This guest blog comes from Digital Marketing Team Leader, Becci. Her role is all things marketing related as well as focusing on Google Analytics.
It was only last week I was at my friendsโ house and I actually watched her open her laptop, open internet explorer, use the default browser Bing to search for โGoogleโ and then carry on with her tasksโฆ I was gobsmacked.
I said โWhy donโt you just set Google as your default browserโ, after all, Google Chrome is the worlds most popular web browser out there with more than 60% of users using their site. This simple moment in time got me thinking about how important Google really is to all of us and how its changes effects my role as a digital marketer every day.
30thย Birthday Celebrations
The web celebrates itโs 30thย birthday this year and in the last 30 years (some before I was even born) we have all seen how certain updates have changed the way the world works both online and offline.
Although there has been significant developments in the last 30 years, this will not stop and moving forward into the very near future, we will be so shocked with what is to come.
Chromium Blog
This is something I hadnโt heard of myself until I did a bit of digging and research. This blog comes directly from Google and outlines all the upcoming changes that we should look out for. They have listed the following as changes that will effect Google Chrome functions within 2019:
- Speed changes
- Increasing the Power
- Extra transparency
- Improved Developer experiences
- Increased security and privacy
Google Core Updates
There are updates all the time that marketers wonโt even know have happened and there are some that will shift the way in which websites and SEO work hand in hand.
In March this year we were all made aware of Google changes due to websites dramatically dropping on both visibility and keyword rankings. Google never made anyone aware this was happening and they also didnโt let on what was changed, good work Google, good work.
A common question after any Google algorithm update is โHow can I fix my site?โย and the real answer is, โthere is no set wayโ. You just have to roll with the punches, update your websites following SEO best practices and hope for the best that Google likes what you are doing.
โFor marketers, the full impact of these changes and how users respond to the tools likely wonโt be seen for months, but stand to have a significant impact on remarketing, analytics and attribution effortsโ,ย Marketing Land.
My Role with Analytics
Looking at how this will change my role with Google Analytics is really important to me as it is becoming increasingly more difficult year on year to track users on my clientโs websites due to their rights to privacy and security.
As the first change Google Chrome is making is all about cookies and privacy online, Google Analytics is surely going to be effected.
โThis change will enable users to clear all [cross-site] cookies while leaving single domain cookies unaffected, preserving user logins and settings. It will also enable browsers to provide clear information about which sites are setting these cookies, so users can make informed choices about how their data is used.โย Ben Galbraith and Justin Schuh from Chrome Engineering.
This will also affect re-targeting marketing methods that will follow users from website to website and advertise their products. This is something we urgently need to look into to ensure that we can still provide the same level of service to all of our clients.
Staying Optimistic
While there are lots of marketers panicking about the upcoming changes, I am staying positive. By now, we must all realise that Google runs the game and why would they make changes that would push users away?ย They wouldnโt.
In my opinion, we should all embrace the changes, work with Google and reap the benefits that will come with an improved web presence and space for digital marketing. Check back later in the year if I have had a meltdown about it or have fully embraced it.. who knows!