Apple’s iOS 17 Update: Bad News for Advertisers
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Do you advertise via search engines or social media? Then keep a close eye on the performance of your marketing activities from September 2023. This month, Apple will launch iOS 17. This update ensures that you can no longer measure part of your website traffic from advertisements. This is because Apple will block tracking links in privacy mode. In this article you can read how these tracking links work and what the impact is on the performance of online advertisements.
How do tracking links work? And why are they important?
Tracking links are unique URLs used to track user behavior and interactions online. Advertising list to data platforms like Google and Meta use these links to measure and optimize your advertising performance. When someone clicks on an ad, advertising platforms add a unique number to the URL that points to your website.
IOS717 link tracking block example URL GCLID Google Ads UTM parameters created in Draw.io
This allows the tracking pixels of advertising platforms to link the behavior of your website visitor to a click on an advertisement. On the one hand, this helps marketers to measure the number of conversions from an advertisement. On the other hand, this form of tracking enables advertising platforms to deliver advertisements to the most relevant target groups. In short, tracking links form the basis for data-driven advertisement optimization.
ios17 impact tracking google ads example made in Draw.io
For the example above, Google Ads was used. It is good to know that advertising platforms such as Meta school email list Tiktok and Snapchat use th same basic principles.
What information will disappear in
Apple has announced a major update to Privacy Mode in iOS 17. When enabled on an Apple device 3 measurement myths that hold back marketing the new Privacy Mode will affect data processed through Safari, Messages, and Apple Mail. In the new Privacy Mode, Apple will detect trackable parameters that can identify users in link URLs and automatically remove this data from the link. This prevents Apple from sharing information about ad interactions with third parties.