Google Introduces First-Party Data Solution For Analytics Users

Looking for a better way to turn your first-party data into campaign optimisations?

Well, you’re in luck.

Google Analytics’ new feature, Customer Match, allows you to do just that.

Currently, it is in the beta phase allowing users to utilise their first-party data to target more specific audiences with more chances of conversion instead of relying on third-party cookies.

With the Google Analytics Customer Match, your addressable audience increases with features like smart bidding, even when third-party cookies are unavailable.

Let’s find out what Customer Match offers and how you can leverage a well-planned first-party data strategy to optimise your ad campaigns to generate massive ROI.

What Is First-Party Data?

First-party data is collected directly from your audience like website visitors, customers, or social media followers.

Your business can gather first-party data through various methods, including contact forms, customer surveys, online chat forms, and CRM systems.

Tracking pixels can also be added to your website, product pages, or social media profiles to collect data from users.

Users provide details like their name, email address, age, location, and phone number.

This data is collected securely and stored in your database.

First-party data is some of the most important data your business can collect, as it comes directly from your target audience.

What Is Google Analytics’ Customer Match?

Customer Match was previously available only for Google Ads.

Now with the latest update, Analytics users also have access to this feature.

Customer Match allows you to understand your audience better with deeper insights.

Now, you can gain access to a new audience by using insights from your existing audience to improve your ad targeting strategy.

For those of you already using Customer Match in Google Ads, linking it with Google Analytics will give you two major advantages.

Firstly, the data you are collecting is more relevant and accurate as it is collected from your audience.

Secondly, as Google continues to restrict the use of third-party cookies, your ad campaigns become future-proof by using first-party data.

After linking Google Analytics with Google Ads, the data collected from Customer Match is automatically synced with your Google Ads account.

This saves your business both the effort and time needed to transfer the data manually.

How To Activate Customer Match in Google Analytics

You can start using Customer Match by following these three simple steps:

• Set up user-provided data collection in Google Analytics.
• Link Analytics to Google advertising products (such as Google Ads).
• Enable personalised advertising in the settings.

Google Ads vs Google Analytics Customer Match

The Customer Match feature in both Google Ads and Google Analytics equips advertisers with the same abilities such as audience targeting, reliable audience insights, and access to a wider audience.

For Google Ads’ Customer Match to work, advertisers need to provide data. The first-party data collected from websites and other sources needs to be added manually in a CSV file and then uploaded.

Google Analytics’ Customer Match makes this whole process more streamlined.

By integrating Customer Match into Google Analytics, first-party data is automatically added to the existing audience database, removing the need for manual uploads.

Features of Google Analytics Customer Match

We listed down some of the notable features of Google Analytics Customer Match:

Smart Bidding

Customer Match works with smart bidding campaigns on YouTube and YouTube Video action campaigns.

Smart bidding will automatically use Customer Match lists to optimise ad targeting, resulting in better performance.

More options, like search and in-feed ads, are coming soon.

Automation

Activating Customer Match in Google Analytics eliminates the need to upload CSV files manually to run Google Ads.

First-party data automatically refines Google Ad campaigns, boosting conversions.

Benefits of Google Analytics’ Customer Match

The key benefits of activating Customer Match in your Google Analytics account include:

• Strengthening relationships with the existing audience by analysing data to develop deeper insights.
• Better ad targeting using accurate and reliable first-party data collected directly from your audience.
• Increasing addressable audience even when third-party cookies are not available.
• Securely storing sensitive customer data like emails, phone numbers, and others by hashing them.
• Automating the process of transferring data from Google Analytics to Google Ads, boosting productivity and reducing manual work.

Considerations for Google Analytics’ Customer Match

If you are using smart bidding and optimised targeting for YouTube or YouTube video action campaigns, Customer Match lists will automatically be used to enhance your marketing performance.

If you don’t want to include Customer Match lists automatically in your ad campaigns, do one of the following:

Opt out of auto-inclusion by making changes in your account settings.
Remove specific lists from the database that you don’t want to be included in smart bidding for optimised targeting.

Taking these steps won’t impact your ad campaigns, but will limit access to crucial data needed to optimise the ad performance.

For example, features like optimised targeting will work normally, even if you opt out of auto-inclusion for Customer Match lists.

If you are using manual bidding, Customer Match lists won’t be automatically added to your ad campaigns.

If you choose to enable auto-inclusion, smart bidding and optimised targeting will determine if your Customer Match lists are relevant and continuously refine them in real-time to improve ad conversions.

BFJ Digital Improves Your Ad Campaigns With A First-Party Data Strategy

Even though Google is delaying updates to its policies on phasing out third-party cookies, using first-party data in your ad campaigns helps you reach a wider audience with more chances of conversion.

No data is more reliable for your ad campaigns than the one you collect from your audience directly.

By optimising your first-party data strategy you get more conversions for your business while minimising the ad spend.

Google Analytics Customer Match gives you the tools to optimise campaigns and reach a wider audience.

We understand that navigating Customer Match and integrating first-party data into your ad campaigns can be challenging.

If only you had a team of marketing experts and analysts to take care of all that…

Oh, wait! You do.

BFJ Digital will optimise your ad campaigns by analysing your first-party data to maximise ROI from your advertising budget.

We also evaluate your data and marketing stack to ensure compliance with evolving regulations.

With a privacy-focused data collection methodology, our expert analysts seamlessly integrate your first-party data into your marketing efforts for better ad performance.