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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Three Ad browser windows showing optimization, measurement, and performance behind a blue Google Safety Center shield.

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, programs, 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. Here are a couple regulations to consider:

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

The CCPA is a data privacy law applicable to certain businesses that collect personal information from California residents. Access more information on the CCPA.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

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.

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.

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Build your privacy-first Google Ads strategy

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.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Google Ads Privacy?

Google Ads Privacy is a set of principles that reflect Google’s commitment to responsible advertising for our users. It governs the way Google collects, uses, and stores users’ personal information and gives them control over their ad experience.

Learn more about our approach to privacy by visiting the Google Ads Data and Privacy page.

How does Google Ads handle user privacy in online advertising?

As part of Google’s commitment to privacy, Google gives users control over the topics used to show them ads and the ability to opt out of personalized ads entirely, including your own data segment of website visitors and app users.

Learn more about driving ad performance while respecting users’ privacy by visiting the Power Your Ad Privacy Strategy with First-Party Data page.

What data does Google Ads collect from users who see my ads?

Google Ads collects data such as the URL and the referral URL for the website that triggers a tag hit, the custom parameters used in your tag, and resulting data segment memberships.

Learn more about your audience data by visiting the How Google Shows ads to your website visitors and app users help page.