How to adapt to online privacy updates

Announced earlier this year, Apple's latest efforts to increase transparency and protect user privacy is a great thing for consumers. For marketers, it presents a new challenge in how to effectively advertise on digital (and social) platforms.

App Tracking Transparency is a privacy feature by Apple that asks if the user grants permission for their activity to be tracked. Among the information tracked include location, sites visited, and products added to shopping carts.

Internet privacy has long been a debate as the Internet has evolved into a highly-sought source for information, which includes shopping for products online.

Users believe it's "creepy" for their activity to be tracked. With this update, a notification gives more freedom to the user, and it tells them what is being tracked and how it's used.

Those who argue in favor of being able to track data say it's a way to put relevant information in front of a user, and eliminating or making that data more difficult to collect, will irritate users more because they'll see more irrelevant content. Therefore, it could lead to negative experiences on websites and social media platforms.

So, how do we adapt?

These changes put a much greater emphasis on a strong organic strategy. One way to do that is through search engine optimization or SEO.

To do that, you have to optimize your website that makes it easier for search results to place your business/organization higher up on the SERP (search engine results page). This will definitely be difficult because the competition for it is going to increase as we try to better understand the effect the privacy changes have on digital advertising.

Some examples to accomplish this include:

• Make sure the keywords related to your business or present on your website.
• Make sure your Google Business listing (address, website and phone number) is up to date.
• Make sure your call to action (CTAs) are out in the open, easy to find.
• Make sure your online store is clear and concise.

Something else that will be key is understanding your email customer database.

Remember, those are people who have already shown an interest in your company/business/organization. They've voluntarily said they are OK with you contacting them. Getting them to that part is often the hardest part.

Collect that data now.

Developing and sustaining customer relationships through email will be an important tactic. (Read "Future of email marketing, privacy")