Estimated reading time: 15 minutes.
Table of content:
- Status-quo
- Impacts on App Advertisements
- Impacts on mobile web Advertisements
- Impacts on optimization and targeting
- Impacts on reporting
Status-quo
Recently, Apple announced its new system release iOS 14 that will impact how merchants receive and process conversion events from Facebook pixel or Google tracking codes. Today, we will talk about the influences on Facebook solely. Merchants that advertise on web and mobile apps, as well as those that optimize, target and report on web conversion events from any of Facebook business tools will get affected.
In fact, Apple will start to require any apps from Apple AppStore that engage in what Apple defines as “tracking” to show a prompt to iOS 14 based audiences, in accordance with Apple App Tracking Transparency framework. Apple’s policy will prohibit certain data collection and sharing unless merchants opt into tracking activities on iOS 14 devices through such prompts.
As more iOS based shoppers or audiences opt out of tracking activities on iOS devices, ads customization and insights reporting will be limited for both web and app conversion events.
Facebook Conversion API
Facebook’s Conversions API compliments your browser-based Pixel implementation by adding an additional layer of data measurement alongside your Browser Pixel. While browsers continue to block tracked events sent to Facebook, convert event leverages the website’s server to send data to Facebook through the Conversion API.
And, yes, it is happening. It will affect how eCommerce merchants use Facebook Ads.
Following three impacts from new Apple app related policies are already taking effects. The digital ads ecosystem is extremely dynamic and consistently evolving. Whether it’s government legislation or high tech FANG policy, many changes and evolutions occurred in the past, and yes, they will keep happening again in the future.
Today, let’s keep our feet on the ground to discuss the current changes that occurs due to the iOS 14.5 updates. As a result, iOS users will be provided an opt-in prompt on each app that will allow them to choose whether they agree to allow third-party sites like Facebook or your webhosts to track your user data.
Impacts on App Advertisements
Apple introduced a concept called “SKAdNetwork” API. One of the reasons behind this concept was to increase the privacy of iOS users who installed any mobile apps.
Today, year 2021, the SKAdNetwork API will be used by Facebook for app ads on all iOS 14 devices, and it will restrict, aggregate and delay all app event data. For example, when it comes to campaign management, event data will be restricted to a maximum of nine campaigns and five ads sets per campaign for every Facebook Ads account. Furthermore, the lift measurement will be unavailable for iOS 14 app and app events campaigns. At last, reporting of events will be delayed for up to three days after an app is installed.
Impacts on mobile web advertisements
The SKAdNetwork API is not the only new creation from Apple that will bring some sort of impacts on to advertisers. Apple created the PCM “private click measurement” protocol for web attributions. It will contribute to restrict data that platforms or hosts can access and acquire.
Let’s look into an example, an iOS 14 user received an Ad on his Instagram and is redirected to a web browser to complete the purchasing actions. Now, due to PCM, this event may be lost by pixel or other tracking tools. Tracking users in different geographical locations will be challenges. For instance, a user in Italy received an Ad from a Canada based retailer, but he is redirected to the local version of the website based on his location, then the purchase will not be properly tracked as usual.
However, Facebook will release the Aggregated Event management tool to counterbalance this issue. It will help in proper attributions of sales.
Impacts on optimization and targeting
With iOS 14.5, there will be an eight-pixel event cap per domain for optimization. It means that an advertiser will only be able to apply a total of eight conversion events per domain for optimization.
If you offer advertising for your clients or you are merchant who advertise on your own, you may need to prioritize these eight events that will pose most significant commercial influences on your business. To note that these eight-event cap is only capping the number of events you can optimize towards. In any case, you may still track more events for reporting and target audience creation.
The new iOS 14.5 update may hinder optimizations when there are not enough data source points. It is probably not very good news for small-scale advertisers who do not have as many data points as in comparison to those big marketing players in the market. Furthermore, more and more users update their operating system to latest version, the size of retargeting and remarketing audiences will definitely be limited over time.
Impacts on reporting
When it comes to ad reporting data, there will be a three day delay on data display for the data that generates from iOS14.5 users. It is because of Apple’s PCM protocol which can restrict and delay data access for advertisers or whom rely on data insights.
Limited data could make running ads a bit inconvenient to advertisers than usual. For instance, clients will only be able to see a few reported conversions, and the conversion event breakdowns may not even exist. In a more complicated way, new protocol may contribute to the increment of under-reporting on organic as well as paid channels.
Well, we covered enough topics today. Don't panic, let's take a look at the solutions in the next coming article.
stay tuned with SHOPLAZZA blog!
