Consent Mode V2 - why you need to upgrade before March 2024

Executive summary of why you need to upgrade to Consent Mode V2 before March 2024 to keep collecting Google Ads data effectively in EU.

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Implementation of Consent Mode v2 is required by March 2024 to ensure Google Ads functionality and here is why.

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1. Due to new EU regulation Digital Market Acts (DMA) major platforms like Google need to prove that users sconsented to data collection in March 2024.
2. Google Consent Mode is a technology from Google that facilitates communication of user consent state between your website/app and Google tools (Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, Floodlights). Google Consent Mode v2 got released by Google in 28 November 2023 to make sure Google is compliant with the new DMA regulation. 
3. Consent Mode v2 needs to be implemented by March 2024 for all Google advertisers and it requires changes in the implementation setup. You also need to make sure it integrates correctly with your Cookie Consent Management tool.
4. If you don’t implement Consent Mode v2 by March 2024, Google Ads will not receive audience data for EU users. 
5. This will have a significantly negative impact on traffic and conversions and you won’t be able to do ad personalisation.
6. If you don’t implement Consent Mode (Basic or Advanced) by End of 2024 (date to be decided), Google Ads will not receive conversion data for EU users.  This will have a significantly negative impact on traffic and conversions.

Basic vs Advanced Implementation of Consent Mode v2

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• Without Consent Mode means that only data from consenting users will be used and you’re not sending a consent state to Google what used consent the data have. This leads to less accurate conversion modelling and less data.
  
  
• Basic Consent Mode Setup means that only data from consenting users will be used and consent state of the data will be sent, which leads to more accurate modelling than without Consent Mode.

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• Advanced Consent Mode Setup means that data from both consented and unconsented users can be used to build the conversion model. This leads to the most accurate conversion modelling of the options.

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• On average, advanced consent mode recovers around 65% of ad-click-to-conversion journeys lost due to user cookie consent choices according to Google.
• To enable advanced setup, tags have to be unblocked by default during the implementation process and set the correct user consent state.
  
  

• Before deciding on which Consent Mode setup you should implement make sure to:

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• Talk with your Data Protector Officer and implementation expert to discuss these options and make sure you comply with privacy laws and your privacy policy.
• After implementation make sure to update your privacy policy for users.

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How does this affect my business and what actions do I need to take for my tracking to work? 

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• Make sure you follow Googles EU user consent policy, read here.
• Make sure you have a cookie consent banner. If you don’t have it, implement it and read here why it is important. 

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Most frequently asked questions (FAQ)

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Cookie Consent Manager & Cookie Bar Implementation

• Q: “I have a Cookie Consent Manager and Cookie Bar implemented, isn’t that all that's needed?”
• A: ”No! Consent Mode v2 is a technology from Google that needs to be implemented for their tracking. You need to integrate your Cookie Consent Manager with Consent Mode v2 to ensure that it will work. If you’re not sure we can help you to verify.

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Consent Mode Integration with Google Tag Manager

• Q: “My Cookie Consent Manager has an integration with Google Tag Manager, shouldn’t that be enough and work automatically?”
• A: ”No, that is not sure. You might need to do changes in the implementation to activate Consent Mode v2. We can help you verify your setup to ensure it works before March.”

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Upgrading from Consent Mode v1 to v2

• Q: “We have Consent Mode v1 implemented, what happens if we don’t upgrade to v2?”
• A: ”If you have a working Consent Mode v1 setup your Google Ads conversion data will work after March for EU users. Consent Mode v2 is needed to be implemented to make sure ad personalisation and audience data will work for EU users”.

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Scope of Google Consent Mode

• Q: ”Is this for Google Ads or Google Analytics 4?”
• A: ”Consent Mode v2 needs to be implemented for all Google Tags (Google Ads, Google Analytics 4, Floodlights for SA360/DV360). Google Analytics 4 data will continue to work if not implemented, but imported data from Google Analytics 4 to Google Ads will not work if Consent Mode v2 is not implemented.”

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Usage without Google Tag Manager

• Q: “We don’t have Google Tag Manager as we have the tracking code directly implemented on our site, can we still use Consent Mode v2?”
• A: ”Yes you can use Consent Mode v2 without Google Tag Manager, but you need to make changes in the tracking code on your site and make sure it integrates with your Cookie Consent Management tool.”

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Basic vs Advanced implementation of Consent Mode v2

• Q: ”Should we do the basic or advanced implementation with the anonymous cookieless pings?”
• A: ”With the advanced implementation with Conversion Modelling, it will result in more accurate conversion data and better performance. You need to make sure you’re updating your privacy policy to inform users that you’re using this feature. There are also some different ways to implement Advanced mode that you need to consider. Talk with your implementation expert and your Data Protector Officer to make sure you comply with privacy laws.”

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