MARKETING MATTERS
• You use Google Analytics to track visitor
behavior.
• You do remarketing and have a Google
Ads or Facebook racking pixel installed.
• You display ads on your website from
Google Ads, Facebook Audience Network,
or another display advertiser.
• You allow users to save their login infor-
mation.
• You have a shopping cart on your website.
• You allow people to adjust the layout of
your pages, for example, from a grid to a list-
style layout.
Okay. So your site uses cookies. Now what?
Do you need to comply?
Any site receiving traffic from Europe or
California is supposed to follow their rules.
Every website I monitor has traffic from
those locations, event companies like mine
nestled in the good ol’ Midwest US of A.
EVERY SITE. Don’t kid yourself by think-
ing because you’re located in Iowa, you’re all
good. The World Wide Web really is world-
wide, and people from all over find websites
for the darndest reasons.
Currently, you still have options.
You could do nothing. Not sure how
long that would fly, but for now, you can
do nothing. It’s not going to comply with
www.callape.com
the GDPR, E privacy regulation, or CCPA,
or Google. Who knows how long it will be
before search engines start penalizing people
for not doing so? They could be doing it
right now, and we just don’t know it… or it
could be years.
Or, just an idea, maybe a good place to
start is by telling people your site uses cook-
ies and post your privacy policy. While it
feels like this would cover all your bases, just
telling people doesn’t make you 100% com-
pliant. The key is people get to CHOOSE
if you track their information. So just tell-
ing people, “Hey, we’re tracking you, and if
you’re on our site, you agree to let us do it,”
isn’t a choice. It’s not like, “Eat your veggies
and you’ll get ice cream.” It’s like, “Eat your
veggies or don’t eat.”
To truly comply, you have to give peo-
ple a choice.
That’s why it’s described as “OPT-IN”, be-
cause people have an OPTION. You notify
visitors of cookie usage, post your privacy
policy, and delay cookie implementation
until visitors opt-in. And if they choose to
use your site after opting out, they use your
site without cookies, flaws and all.
How do you get a cookie notification for your site?
Subscribe to a service.
[42]
Even if you choose an all-in-one solution
service, you’ll still need to implement it.
You don’t just sign up and have it magically
appear on your site. Your site and the service
have to talk to one another, and someone
has to make that happen. The services are
billed monthly or annually. I haven’t used
any — are a few I came across frequently
in my searches are Iubenda, Cookiebot, and
CookieMetrix
If you have a WordPress site you can do
it yourself.
If you use WordPress to power your web-
site, you can add the functionality through a
plugin. After set up you’ll need to make sure
to set up and test diligently to make sure you
meet compliance (EZIGDPR and Cook-
ieMetrix offer free scans). Commonly used
plugins include GDPR Cookie Consent
By WebToffee, WP GDPR Compliance
By Van Ons, Cookie Notice for GDPR &
CCPA By dFactory and EU Cookie Law
(GDPR) By Alex Moss, Marco Milesi.
So there you have it.
Like it or not, you probably need a cookie
notification on your website. The extent to
which you comply with the initiatives is re-
ally up to you. So grab a plate of chocolate
chippers and enjoy.
1.800.210.5923