First-party data has become a bit of a buzzword in digital marketing. We need to accumulate it and account for it with the depreciation of the cookie, but that can take different forms and require different levels of technical execution.
The core difference between first-party data and third-party data is you own it. You built the relationship with the prospect that earned their consent to be tracked/have their contact info stored. You’re not using a bought list, nagging with remarketing just because a person visited your site or sharing data across domains outside the first party set.
The core questions every business needs to ask itself are:
- Is the data first-party compliant?
- Does the opt-in process build trust and engagement?
- Are you getting the full value out of your first-party data?
- Is this a short-term or long-term implantation?
1. Is the data first-party compliant?
There are two major considerations in first-party data compliance:
First and foremost, it’s important that your brand collect and legally store your first-party data. Both GDPR and CCPA have stringent requirements on storing data and its accessibility.
One of the universal requirements is hashing data. Hashing data converts your first-party data into a random series of numbers and letters while maintaining the core functionality. You can use advertising tools like customer lists without compromising your prospects/clients’ privacy.
Most ad platforms and CRMs will automatically do this for you. The only operational concern is when you need to download a list and share it with a team member/vendor. You can avoid this by sticking to existing data sync integrations (Zapier can be helpful if you need to create a custom one). That said, if there is no other option, the following protocols should be put in place to protect the data:
- User log-ins getting access should be protected with two-factor or multi-factor authentication.
- User data should not be stored on personal computers.
The other big consideration is tracking. Sites using Google Analytics must use global site tags (which allow for GDPR compliant modeling) and language affirming the user consents to being tracked. The user must see the levels of tracking and opt into what they want (instead of opting out).
Another significant consideration for brands is their domain structure. Google confirmed that brands are allowed five domains as part of their first-party data set. First-party data sets dictate which domains can share analytics and tracking data.
If you’re using a lot of vanity domains or country-specific domains, you will need to consider the pros and cons of consolidating into a sub-domain or subcategory structure. The biggest consideration is whether the data loss will be big enough of a con to outweigh the SEO fluctuations that come from migration. Regardless of which path you choose, you will need to make sure any paid traffic is on no_index/no_follow.