A marketing manager launches a retargeting campaign on Google Ads in March 2024 and discovers that their usual audience segments are no longer effective. Conversion rates drop, and cost per click rises. The reason is not technical: it’s regulatory.
The Digital Markets Act has imposed concrete restrictions on data cross-referencing between services without explicit consent since March 7, 2024. This kind of situation encapsulates the trends in digital marketing in 2024: it’s no longer just about tools, but about legal constraints that reshape strategies.
DMA and DSA: what these regulations change for advertising campaigns
The DMA targets “gatekeepers” like Google, Meta, and Apple. In practical terms, these platforms can no longer freely cross-reference data from their various services to refine advertising targeting. For a company that relied on the combined audiences of Google Search, YouTube, and Gmail, this is one less lever to pull.
The Digital Services Act, applied to all online intermediaries in the European Union since February 17, 2024, adds an additional layer. Advertising targeting of minors is regulated, as is targeting based on sensitive categories. Platforms must also explain how their recommendation algorithms work.
In practice, we see that brands that had already invested in collecting first-party data (forms, loyalty programs, segmented newsletters) are adapting more quickly. Those that depended solely on social networks for their targeting find themselves rebuilding their audiences from scratch. The resources available on the Geek Nation website allow tracking of these regulatory developments and their implications for businesses.
First-party data and the announced end of third-party cookies: where we really stand
There has been a lot of talk about 2024 being the year of the disappearance of third-party cookies in Chrome. The reality is more nuanced. Google announced in July 2024 that it would abandon their automatic removal, preferring to leave the choice to the user via a consent mechanism integrated into the browser.
Third-party cookies are not disappearing, but their reliability is significantly decreasing. Between users who refuse tracking, browsers that already block it by default (Safari, Firefox), and the new obligations of the DMA, the share of audience traceable via third-party cookies is shrinking every quarter.
What is changing on the ground for marketing teams:
- First-party data collection becomes a priority project, not a secondary one. We’re talking about enriched CRM, progressive forms, interactive quizzes that directly feed the database
- Contextual targeting is making a comeback: rather than tracking an individual, we target the environment in which the ad appears (page theme, content keywords)
- Predictive modeling tools partially replace individual tracking to estimate conversions, with results varying by sector
Feedback on this point varies: some brands achieve comparable performance with contextual targeting, while others see a significant drop in accuracy. It all depends on the volume of first-party data already available.
Search and content: the concrete impact of AI on SEO and social media
Artificial intelligence has transformed marketing content production in 2024, but not in the way most articles describe. The real change is not the ability to generate text. It’s the alteration of consumer search behavior.
Google integrates AI-generated answers directly into its search results. For businesses, this means that organic traffic on certain informational queries decreases, as users get their answers without clicking. SEO is not dying, but it is shifting towards more specific, transactional queries.
On social media, TikTok has become a full-fledged search engine for part of the audience. Consumers search for product reviews, tutorials, and comparisons there. This forces brands to think of their social content as search content, with keywords in captions and subtitles.
What works concretely in terms of content
Short and authentic formats outperform polished productions in terms of engagement. Brands that allow their internal teams or micro-influencers to create “on-the-ground” content achieve higher interaction rates than campaigns produced in a studio.
Generative AI is mainly used behind the scenes: writing briefs, creating variations for A/B testing, personalizing email subjects. Production automation does not replace editorial strategy; it accelerates execution.
Social commerce and customer experience: the buying journey is shortening
Social commerce is no longer an experiment. On TikTok Shop, Instagram Shopping, or Pinterest, the journey from product discovery to purchase is reduced to a few clicks without leaving the platform. For businesses, this changes the logic of the classic funnel.
We no longer redirect to an e-commerce site: we sell where the audience is. Brands that perform well on this channel share some characteristics:
- A product catalog integrated directly into social platforms, with up-to-date listings and visuals adapted for mobile format
- Collaborations with influencers that generate measurable sales, not just awareness
- A smooth payment experience, without friction or redirection to a third-party site
Advertising and organic content converge in these environments. A sponsored post that resembles native content performs better than a traditional banner because the social media audience immediately penalizes anything that looks like classic advertising.
Digital marketing in 2024 is less about adopting new technologies than about the ability to navigate changing rules of the game. DMA, DSA, gradual end of third-party tracking, rise of social commerce: each evolution requires operational adaptation, not just strategic monitoring. Teams that test, measure, and adjust their campaigns month after month are the ones that stay ahead.
