. According to Toolbox, Google’s Topics API is much simpler to implement, test and launch, which is good from an accessibility point of view.
Privacy is further protected with Topics as opposed to the original API idea, FLoC. Some marketers are concerned that since privacy is a focus, Topics categories are too broad to offer precise insights. Regardless, there are many ways marketers can be creative once the new API rolls out, allowing targeting strategies to remain.
What does this mean for marketers?
Topics has a limited number of categories and marketers are concerned it won’t be enough to target their unique audiences. Not to mention, certain Topics categories will be more popular than others. This could result in the monetization of categories, like advertisers purchasing keywords. While users’ privacy is more protected, marketers face more challenges in informing their targeted marketing strategy.
What’s the alternative of Google’s Topics?
While we can’t top the insights Cookies gave us, we can collect our own data. First-party data solutions are extremely valuable and marketers can use them to make their own data. Uploading your customer data to one of the many customer behavior platforms can help you direct your marketing to the right audience.
Time will tell whether Google’s new Topics API will meet marketers needs. A developer trial of the Topics API is launching in Chrome by the end of Q1 2022. The trial will make Topics easier to understand and manage for users.
Futurety Digital is staying on top of Google’s updates and new Topics API to help our clients and anyone looking for assistance to make this transition as seamless as possible. With the new API rolling out before we know it, contact Futurety Digital today!