Do you advertise with Google and reach people in Europe? If so, you have an extra task on your list in 2024. From March, Google expects you to use Consent Mode v2. This is a technical setting that passes on whether a visitor has given consent for cookies and tracking.
If you do nothing, you will lose data. You will be less able to measure results and you will no longer be able to build your audiences. In this article you will read what Consent Mode v2 is, what you need to set up and how to test that it works.
What is Consent Mode v2?
Consent Mode is a way of telling Google what a visitor has chosen in the cookie banner. Has someone given consent? Then your tags can work as normal. Has someone declined? Then the tags adjust their behaviour.
A tag is a small piece of code on your website. It sends data to another system, such as Google Ads or Google Analytics.
The first version had two signals:
- ad_storage: may a cookie be stored for advertising?
- analytics_storage: may a cookie be stored for statistics?
Version 2 adds two signals:
- ad_user_data: may the user’s data be used for advertising?
- ad_personalization: may that data be used for personalised advertising, such as remarketing?
Remarketing means reaching people again who have already visited your site.
Why is this mandatory?
The reason is the Digital Markets Act, a European law. It applies to large platform companies, known as gatekeepers. Google is one of them. The company must be able to demonstrate that data from European users is only used with consent.
Google passes part of that obligation on to advertisers. This means you must be able to show that you pass on consent. If you do not, Google can no longer use your data from European visitors.
Please note: this also applies if you only advertise in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is part of the European Economic Area. This is not legal advice. If you have questions about the privacy legislation itself, put them to a privacy lawyer.
What happens if you do nothing?
Without Consent Mode v2, Google can no longer use data from European visitors for advertising. The consequences are concrete:
- You can no longer build new remarketing lists with visitors from Europe.
- You see fewer conversions in Google Ads, because part of them is no longer measured.
- Smart bidding strategies receive less data. As a result, they make poorer decisions.
- Your reporting shows less than what is actually happening.
A conversion is a valuable action on your site, such as a purchase or a completed form. A bidding strategy determines how much you bid per click. Google uses your conversion data for this.
A common scenario: a garden furniture webshop spends a fixed budget on Google Ads every month. The cookie banner has been in place for years and nobody has updated it. In March the requirement takes effect. The number of measured sales slowly drops, while actual sales stay the same. The bidding strategy sees fewer results and starts bidding more cautiously. Reach declines. The owner thinks the campaign is performing worse, when the measurement problem actually lies in the link with the banner. It takes weeks before anyone realises.
Basic or advanced: which should you choose?
There are two ways to use Consent Mode. The difference lies in what happens when a visitor declines.
With basic, your Google tags only load after consent. If someone declines, nothing is sent to Google. You lose that visitor completely from your data.
With advanced, the tags do load. If someone declines, they only send anonymous signals without cookies. Google uses those signals in a model to estimate how many conversions were missed. This is called conversion modelling.
A few things to be aware of:
- Modelling gives an estimate, not an exact figure.
- It only works well if you have enough traffic and conversions.
- Advanced usually gives more insight, but requires a careful consideration of privacy.
Which variant suits you depends on your privacy policy and on your volume. Discuss this choice with whoever is responsible for privacy in your organisation.
How to prepare
You have until March. Use that time. These steps will take you a long way:
- Make an overview of your tags. Which Google tags are on your site? Think of Google Ads, Google Analytics and the Floodlight tag.
- Choose a cookie banner that supports Consent Mode v2. Cookiebot and Complianz are well-known examples. Check in the documentation whether the latest version is built in.
- Set the default status. For visitors from Europe, all signals are set to denied until someone gives consent.
- Link the banner to Google Tag Manager or your Google tag. This is how the visitor’s choice reaches Google.
- Check the tag settings. Is each tag set to the correct consent type?
- Test everything. Do this both for accepting and for declining.
- Keep an eye on your reporting. Check over the first few weeks whether your conversions remain plausible.
Google Tag Manager is a free tool that lets you manage tags without changing your site’s code.
How to test it
Testing is the most important part. Otherwise, you will only notice an error in the link after weeks. By then you will have missed months of good data.
Use Tag Assistant, Google’s free testing tool. Proceed as follows:
- Open your site in Tag Assistant and load the page.
- On the first page visit, look at the default status. Are all four signals set to denied?
- Click accept in the banner. Are the signals now passed on as granted?
- Repeat the test and now choose to decline. Do the signals remain set to denied?
- Check whether your tags behave as you configured them.
This is an afternoon’s work. It saves you from having to work out later why your figures do not add up.
Also test on mobile. Many visitors come via a phone and the banner may work differently there. Test again after every major change to your site. A new plugin or a new theme can disrupt the link.
Frequently asked questions
Does this also apply if I only advertise in the Netherlands?
Yes. The Netherlands is part of the European Economic Area. Visitors from the Netherlands therefore count. The rule concerns where the visitor comes from, not where your business is based.
Do I need to do this if I do not use remarketing?
Yes, because it also affects your conversion measurement. Without the new signals, Google can no longer fully use data from European visitors. Your reporting and your bidding strategies will feel the impact even if you do not use remarketing.
Do I lose data if visitors decline cookies?
Partly, yes. You can no longer track those who decline in the way you used to. With the advanced variant, Google estimates part of the missed conversions using a model. That is never entirely exact, but it gives you a more complete picture than nothing at all.
Book a free 30-minute introductory call
Would you like to know where your situation stands? We would be glad to review it with you. In a free 30-minute introductory call, we will discuss which tags you use, which cookie banner you have and what still needs to be done before March.
You will get an honest view of the risks and a clear step-by-step plan. Get in touch with Adventio Marketing in Amersfoort and book a time that suits you.
