First party cookies are cookies set by the site itself. For example, if a visitor visits www.SmartDigitalSpending.com and this website sets a cookie, this cookie is called a first-party cookie.
Third party cookies are set from a different domain than the site that the visitor is currently visiting. If a visitor visits FoneGigsBlog.com and that website contains an ad coming from another domain such as www.AdClicks.com, and that domain sets a cookie, this cookie is called a third-party cookie.
Why is this important to know?
Third party cookies are generally the only way to measure a visitor’s behavior across multiple websites. For example, view-through measurement requires tying behavior on the publisher’s website to behavior on the advertiser’s website. For that purpose, the visitor needs to be identified by the same unique cookie on both sites. That is only possible with third-party cookies. The advertiser can’t read the publishers cookie because, as a privacy and security mechanism, web browers do not permit any one site to read cookies set by another.
Where can I read more about cookies?
OpenTracker provides a good article about cookies. Wikipedia provides a full definition of what a cookie is. WebAnalyticsbook also provides great information about Web Analytics.
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