Google Tag Manager Tip #3: Check Google Consent Mode

Since the introduction of Google Consent Mode in March of 2024, many businesses have noticed data loss or poorer performance in Google Ads. This all has to do with the fact that Google requires that you explicitly ask permission from your visitor. Where previously a simple statement at the bottom of the page worked, it is now important that permission for marketing and analytics is actually requested and thus the visitor also has the opportunity to refuse it. If you work with a solution like Cookiebot, then you can be assured that Consent Mode will be applied.

In fact, 2 values have been added that are important to ensure that your Google Ads campaigns continue to work well, so that your google ads bidding strategy is not going to suffer. These 2 values are ad_storage and ad_personalization. Without clarity on these 2 values, whether they are allowed, will actually have an impact.

But how do you make sure you comply?

So what is important is that the technology for Consent Mode is implemented. You can possibly set this up yourself with a piece of code in the website, but it’s nicer to use a Consent Management Platform like Cookiebot for this. Then you can be sure you are prepared for future changes.

Can I check for myself if my website is doing well?

Yes you certainly can. With infotrust ‘s extension, you can see in real time whether you are complying with this and what values are present. If all the signals are neatly turned to green after a user gives consent for all cookies, then it works well. Should any values remain empty or on denied, it is time to take action. Don’t hesitate and contact us!

Another way is the preview modes of Google Tag Manager. This neatly keeps track for you at what point consent was given and updated.

In this example, you can see that after a user indicates consent, Consent Mode is updated nicely. So you won’t lose data that way.

What happens before someone gives consent? Will you lose all the data then?

No, most Consent Management Platforms use Google Consent Mode Advanced. This means that with enough website visitors and data, we work with anonymous data in Google Analytics 4. The question, however, is whether you should want this from customer privacy considerations. Finally, if they consciously choose not to be followed in their behavior, who are we not to accept it. It is important to note that this only works if you really do have a lot of anonymous visitors to the website.

Silly Cookie Consent banner

So the days of silly cookie consent banners with only an OK button are history. It is mandatory for every visitor within the European Union to ask and verify this neatly and be sure that the visitor can refuse or modify their consent. If you, as a website owner, don’t do this, you risk a hefty financial penalty that can add up nicely. So be warned.

Should you want to know more about working with Consent Mode in Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager, or need help making this happen, or want to get started with Cookiebot? If so, please contact us.

Author: Paul Gudde Position: Founder Active since: 2007 Number of articles: 24LinkedInprofileSpecializations: Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, Google bigquery, Server Side Tagging