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Everything You Need to Know About Google Consent Mode v2

27.02.24

By Melissa Jones, Deputy Head of Digital

By 6th March 2024, everyone advertising on Google platforms must configure to Google consent mode v2 if they are tracking users in the European Economic Area.

In this article we outline what exactly consent mode v2 is, the new features it provides, how to implement it and how it will improve your measurement.

It is an updated mechanism that Google has brought in to comply with the Digital Markets Act that comes into effect in March 2024. It allows businesses to adjust the functionality of Google tags based on user consent for ads and analytics cookies. This ensures that tracking for advertising campaigns occurs only with user consent, as signaled through Consent Mode v2. Google describes it as a mechanism that allows websites to gather data on website conversions while respecting user privacy settings.

As part of their ongoing commitment to a privacy-centric digital advertising ecosystem, Google has introduced two new parameters in addition to ad_storage and analytics_storage, these are:

ad_user_data

This parameter can either be ‘granted’ or ‘denied’ and sets consent for sending user data related to advertising to Google, which in this context relates to services including Google Ads, Google Shopping, and Google Play.

ad_personalisation

Like ad_user_data, this parameter can either be ‘granted’ or ‘denied’ and sets consent for whether personal data can be used for advertising purposes such as remarketing.

If a user consents to advertising cookies on the cookie banner, these parameters will be set to ‘granted’ and their information will be shared with Google, providing the cookie banner or consent management platform is aligned with Google’s standards for compliance.

Other consent mode features include:

  • Set which Google services you share data with using the Google tag UI
  • Set behaviour for geographic region
  • Pass ad click, client ID, and session ID information in URLs when users have not granted consent for cookies
  • Fully redact (remove) ad information when users deny consent for ad cookies

In short, no, it’s not the same as cookie consent as it doesn’t replace the functions handled by your consent management platform or cookie banner.

Instead, Google consent mode observes whether marketing or analytics cookies have been accepted through the vehicle of the cookie banner and if not, will switch all compatible tracking to a cookieless operation.

Google consent mode v2 allows you to send basic information to Google’s servers on a cookieless basis. Previously, if a user had opted out of cookies, no information would be sent which created black spots within analytics and led to gaps in understanding true performance of campaigns.

This cookieless information can inform the proportion of users not being tracked via traditional, cookie-consent methods, and can be used to model their activity in reports. This effectively helps to fill the gap that was previously created by users opting out.

The new Google consent mode is more of a requirement than an option, especially if you’re tracking users in the European Economic Area. Failing to do so may result in having activity suspended. On a slightly less serious, but equally important note, without it, marketers won’t be able to accurately track conversions and optimize their ad spend effectively moving forward. If not implemented, advertisers will feel the negative effects from March 2024.

There are three main ways that you can implement Google consent mode v2:

  • Using Google’s hardcoded script (gtag)
  • Native cookie management platform integration
  • Google Tag Manager (GTM)

In summary

We’re increasingly in a transitional phase, where tools such as Google consent mode are being released and updated to adhere to the ever-changing data landscape, whilst also allowing us as marketers to enhance our ability to make informed decisions using the data that we have available.

If you’re feeling daunted about your analytics set up get in touch with one of our experts who can implement consent mode for you.

And, if analytics and measurement is your thing, see our other guides on:

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