The End of Third-Party Cookies: A Practical Guide to Prepare Your Website

Author: ✍️ Momenul Ahmad July 02, 2025 No comments

The Cookiepocalypse is Here: A Step-by-Step Guide to Prepare Your Website for the Phase-Out of Third-Party Cookies

For years, digital marketing has relied on a silent workhorse: the third-party cookie. It tracked users across websites, enabling everything from hyper-targeted advertising to detailed analytics. Now, that era is ending.

Driven by a global demand for user privacy, major browsers like Google Chrome are phasing out third-party cookies for good. This isn't a distant threat—it's happening now. For unprepared websites, this means broken ad campaigns, inaccurate analytics, and a significant loss of marketing intelligence.

But this isn't a reason to panic. It's an opportunity to build a more resilient, trustworthy, and effective marketing strategy. This guide will walk you through exactly how to do it.

Surviving the Cookiepocalypse - A Guide by SEOSiri






First, What's Actually Changing?

  • Third-Party Cookies (Going Away): These are cookies set by a domain other than the one you are currently visiting. For example, when you visit mycoolblog.com, a cookie from facebook.com that tracks you for advertising is a third-party cookie.

  • First-Party Cookies (Staying): These are cookies set by the domain you are visiting. They are used for essential functions like keeping you logged in, remembering items in your shopping cart, and basic site analytics. These are not going away.

The challenge is that most advertising and retargeting platforms were built on the back of third-party cookies.

How to Prepare Your Website: A 5-Step Action Plan

Follow these steps to not only survive the phase-out but to thrive in the new privacy-first internet.

Step 1: Audit Your Current Cookie Usage

You can't fix what you don't understand. Your first step is to identify every tool and script on your website that relies on third-party cookies.

  • How to do it:

    1. Use Browser Developer Tools: In Chrome, right-click on your site, select "Inspect," go to the "Application" tab, and look under "Storage" > "Cookies." You'll see a list of all cookies and their domains. Any cookie from a domain that isn't yours is a third-party cookie.

    2. Check Your Scripts: Look at the code in your website's <head> section. Identify scripts from:

      • Advertising Platforms: Meta Pixel, Google Ads Remarketing Tag, LinkedIn Insight Tag, etc.

      • Analytics Tools: Hotjar, certain features of Google Analytics.

      • Social Media Widgets: "Share on Facebook" buttons, embedded Twitter feeds.

      • Embedded Content: YouTube videos, Vimeo players.

  • Your Goal: Create a list of all third-party services running on your site. This is your "at-risk" list.

Making it Real: First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookie Examples

Before you can audit, you need to know what you're looking for. Let's break down the two types of cookies with real-world examples and show you exactly how to find them on your own website.

What are First-Party Cookies? (The "Good" Cookies)

These are cookies set by the website you are directly visiting. Their purpose is to improve your experience on that specific site. They are essential for modern web functionality and are not being phased out.

Common Examples:

  • User Login Session: A cookie named session_id or user_token that keeps you logged in as you navigate the site.

  • Shopping Cart Contents: A cookie like woocommerce_cart_hash that remembers what items you've added to your cart.

  • User Preferences: A cookie such as language=en or dark_mode=true that remembers your viewing preferences for the site.

What are Third-Party Cookies? (The Cookies Being Phased Out)

These are cookies set by a domain other than the one you are currently on. Their primary purpose is to track user behavior across multiple websites, mainly for advertising and cross-site analytics.

Common Examples:

  • Advertising & Retargeting: The Meta (Facebook) Pixel sets a cookie named _fbp to track users for ad campaigns. Google Ads sets cookies like _gcl_aw to measure ad conversions.

  • Social Media Widgets: An embedded "Share on X/Twitter" button can place a cookie to track your visit.

  • Third-Party Analytics: Tools like Hotjar might set a cookie (_hjIncludedInSample) to understand user behavior across different sites where Hotjar is installed.

How to See Cookies on Any Website: A 4-Step Guide

You don't need to be a developer to do this. Here’s how you can see exactly which cookies are running on your own site using Google Chrome.

Step 1: Open Your Website
Navigate to the homepage or any other page on the website you want to inspect.

Step 2: Open Developer Tools
You can do this in two ways:

  • Mouse: Right-click anywhere on the page and select "Inspect".

  • Keyboard: Press Ctrl + Shift + I (on Windows) or Cmd + Option + I (on Mac).

