Summary3 min read

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Voices of Search
Episode: Will first-party customer data become the most valuable marketing asset by 2025?
Host: Jordan Cooney
Guest: Eddie Patch (Optimove)
Release Date: September 2, 2025

Overview

This episode of the Voices of Search podcast dives into the significance and future value of zero and first-party data in marketing, specifically as third-party cookies phase out and digital privacy regulations tighten. Host Jordan Cooney and guest Eddie Patch from Optimove discuss why zero-party data is poised to become a marketer's most prized asset by 2025, the industry’s slow adoption, actionable approaches for SEOs, and current tools to help accelerate the transition.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Zero-Party Data: The "New Gold" (00:43 – 01:34)

Zero-Party vs. First-Party Data:
- Eddie Patch is emphatic: marketers should be "100% buying" into zero-party data, explaining that it's the next level in data collection beyond first-party data.
- Third-party data has become saturated, and for businesses to stand out, they need to collect information customers proactively share with them.
- Quote:
  
  “Zero party data is just, it’s the new gold. It’s the new gold rush…If you want to be on a different level playing field, you move into the zero and you start to take over that way.”
  — Eddie Patch [01:09]

2. Industry Education & Slow Adoption (01:34 – 02:54)

SEO Industry Lag:
- Jordan highlights a gap: few SEO professionals truly understand or talk about zero-party data – even fewer know how to collect or manage it.
- Fast adaptation is crucial, but most teams are only just becoming aware of zero-party data’s power.
- Quote:
  
  “So few SEOs are actually talking about this and even fewer know how to collect and manage it…”
  — Jordan Cooney [01:37]
Driving Adoption:
- Eddie recommends making zero-party data an intentional topic within organizations; real progress begins when executive teams understand its impact on stagnant growth metrics and decide to prioritize it.
- Once business leaders see their growth leveling out, the business case for zero-party data often becomes obvious.
- Quote:
  
  “Once the executive team gets the buy-in...You start to look at specific metrics. Well, our traffic has only grown by 10%. Our customer base has only grown by 10%. We have to do something different. And the only way to unlock that is to, to get that zero party data.”
  — Eddie Patch [02:18]

3. Actionable Tools & Gamification (02:54 – 03:55)

Adact by Optimove Example:
- Eddie recommends Adact, a gamification product recently acquired by Optimove, calling out its distinct focus on zero-party data collection.
- Adact offers 60+ game templates for embedding in emails or on websites, making it easier for marketers to gather customer preferences directly through engagement.
- Fun anecdote: Eddie refers to Adact’s founder Caleb as the “Milton Bradley of digital gamification” – a reference lost on Caleb (from Estonia), but illustrative of his passion.
- Quote:
  
  “It’s not just a generic gamification platform, it’s built with zero party data in mind...So yeah, check that out.”
  — Eddie Patch [03:46]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Zero party data is just, it’s the new gold. It’s the new gold rush.” — Eddie Patch [01:09]
“So few SEOs are actually talking about this and even fewer know how to collect and manage it…” — Jordan Cooney [01:37]
“Once the executive team gets the buy-in...the only way to unlock that is to, to get that zero party data.” — Eddie Patch [02:18]
“He’s the digital Milton Bradley. So it’s called Adact by Optimove. It’s a self serve product…It’s built with zero party data in mind.” — Eddie Patch [03:28]

Important Segment Timestamps

00:43-01:34 — The rise of zero-party data and its critical place for marketers in 2025.
01:34-02:54 — The SEO industry’s knowledge gap and advice for accelerating zero-party data adoption.
02:54-03:55 — Practical tools for zero-party data collection: spotlight on Adact by Optimove and the power of gamification.

Final Takeaways

Zero-party data—information intentionally shared by customers—is emerging as the marketer’s most valuable strategic asset.
Many SEOs and digital marketers need both increased awareness and practical strategies to start leveraging zero-party data effectively.
Solutions like Adact (gamification for direct data capture) offer concrete tools to get started now.

For more information:

Find Eddie Patch on LinkedIn (see show notes)
Learn about Optimove at optimove.com

“The answers are always in the data.” — [03:55]

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Transcript10 lines

[00:00]
A
The Voices of Search Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice then visit iheareverything.com welcome to the Voices of Search Podcast. A member of the I Hear Everything Podcast network, ready to expedite your company's organic growth efforts. Sit back, relax, and get ready for your daily dose of search engine optimization wisdom. Here's today's host of the Voices of Search podcast, Jordan Cooney.
[00:43]
B
All right, now we're going to move into our lightning round. We're going to go through five different questions to really deep dive into this topic. We're going to start off with our first question. Buy or sell? Are you buying or selling that zero party data will become more valuable to marketers in 2025.
[01:05]
C
100% buying, if I didn't make it clear before. So there's only so much you could scale. Your first party data. Yeah, zero party data is just, it's the new gold. It's the new gold rush. Everything else, third party data. That's what everybody else is doing and that's what everybody else has been doing since 2019 and 2020, which wasn't that long ago. But if you want to be on a different level playing field, you move into the zero and you start to take over that way.
[01:34]
B
I think there's just so much education still left out there on this concept. I mean, I see it for our industry, the SEO industry, I think so few SEOs are actually talking about this and even fewer know how to collect and manage it, which is one of the things that make me really concerned about like how quickly can we adapt to getting to a world where we are as SEOs, effectively collecting zero party data. I mean, just briefly, I know this is a lightning round, but like your perspective, Eddie, like, how can people move faster on getting on the zero party data train?
[02:08]
C
It's one of those things where I've done a few speaking engagements or workshops where we highlight zero party data and it feels obvious at first. Uh, but once you just, you sit down for 30 minutes and talk about the value and benefit behind it, it becomes a no brainer and then it just becomes about figuring out how you're going to do it. Uh, once the, the executive team gets the buy in and you, you start to look at specific metrics. Well, our traffic has only grown by 10%. Our customer base has only grown by 10%. We have to do something different. And the only way to unlock that is to, to get that zero party data. So it's, I think once it becomes just an intentional topic internally, you could really start to make motion on it. But until then, it's kind of just in the background. People aren't really realizing it until then.
[02:54]
B
That's true. Absolutely. Are there any tools or ways that marketers, excuse me, can really leverage that zero party data today more effectively?
[03:05]
C
Yeah, I mean, I'd be amiss if I didn't mention this one. So Optimove just acquired a gamification company.
[03:13]
B
Interesting.
[03:13]
C
So there's a really strong founder named Caleb who's joined the team. He, I like to call him the Milton Bradley of digital gamification. He's from Estonia. So when I made that reference, he had no idea what I was talking about. But he is. He's the digital Milton Bradley. So it's called Adact A D, a C T. Adact by Optimove. It's a self serve product. You can just like hop right in and start building games. There's 60 different templates and then you basically start embedding them in your emails and on your site. And it's not just a generic gamification platform, it's built with zero party data in mind. So it's very much built around that to do that. So yeah, check that out.
[03:55]
B
Oh, I love it. Great recommendation. And that wraps up this episode of the Voices Search podcast. A huge thank you to Eddie Patch from Optimove for joining us. If you'd like to contact Eddie, you can find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or you can find his information on voicesofsearch.com for more information about Optimove, visit optimove.com if you haven't subscribed yet and want a daily stream of SEO and content marketing knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed soon. Okay, that's all for today, but until next time, remember, the answers are always in the data.