Google enables personalized ads via first party cookies in AdSense

Google adds support for personalized first-party cookies to AdSense advertising tool. In that case, the program uses visitor information collected on the same domain to still personalize advertisements.

google adds the function to AdSense and to the Ad Manager software package. That software could already manage first-party cookies, but only for determining how often which ads were shown. This is a new feature that makes it easier for advertisers who only use first-party cookies to show personalized ads if they want to.

More and more large advertisers are switching to first-party tracking by serving ads from their own domain or by building large-scale login systems that log users into multiple websites. That way, they can track user preferences and personalize ads. DPG Media, among others, is working on such a system. However, Google says the new functionality is just right for smaller publishers and advertisers, who don’t have that option.

The new feature makes first-party cookies more personal as they can be customized to the user’s preferences. That’s based on “information from ad interactions that users have had on the same site,” but the company doesn’t provide any further details.

When the new ad method is enabled, the ads will only appear on a particular site and not on a completely separate ad domain. Users give their consent through the regular cookie notification by allowing first-party cookies.