Chrome FLEDGE Update Provides Hope For PPC & SEOs

With third-party cookies in Chrome about to be turned off, Google has introduced some well-received updates to help ease marketers’ concerns.

Google’s response to user privacy was to create the Privacy Sandbox. Within the life of Privacy Sandbox A series of proposals that meet the needs of consumers and advertisers alike.

One of the proposals in the Privacy Sandbox is FLEDGE, which was initially submitted in January 2021. Two years later, Google provided an important status update on FLEDGE’s search engine auction features.

What is FLEDGE?

Understanding what FLEDGE is (amongst other privacy offerings) is critical for marketers to prioritize them in 2023. Let’s run a quick rundown of the basics.

FLEDGE is a file an offer Within the Google Privacy Sandbox to view Custom Audience and remarketing use cases where browsers block third-party tracking across websites and apps.

FLEDGE means:

• Firstly
• locally
• executed
• The decision is over
• groups
• an experience

For those not in the know, here’s a quick look at how FLEDGE works:

Essentially, FLEDGE uses interest groups to display relevant ads to users.

Each interest group in FLEDGE has an owner, such as an advertiser, publisher, or ad technology. Depending on the owner, different use cases for ad buying auctions are created.

The buyer can be an advertiser, a demand-side platform (DSP), or an interest group owner who owns multiple interest groups.

Below is a diagram of the FLEDGE ads buying auction.

Image credit: developer.chrome.com

The privacy proposal was created to find a solution where the web browser stores user interest information – not the advertiser or advertising platforms. Read more about FLEDGE and how it works here.

FLEDGE latest update

In the latest update, Google introduced specific FLEDGE features and schedules to test availability.

• Auction win reports at the event level. This is available for testing now and supported until at least 2026. Its purpose is to make the transition to FLEDGE reports easier.

• Using a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) for key/value service. This is available for testing now and will not be required before the third quarter of 2025.

• Fenced frames. This is available for testing now and will not be required before 2026.

• K- Anonymity. The “crowd of 50 users per creative over 7 days” limit must be met. This will be available for testing later in the third quarter of 2023.

• Improved FLEDGE + Attribution Reporting integration. This will be available for testing in the second quarter of 2023 and is still under development.

• Tenders and auctions services. This is targeted for testing in the second half of 2023 and is still under development.

Users can experiment and participate in the FLEDGE API here. Note that not all advertisers are eligible for the trial at the time of publication.

Advertisers are praising upcoming FLEDGE features

Updates like continued support for event-level auction reporting are a huge win for advertisers. Initially, it was meant to be a temporary solution but it is now being supported for at least another three years.

Navah HopkinsEvangelist at Optmyzr, expressed her excitement about the upcoming FLEDGE updates:

One of the reasons I’m excited about FLEDGE is how smooth the logic and workflow is for advertisers and publishers. The big hurdles for other privacy protection boxes were how cluttered the labeling process was, as well as the limited subject classification. Having both the advertiser and publisher communicate with interest groups informed by on-device signals means clearer message mapping and easier tracking.

Navah further commented on the transition differences between PPC and SEO:

On the PPC side, we should expect a fairly smooth transition and potentially new advertisers in the mix. On the SEO side, I see a lot of controversies around the monetization talks as publishers balance ad inventory with SEO impact. A big benefit of FLEDGE is how the auctions and tags will be in real time so it will be easier to control the test.

Ultimately, this is an exciting time for first-party audiences and brands that must start building their interest groups to match their buyer personalities.

In summary

Since Google announced it would delay stopping third-party cookies until 2024, there have been many questions from marketers about the next step.

FLEDGE’s new features, service announcements, and suggested schedules give marketers more transparency and action-oriented elements to prepare for a world without cookies.

Stay up to date with the latest Privacy Sandbox announcements here.

Featured image: rafapress/Shutterstock