Two years without cookies on the site, here's where we ended up

2 hours ago

Removing advertising cookies from sentry.io forced a shift in growth strategy, with 70% of budget now going to awareness channels like sports sponsorships, podcasts, billboards, and influencer content.
The traditional path to discovering software is declining due to reduced Google referral traffic, zero-click searches, and AI-generated noise, making authenticity in channels like YouTube and Reddit crucial for growth.
Awareness spend now directly influences LLM recommendations, as platforms like YouTube are frequently cited in AI-generated answers, linking brand visibility with product discoverability.
Companies often over-invest in measurable, short-term channels (like paid search) due to easy attribution, but an optimal 60/40 brand-to-direct-response split is recommended for sustainable growth.
Sentry uses a phased framework for investment: starting with niche, technical channels for developers, expanding to broader tech categories, and then aligning with audience interests like sports and comedy.
Measurement relies on self-reported surveys, annotated time-series data of signups by channel, and holistic metrics, proving directional insights are sufficient without granular tracking.
The cookieless approach led to exponential growth in new activated users by prioritizing authentic connections and long-term brand building over easily measurable but plateauing tactics.

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