By Liane Dietrich, Managing Director, LinkShare UK
The reignited “browser wars,” following Google’s announcement of Chrome and the release of Internet Explorer version 8, has brought the spotlight once again on online consumer privacy.
At the same time that these new browsers will improve the control users have over who knows what they do online, it also presents some new considerations for online marketers and advertisers.
As with any new browser, Google Chrome—and Internet Explorer version 8—will have an impact on ecommerce and online marketing disciplines. These two browsers alone have – and will continue to – dominate the way businesses and consumers alike use the web.
According to Nielsen online, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is used by 75% of Britons online, and some press are reporting that Google Chrome has taken over 1% share of the global market within four days of its launch.
Internet Explorer 8 offers a new feature called “InPrivate,” which gives users more control over how their browser information is saved and shared, and has specific features that help users control their history, cookies, and other information that Internet Explorer stores on their behalf (http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/08/25/ie8-and-privacy.aspx).
Google’s Chrome has a similar feature, called “Incognito,” which allows users to surf the web and download files without this information being logged in their browsing and download histories.
In the case of affiliate marketing, the new browsers complicate how commissions on referrals are tracked and could impact the way commissions are paid out.. As a result, both online advertisers and publishers should consider what kind of system their affiliate network provider uses.
For example, advertisers can avoid being impacted heavily by the new browsers by only working with companies, like affiliate marketing provider LinkShare, that don’t rely on cookie/pixel-based tracking technologies. LinkShare has been offering non cookie/pixel-based technology since 1996, and in the UK market since it expanded here, in order to ensure customers have security and reliability.
LinkShare believes that adoption of new browsers will also have wider implications for the online marketing/ advertising industry - who rely on the web, and browsers, as a key part of their business model: to sell products online. For online marketers, the new privacy settings in Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 8 reinforce the value of cost-per-action networks over traditional CPM models given the potential of the new browsers to increase “click privacy.”
In response to these new browsers, LinkShare recommends:
· Consumer advocacy can and should remain the number one priority for companies using the web as a sales channel
· Online marketers who use behavioural targeting need to keep abreast to the fast changing technological, and regulatory, landscapes in order to keep their companies competitive; and ensure that their service provider has a robust offering that is future proof
· Internet companies that solely rely on selling cookie or pixel-based tracking applications will need to develop new product offerings (including perhaps business models) or run the risk of being marginalised by the new browsers
We are pleased that Microsoft and Google are putting consumer privacy issues at centre stage in the browser market through their latest product releases that help to protect consumers. LinkShare will continue to work with our partners to ensure they can continue to optimise their marketing spend without compromising customer privacy as the online marketing space continues to evolve.
 |
Read more inspirational content from
LinkShare |
 |
 |
Your comments |
Be the first to comment on this article