As of March 6th, a significant change is on the horizon for marketers utilising Google services, particularly those who rely on remarketing audiences.
The introduction of Consent Mode v2 will reshape how user consent is managed to align with the European Union User Consent Policy (EUUCP).
In this blog post, we’ll explore the key aspects of Consent Mode v2, its implications for marketers, and the necessary steps you need to take to adapt to this pending change.
Table of Contents
Understanding consent mode v2
Google’s “Consent Mode v2” lets websites and GA4 (an analytics tool) better understand and track non-consenting users. This improved system helps websites adjust to user choices and still optimise their conversions and analytics.
Key changes & implications
If your marketing strategy involves a website & GA4, it’s imperative to have Consent Mode version 2 in place by March 6th. Failure to do so may result in the loss of conversion data & first-party audiences, affecting both remarketing & customer match audiences.
Consent Mode v2 establishes a direct link between your cookie banner & Google Ads. Depending on the user’s response to the banner, the following takes place:
- Approval > Conversion tracking proceeds as usual, allowing for the passage of user data and enabling ad personalisation, including remarketing efforts
- Disapproval > While conversion tracking is disabled, the system models the likelihood of the individual converting, providing marketers with valuable insights.
How to set up Consent Mode v2
To seamlessly transition to Consent Mode v2, follow these steps:
- Create a cookie banner: Develop a cookie banner for your website & integrate it with a Google partner cookie management platform (CMP)
- Implement consent mode on conversion tags: Ensure that Consent Mode is integrated into your conversion tags. Technical support from Google may be available, but it’s crucial to have the cookie banner & CMP in place before proceeding.
What does Consent Mode v2 cover?
Google Consent Mode V2 focuses on four data areas:
- Analytics Storage: You can decide whether your website or app activity data can be stored for future analysis. This choice significantly impacts how much information businesses can access to understand user behaviour and website performance.
- Analytics Reporting: This addresses whether stored data can be used to generate reports for businesses. Granting consent enables businesses to create detailed reports on user activity while denying it prevents the generation of such reports using user data.
- Ad Storage: This addresses whether ad-related data, including cookies and other identifiers, can be stored on user devices. Granting consent allows for personalised advertising and ad retargeting, while denying it restricts such practices and limits ad personalisation.
- Ad User Data: This is a crucial area that determines whether user data can be shared with Google Ads for personalised advertising. Granting consent enables Google to use user data for targeted ad campaigns, while denying it significantly limits personalised ad exposure for the user.
It’s essential to note that you can make independent choices for each of these areas, which offers a granular level of control over your data. This marks a major shift from the previous binary “opt-in/opt-out” system for data collection, providing you with more power to decide how your data is used within Google’s ecosystem.
Why it’s important to implement Consent Mode v2
If you fail to implement Google Consent Mode V2 from March 6 2024, Google will block you from capturing new EEA user data, affecting storage in Google Analytics 4 and sharing with Google Ads. Consequences include limited remarketing, decreased Google Ads performance, inefficient ad spend, and challenges for Google’s algorithm in predicting and tracking conversions.
Compliance with Consent Mode 2.0 brings several advantages, including the preservation of conversion tracking capabilities & the continued use of first-party audiences. Studies suggest that 5-10% of lost conversions can be recovered by adhering to these changes.
Embracing a privacy-centric web experience
Amid growing concerns about user privacy, governments are enacting new laws, prompting tech giants like Google to adapt. Consent Mode v2 is Google’s response to the Digital Markets Act, aligning with efforts to safeguard user data. Beyond this, Google plans to eliminate third-party cookies by 2024, signalling significant changes for marketers who need to brace for a cookie-less future.
Next steps for marketers
Here’s what you need to do before Consent Mode v2 comes into effect in March 2024:
- Confirm EEA traffic to your site.
- Implement or verify a consent management platform for European user consent.
- Set up Consent Mode V2, favouring Advanced Consent Mode for precise data.
- Include consent signals for offline data sent to Google via an API.
These measures ensure compliance with data regulations, minimize impact on marketing campaigns, and reduce data loss from non-consenting users while building European audiences in Google Ads.
Additional resources
For a comprehensive understanding of Consent Mode, watch this informative video: What is Consent Mode
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, marketers must stay informed & adapt to changes in user consent policies. Implementing Consent Mode 2.0 is not just a compliance requirement but an opportunity to enhance the precision of conversion tracking & analytics. Stay ahead of the curve by embracing these changes & ensuring your marketing strategies align with the evolving regulatory landscape.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you prepare for the upcoming changes to Google’s Consent Mode, feel free to get in touch with our team and we’ll be happy to help.
