What cookies are there?

Functional cookies

Functional cookies are small bits of information that are stored in your browser when you visit a Web site. They help the website remember things like your language preference, what you put in your shopping cart or what you filled out in a form. These cookies make the Web site work optimally and give you a better experience while browsing. They do not store any personal information and are only used to make the website function properly.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies help website owners understand how people use their website. They collect data on relevant parts of the visitor journey such as how often people visit certain pages, what interactions they have with the site, how long they stay on a page, and from which channels visitors come to the site. This information helps owners improve the Web site, such as knowing which content is popular or which pages cause the most dropouts.

Marketing cookies

Marketing cookies are used to create a digital profile of you when you visit a Web site. These cookies are also present on other websites you visit that allow marketing platorms to see exactly what you do on different sites. Based on that, marketing platforms can show you targeted ads or offers based on your interests and visitor behavior, even if you are on a completely different website. So, for example, if you search for a particular product in a Web shop and later see it again on other sites, that has been the work of marketing cookies.

Performance cookies

Performance cookies are essential for improving the experience on a Web site. They collect information about how the site is used, such as which pages are visited frequently and whether you encounter error messages. This data is used to make the Web site more efficient and user-friendly. Various analytics tools use performance cookies to discover where improvements are needed so that the site functions better and better and visitors have an enjoyable user experience. Performance cookies are very similar to analytical cookies, but are only used for site improvement where analytical cookies have more capabilities.

First-party cookies and third-party cookies

All of the above cookies explained are forms of third-party cookies. First-party cookies are from the domain itself. Third-party cookies are from outside companies or websites. In the visualization below, you can see what this difference looks like for a physical store. When you walk around a physical store and put a blue shirt in your shopping cart, a dozen little cameras turn in your direction and note down exactly what's in your cart. That way Meta, TikTok, Google ads, etc., among others, know exactly what you are interested in.

With firtst-party cookies, there is a private "camera" in the store that is managed by the owner of the physical store. This way, outside parties cannot see exactly what you are interested in. The store owner itself is then responsible for collecting visitor data, and sharing this collected data with the third parties.

Want more information about firtst and third-party cookies? Or are you curious how we can help you install Server-Side Tagging so you can hang your own camera in your (online) store? Then click here and schedule your appointment. Wondering how your website scores based on your current tracking setup? Request your free tracking report here.

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