More Bad Cookie News - Wealthy Users Delete Cookies Most

[5starAffiliatePrograms]

I am really getting tired of having to blog about bad cookie news, but since cookies are part of the foundation of our industry, we need to pay attention to consumer patterns like this. When is someone going to come up with another type of 3rd party tracking???

Rotten Cookie News - Wealthy, Web Savvy Users Delete Cookies Most

This latest cookie report is really disturbing and shows that wealthy and experienced Internet consumers are the MOST LIKELY to delete cookies, manually or with a cookie-deleting app. This report out today…

"Those who have more experience with the web and are wealthier are the most likely to delete cookies, according to a Jupiter Research report, "Profile of the Cookie Deleter," a follow-up of the cookie study from earlier this year that spread conflicting shockwaves through the world of online advertising with the claim that 40 percent of web users monthly delete cookies. Citing the new report, MediaPost reports that 60 percent of consumers online for more than five years report deleting cookies, compared with 34 percent only online for less than one year. Those from households with annual incomes over $60,000 were also more likely to delete cookies than those less affluent… Cookie deletion, usually prompted by privacy and security concerns, may not be as much a concern for younger users of the web. Only 33 percent of respondents between the ages 18 and 24 say they pay attention to stories and articles about internet privacy and security, compared with 62 percent who are age 45 and older.

The MarketingVOX article has lots more info plus a list of most of the recent cookie deleting articles and studies. Jupiter: Wealthy, Web-Experienced Users Delete Cookies Most: http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2005/06/23/jupiter_wealthy_webexperienced_users_delete_cookie s_most/index.php

Read the rest, then come back to share your thoughts or ideas.

Linda

[liloth]

Interesting !

I use Linux and only delete my cookies after doing sesitive stuff on the Net.
When I used to work in Windows I deleted them regularly for safety/security reasons. I don't make over 60,000 a year but have been on the internet for about 7 yrs. I have had some bad experiences with Windows...such as being hacked twice which finally led me to using linux full time. :D


liloth

[thepip]

It is the reason of security that makes the people who use Windoes OS to delete the cookies regularly and there is no rule that experienced users only do that a new user cautious of security can also delete cookies in his system

[badmammajamma]

This latest cookie report is really disturbing and shows that wealthy and experienced Internet consumers are the MOST LIKELY to delete cookies, manually or with a cookie-deleting app :eek: So what soes this say about the affiliate marketing industry? I have affilaite sites that market high dollar items. I know that there were many sales that I missed commission on. What can we do?

[5starAffiliatePrograms]

Hi badmammajamma,

Sorry! I have written so much about all the lastest cookie deletion stats and reports on my blog, that I didnt even preface this latest one like I should have. Did not mean to alarm you, but eveyone does need to be aware of the cookie issues and push for solutions.

I am NOT saying the "sky is falling on affiliate marketing." What I am saying is that cookies are being deleted various ways in growing numbers. Little did we know when some of us were actively fighting against adware and spyware that some of our efforts would backfire as the media and anti-spyware companies would label our precious cookies as spyware. We need to either correct the bad cookie PR in the consumers mind OR come up with a back-up or alternative method of tracking.

Several inititives are under way. I have not read any that seem ideal but some of them may help. In any industry issues come up that affect sales and profits. The successful watch the trends (this is a new trend I am trying to point out) then try to find a way over, around or through the hurtles. Remember all marketers rely on cookies, even the big boys like MSN and Yahoo. So this issue will have a short term *small* affect, but things will evolve from here.

If you were a farmer, instead of dealing with someone eating your cookies, you would be facing insects eating your crops, then there would be a flood, then a draught that could threaten your farm and your income.

Be aware of the issue and think about your cookies. Easy lower cost impulse buys tend to happen right away and are less dependent on cookie lengths. Lead based programs where there is nothing to buy tend to happen quickly, like free auto insurance or mortgage rate quotes. Certain purchases like computers or expensive items sometimes have a longer click to buy time and require more research, therefore are more dependent on long cookies. Spyware apps tend to target easily identifiable network cookies more than they do Indies. Follow the news about this, but don't let it stifle or slow you down. If anything, work a little harder and smarter. Make more sales now to help make up for the few that may be blocked.

I will say it's NOT that big of an issue yet, it's just one that has me concerned. We manage or consult for over 30 programs on different networks and they ALL have long cookies. If this was a serious issue right now we would see a decline accross the board in all programs. We are not.
Most are growing except those that may be a having a normal seasonl decline.

Keep on selling dont lose faith!
Linda

[Marcia]

One way around is to understand the buying process and try to optimize pages to catch them at the point when they're ready to pull out the plastic. As great as it is to have rankings for the high traffic general keywords, the more general the more likely customers are to be doing their initial browsing, so the cookies then would have less of a survival rate.