Digital marketing in 2024 is driven by tighter technical trade-offs than two years ago. The planned disappearance of third-party cookies on Chrome, the rise of generative results in Google, and the integration of CSR into media plans require a reassessment of the foundations, not just stacking new channels on top.
First-party data strategy: the technical foundation to secure before any activation
The collection of proprietary data now determines the profitability of every euro invested in acquisition. Without reliable third-party cookies, advertising platforms lose targeting precision. We observe that advertisers who have not structured their first-party data stack before the second half of 2024 experience a measurable degradation in their cost per conversion.
The project begins with consent. A poorly configured CMP lets a substantial portion of exploitable signals slip away. Configuring Google’s advanced consent mode (Consent Mode v2) allows for the recovery of modeled conversions, even when the user refuses tracking.
We recommend approaching a structured strategy around three resources, as marketing on the Success Man site details the fundamentals to master in order to lay these foundations without prioritization errors.
- Server-side tracking via Google Tag Manager server-side or equivalent, to ensure reliable data collection outside the browser and limit dependence on ad blockers.
- CRM enrichment through behavioral scoring: each interaction (email open, product page visit, scroll depth) feeds into an exploitable profile for advertising segmentation.
- Creation of first-party lookalike audiences in Meta Ads and Google Ads, based on hashed customer lists, to compensate for the loss of third-party signal.
This technical foundation is not an ancillary project. It is a prerequisite for any profitable acquisition strategy in the second half of the year.
CSR and advertising budgets: a measurable differentiation lever
CSR in digital marketing goes beyond superficial storytelling. According to Kantar Media’s 2024 annual report, multimedia investments related to CSR reach 3.3 billion euros gross in 2024, an increase of 1.7% compared to 2023, after two years of decline.
This rebound signals a change in nature. CSR communication becomes a structural budget item, integrated into digital plans just like search or social ads. Companies that treat CSR as mere editorial dressing miss out on a real competitive advantage.
Integrating CSR into the acquisition funnel
The classic trap is to confine CSR messages to institutional pages. In 2024, CSR performs better when it directly informs acquisition campaigns. This means advertising creatives that highlight verifiable commitments (certification, carbon footprint, supplier policy), not vague promises.
We recommend testing CSR variants in Performance Max or Advantage+ campaigns to measure the impact on conversion rates. Results vary by sector, but the signals are clear enough to justify budget allocation for testing.
Search Generative Experience: adapting content to Google’s enriched results
The gradual rollout of the Search Generative Experience (SGE) by Google is changing organic visibility. AI-generated answers at the top of the page capture an increasing share of clicks, and pages that do not contribute to these answers lose traffic without their traditional positioning changing.
The traditional SEO reflex (targeting a keyword, producing long content) is no longer sufficient. The SGE favors structured content that precisely addresses a search intent, with identifiable factual data.
Technical structuring for the SGE
Three technical adjustments increase the likelihood of appearing in generative responses:
- Enhanced Schema.org markup (FAQ, HowTo, Product) to provide Google with structured data usable by the generative model.
- Direct answers at the beginning of paragraphs: content that places the answer in the first two sentences, then elaborates, better feeds AI snippets.
- Entity-oriented internal linking: connecting pages through contextual links that reinforce Google’s thematic understanding of the site.
The goal is not to “please the AI” but to structure information so that it remains visible regardless of the format of presentation chosen by the search engine.
Multi-touch attribution and budget management in digital marketing
The last-click attribution model remains the default in the majority of advertising accounts. In 2024, this choice significantly skews budgetary decisions, especially since buying journeys involve more touchpoints than before.
A properly configured data-driven attribution model redistributes value among channels and often reveals that certain awareness campaigns (YouTube, programmatic display) contribute more than they appear to in last-click. We regularly observe budget reallocations of 15 to 25% between channels after switching to a multi-touch model.
Concrete implementation
Google Ads offers a native data-driven model, but its reliability depends on the volume of conversions. Below a certain threshold, the model lacks data to produce usable results. In this case, a time decay model offers a reasonable compromise.
The real challenge lies in cross-platform data integration. Connecting Meta Ads, Google Ads, and CRM data in a third-party tool (like Funnel, Supermetrics, or a custom solution via BigQuery) allows for a unified view of the customer journey. Without this consolidation, each platform claims the conversion, and the total declared budget exceeds reality.
Digital marketing in 2024 rewards teams that master their data infrastructure before multiplying channels. Advertisers who invest in server tracking, multi-touch attribution, and SGE structuring have an operational advantage that surface tactics cannot catch up with.