How are you still tracked online

While the Meta was modified, some small businesses started looking for other ways to advertise. It previously took about $6 in Facebook ads to identify a new customer, said Sean Baker, owner of Baker SoftWash, an outdoor cleaning company in Mooresville, North Carolina. Now it costs $27, he said, because the ads aren’t finding the right people.

Mr. Baker began spending $200 a month to advertise through Google’s Marketing Program for Local Businesses, which appears on his website when people who live in the area search for cleaners. To make up for those higher marketing costs, he raised his prices by 7 percent.

“You are spending more money now than you had to do before to do the same things,” he said.

Other tech giants with first-party information are benefiting from the change. Amazon, for example, has a lot of data about its customers, including what they buy, where they stay, and what movies or TV shows they stream.

In February, Amazon revealed its size advertising business Revenues reached $31.2 billion in 2021 – for the first time. This makes advertising the third largest source of sales after e-commerce and cloud computing. Amazon declined to comment.

Amber Murray, owner of See Your Strength in St. She said the results were fantastic.

In February, it paid about $200 to Amazon to display its products near the top of search results when customers search for decorative stickers. She said sales totaled $250 a day and continued to grow. When she spent $85 on a Facebook ad campaign in January, it generated just $37.50 in sales, she said.

“I think the golden days of Facebook ads are over,” Murray said. “On Amazon, people are looking for you, rather than telling people what they should want.”