Your Guide to Google Consent Mode V2
When the European Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into force in March 2024, digital companies operating in Europe — such as Google — were forced to take action. To strengthen its user privacy controls around data collection for advertising purposes and comply with these new regulations, Google has launched Consent Mode V2.
In this article, we explain what Google Consent Mode V2 involves, its positive and negative implications for advertisers, and how to stay ahead by preparing your business for this updated version of Google Consent Mode.
What Is Consent Mode?
Google Consent Mode (GCM) is one of Google’s many tools and features. It connects a user’s cookie consent choices to Google Tags, offering a means to measure the performance of your digital channel and advertising initiatives. Google Consent Mode also allows you to model the behavior of users who haven’t consented to your website’s cookie policy.
Google introduced its first version of Consent Mode in 2020 to ensure that data collection methods for Google Analytics and Google Ads respected EU data privacy laws. Google Consent Mode V2 is an updated 2024 version of this tool that aligns with new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy legislation and aims to better protect user data.
There are two options when it comes to Consent Mode V2 — Basic Consent Mode and Advanced Consent Mode. To continue using Google Ads and Google Analytics 4 (GA4), your business will have to implement one of these. At present, Google Consent Mode V2 only applies to websites and apps that use Google Tags and target users in the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK, and several other European countries. However, since third-party cookie deprecation is viewed as an inevitable universal trend, experts in Google Ads Consent Mode recommend that websites operating elsewhere should also consider seeking stricter user consent sooner rather than later.
What Implications Does Consent Mode Have For Advertisers?
With its updated Consent Mode, Google has sparked debate among advertisers. While some marketers see it as an opportunity to offer users a more secure and trustworthy advertising experience, others are concerned about the possible negative effects that GCM V2 could have on audience targeting and campaign evaluation.
As with most digital developments, Consent Mode V2 has the potential to bring both benefits and limitations to your business depending on your company’s unique vision and approach:
THE BENEFITS OF CONSENT MODE V2
Increased compliance: Websites operating in the EEA now have to implement Consent Mode V2 to comply with the stricter user privacy regulations outlined in the European Digital Markets Act. Doing so as soon as possible offers more immediate protection for advertisers from any potential penalties associated with data privacy violations that might occur if they wait to start the transition process.
Data insights beyond consent: With its Advanced level, GCM V2 offers advertisers the opportunity to gather anonymized and aggregated data even when users opt out of a website’s cookie policy. By permitting the use of this modeled data, Google Consent Mode V2 provides valuable insights into user behavior trends and campaign performance while supporting remarketing and ad personalization in a compliant manner.
Focus on privacy-conscious targeting: Google has shown with its recent core algorithm update that providing online users with more trustworthy, high-quality content is a priority. Consent Mode V2 also indicates a shift toward a more trustworthy, secure online experience for users, but one that allows businesses to continue offering the personalization that their clients have come to expect. This is achieved by offering privacy-conscious advertising methods such as contextual targeting through relevant content and leveraging first-party data from users who opt into cookie policies. As a result, users who consent to GCM V2 can expect a more relevant and trusted advertising experience.
THE LIMITATIONS OF CONSENT MODE V2
Limited individual user data: When users opt out of Consent Mode V2, this restricts the access that organizations will have to individual user data. This could make it more challenging to maintain a precise audience focus and build the kinds of hyper-targeted ad campaigns that require detailed user profiles.
Attribution challenges: Without individual user data, it may also become more difficult to accurately attribute conversions such as sales or sign-ups to specific ad impressions. This will reduce your ability to analyze campaign effectiveness and make informed advertising spending decisions without the necessary adjustments in measurement methodologies.
Increased reliance on first-party data: With its updated Consent Mode, Google is making it clear that third-party cookies will soon be a thing of the past. With an increased reliance on first-party data, the success of your advertising efforts will depend more and more on collecting and effectively using this data. But to do this requires a strong user consent strategy and a big investment in trust-building tactics.
How to Prepare For Consent Mode V2
The key to maximizing the potential benefits and avoiding the possible limitations of Google Consent Mode 2 is to transition as soon as possible.
Here are some strategies for preparing for Consent Mode V2:
FIGURE OUT YOUR NEEDS
Your priority should be to check where your users are located as this will dictate how quickly you have to act.
If any of your users live in European Union member states, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Iceland then Google Consent Mode V2 is crucial since these countries are protected by the European Digital Markets Act that came into force in March 2024. The updated Google Consent Mode also applies to websites operating within the UK, while Swiss traffic is protected by Google’s updated privacy policy from July 2024 onward.
Your business also needs to consider how it uses Google Tags to determine the specific implementation steps to follow. Without making the change to Consent Mode V2, you won’t be able to gather any data related to new users in these European markets via Google Tags or related advertising tools, such as Google Ads and Google Analytics 4.
IMPLEMENT A CONSENT MANAGEMENT PLATFORM (CMP)
The best approach when transitioning to Consent Mode V2 is to use a Google-approved consent management platform (CMP). Not only does using a CMP simplify consent collection and help you manage user choices, but it will also automatically submit data to Google in the required Consent Mode V2 format.
If you don’t use a CMP, you need a custom consent banner that captures user choices for ad personalization and data usage. To ensure that this data is sent to Google according to its GCM V2 specifications, you then need to update your Google Tag Manager (GTM) setup manually.
CONSENT BANNER AND USER COMMUNICATION
To align Consent Mode, Google Ads, and Google Analytics, it’s vital to ensure that your consent banner clearly outlines the different data usage options, such as ad personalization and how a user’s choices will impact ad targeting. When it comes to explaining how the data will be used and provided, it’s best to be as transparent as possible. This also includes providing a clear opt-out feature for users who prefer not to consent.
CONFIGURE GOOGLE TAG MANAGER
Most consent management platforms will integrate seamlessly with Google Tag Manager and handle technical configurations natively. This is especially true if you use Shopify apps such as Consentmo.
If you choose a custom solution, you will need to update your GTM tags to include the new API data parameters — ad_storage, ad_personalization, and ad_user_data. However, this will also depend on whether you use Basic or Advanced Google Consent Mode V2.
TESTING AND TROUBLESHOOTING
After implementing Consent Mode V2, you should test your website or app to ensure that it captures user consent choices accurately, transmits this data to Google correctly, and that your tags are firing as intended based on user consent selections.
Prioritize Switching to Consent Mode V2
While the main focus of Google’s original Consent Mode was to comply with European privacy legislation, V2 goes one step further by allowing the use of data modeling. Google claims this adjustment will help improve retargeting and personalized advertising, allowing advertisers to reap the benefits of enhanced campaign relevance.
This also means that, without Google Consent Mode V2 in place, you’ll notice a reduction in campaign performance. To avoid this, transitioning to GCM V2 should be a top priority for your business.
In particular, we recommend choosing the Advanced Consent Mode V2 option to offer users an enhanced user experience with more control over privacy preferences. Setting up Advanced Consent Mode is slightly more complex than the Basic version but the extra benefits it offers — such as behavioral modeling in Google Analytics — are well worth it.
To ensure that your website continues to perform at its best while guaranteeing an optimal user experience for all, our reporting and analytics specialists at Block & Tam are here to help. As well as assisting you in the transition to V2, we can show you how to maximize this new functionality for even better ad campaign performance.