Step 3: Navigate to the Cookie Storage
In the new panel that opens, look for a tab at the top called "Application".

  1. Click on "Application".

  2. On the left-hand menu, look for the "Storage" section.

  3. Under "Storage," click the dropdown arrow next to "Cookies".

  4. Click on your website's domain name (e.g., https://www.yourwebsite.com).

Step 4: Analyze the Cookie List
You will now see a table of all the cookies running on that page. Pay close attention to the "Domain" column.

  • If the Domain column matches your website's domain (e.g., .yourwebsite.com), it is a FIRST-PARTY cookie.

  • If the Domain column shows a different domain (e.g., .doubleclick.net, .facebook.com, .bing.com), it is a THIRD-PARTY cookie.

Now you have a clear, definitive list of the third-party trackers your website is using.

Step 2: Build and Prioritize Your First-Party Data Strategy

This is the single most important action you can take. First-party data is information you collect directly from your users with their consent. It is more accurate, more valuable, and yours to keep.

  • How to collect it:

    • Email Newsletters: Offer a compelling reason to subscribe (exclusive content, discounts, industry insights).

    • Lead Magnets: Provide valuable resources like e-books, webinars, or checklists in exchange for an email address.

    • User Accounts & Logins: Encourage users to create accounts to save preferences, track orders, or access member-only content.

    • Surveys & Quizzes: Engage your audience while collecting valuable preference and demographic data.

  • Your Goal: Create direct lines of communication with your audience that you control, reducing your reliance on third-party platforms.

Step 3: Implement Server-Side Tracking

This is the key technical solution to the problem. It shifts tracking logic from the user's browser (client-side) to your own web server (server-side).

  • How it works (Simplified):

    • Old Way (Client-Side): Your website tells the user's browser to send data directly to Google, Facebook, etc. This is easily blocked by browsers and ad-blockers.

    • New Way (Server-Side): Your website sends all data to your own secure server first. Then, your server decides which information to forward to Google, Facebook, etc.

  • Why it's better:

    • More Control & Privacy: You control what data is shared.

    • Better Accuracy: It's not blocked by browsers in the same way, leading to more reliable data.

    • Faster Website: It can reduce the amount of heavy JavaScript running in the user's browser.

  • How to get started: Use a tool like Google Tag Manager (Server-Side Container). While more technical to set up, it's the new standard for robust tracking.

Step 4: Leverage Google's Privacy Sandbox Alternatives

Google isn't leaving advertisers in the dark. They are building new, privacy-preserving technologies to replace the old functions of cookies. You don't need to be an expert on these, but you should know they exist.

  • Key Technologies to Know:

    • Topics API: Groups users into broad interest "topics" (e.g., "Fitness," "Cooking") without revealing their specific browsing history.

    • Protected Audience API (formerly FLEDGE): Allows for retargeting campaigns without letting advertisers track users across the web.

    • Attribution Reporting API: Measures ad conversions without using cross-site user-level tracking.

  • Your Action: Ensure your advertising partners (like Google Ads and other ad networks) are adopting these technologies. This is mostly about staying informed and asking your ad reps how they are preparing.

Step 5: Master Contextual Advertising

This is a return to a classic, effective form of advertising. Instead of targeting the person, you target the content.

  • How it works: Place your ads on web pages that are relevant to your product. For example, if you sell hiking boots, you place ads on articles about "the best hiking trails" or "gear reviews for trekking."

  • Why it's powerful: You are reaching users who are actively engaged with a relevant topic, making them highly receptive to your message. It's privacy-friendly and highly effective.

  • Your Action: Explore advertising networks that have strong contextual targeting capabilities.

An Opportunity, Not a Crisis

The phase-out of third-party cookies represents a fundamental shift in the internet's architecture. Websites that cling to the old ways of tracking will fall behind.

However, the businesses that adapt will come out stronger. By focusing on a strategy of consented first-party data, server-side tracking, and privacy-preserving advertising, you will not only comply with the new rules but also build deeper, more trusting relationships with your customers.

The future of digital marketing is about respect for the user, and the time to start building that future is now.

Momenul Ahmad

digital strategist in bangladesh

Founder of SEOSiri
Momenul is a digital strategist specializing in audience-first SEO, semantic copywriting, and cross-channel marketing psychology. He helps brands win relevance over reach.
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