YES I am still obsessed with cookies. Whether you do PPC or other types of advertising they are the foundation for tracking in the online marketing industry and I KNOW affiliates are missing out on lots of sales due to cookie issues. There has not been a big rash of press about cookie issues for awhile but that does not mean the problem has gone away. Users still delete cookies and block cookies in growing numbers and all those damn anti-spyware apps still target cookies as ‘bad’. Over the holidays I was talking with extended family members that I would consider to be “average Joe” surfers and they ALL said things like “I delete cookies every week” and “I thought cookies were bad!”

No I am NOT saying the “sky is falling on affiliate marketing.” What I am saying is that cookies are being deleted various ways in growing numbers. Little did we know when some of us were actively fighting against adware and spyware that some of our efforts would backfire as the media and anti-spyware companies would label our precious cookies as spyware. We need to either correct the bad cookie PR in the consumers mind OR come up with a back-up or alternative method of tracking.

Here is a new interview from iMedia Connection with the Founders of SafeCount a “coalition of advertising and marketing professionals that advocates for online counting mechanisms which are safe for consumers, safe for advertisers, and safe for publishers.” A snippet from the interview follows. iMedia Connection: SearchTHIS: Safecount Q&A

“Cookies are very much a part of the online advertising ecosystem, and this includes search. Consumers deleting their cookies, thinking they are ridding themselves of spyware, has a negative impact on evaluating performance programs (pay-per-click, CPA) and affiliate marketing, where search can play a big role. In the absence of cookies, conversions still occur. However agencies can find themselves at a loss to define which key word or partner site is driving the activity.

Without click-to-sale tracking, agencies could also lose the ability to optimize with confidence, running the risk of underestimating the effectiveness of a referring source and eliminating it inadvertently, which in turn has a negative impact on ROI. Nine times out of ten, paid search is the anchor of any direct response program, driving conversions at an incredibly efficient rate. As media professionals we can’t afford for the ROI of performance programs to languish.”

Following are just a few of the previous Blogs I’ve written on the cookie deletion and blocking issue:

As the Cookie Crumbles - by Linda Buquet
“Yes I know I keep publishing cookie studies and YES I am obsessed with cookies. They are the foundation of tracking in our industry and I KNOW affiliates are missing out on lots of sales due to cookie issues. The other studies were about users deleting cookies. This is one that I am more concerned about. All those damn anti-spyware apps that target cookies as bad, just so they can show users a longer list of “threats” than the other anti-spyware programs did…”

The Cookie Conundrum - by Linda Buquet

Out of all the cookie deletion articles I have read or blogged about recently, I like this one the best, as it starts to address various solutions that the online ad industry can take to try to counteract this growing trend. Media Strategies Editor Jim Meskauskas profiles the industry’s growing panic about consumer cookie perception and the actions they take as a result…

Don’t Eat Our Cookies - Eat your Words Walter Mossberg - by Linda Buquet

Happily I report the media has virtually lynched Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter Mossberg for his report that basically said tracking cookies are bad and should be deleted - especially 3rd party cookies. I first discovered the article via this blog at ThreadWatch.org then immediately started a discussion that got pretty heated over at the AffiliateManager.net forums…

Spyware Adware - No Wonder Consumers are Confused - by Linda Buquet

No wonder consumers are confused about spyware, adware and cookies. This article just makes me see red! LEGIT Anti-spyware companies call a spade a spade and get sued over it by the adware companies who dont want consumers warned about what they are doing. Yet our cookies which are totally innocent get blocked and flagged and we don’t do anything about it…

Rotten Cookie News - Wealthy, WebSavvy Users Delete Cookies Most - by Linda Buquet

This latest cookie report is really disturbing and shows that wealthy and experienced Internet consumers are the MOST LIKELY to delete cookies, manually or with a cookie-deleting app. This report out today…

IAB Joins the Cookie Protection Front - by Linda Buquet

Some good cookie news! More groups are forming to help protect our precious cookies. Just a few days ago Safecount, a coalition that will address marketer and consumer concerns about cookies launched. Now Clickz reports that the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) is starting an initiative to address cookie deletion as well. IAB Comes to Cookies’ Defense…

Yes it’s a new year, but this issue has not gone away. Most of these articles are concerned about cookie tracking for traditional online advertising. I think the affiliate marketing industry needs to figure out a way to become involved and heard. We need to unify to make a difference and to educate consumers before this issue gets any worse. What can we do??? Come brainstorm in the 5 Star Affiliate forums.