Implement Google Consent Mode v2

Google introduced the Consent Mode tool on September 3, 2020, as a way to bridge the gap between data privacy requirements and effective digital marketing. At its core, Consent Mode allows businesses to continue measuring website activity and ad conversions in a compliant manner even without explicit user consent, ensuring analytics remain valuable while respecting user choices.  Since the introduction of stricter privacy regulations worldwide, such as the EU’s GDPR, organizations have been required to obtain user permission before collecting or processing personal information. That means nearly every website operator and data controller must take consent seriously.  By integrating Google Consent Mode with CookieHub, companies can still gather reliable insights for their marketing teams without running afoul of data privacy laws. The result is a consent-driven model without undermining marketing efforts or business growth.  From a technical standpoint, Google Consent Mode lets websites convey a user’s consent status directly to a website, enabling tags to adjust their behavior. Consent mode is integrated directly into a consent management platform, like CookieHub, to adapt the behaviors of Google solutions, such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, and other third-party tags based on user consent selections.

Google Consent Mode v2 is an update to the first generation Consent Mode that aims to respect user privacy and comply with the EU’s data privacy regulations.   There are several critical differences between the old and new Google Consent Mode versions.   Original Google Consent Mode:   Optional and used to enable modeling  A Google-certified CMP was optional  Measurement only begins once users has consented via Google or third-party services  Google Consent Mode v2:  Consent Mode now required for tracking  A Google-certified CMP is mandatory to be able to use Consent Mode  Measurement only begins if the user has consented, and the corresponding signal has been received by Google via Google Consent Mode. (This will occur if your consent mode signals are correctly implemented.)  New parameter inclusions: ad_user_data and ad_personalisation. These give websites the ability to manage and align with user consent preferences.

Consent Mode is a tool, an API, that receives users’ consent choices from your cookie banner or widget, dynamically adapting the behavior of Google Analytics, Google Ads, and third-party tags that create or read cookies. This feature preserves a visitor’s consent state across different pages they visit, ensuring consistent application of their choices.  Consent Mode operates by adding an extra parameter to requests sent to Google’s servers, indicating user consent status for ad personalization and analytics. Initially, when no consent is given, Google receives limited information (e.g., IP address, page URL). Once consent is provided, the parameter updates to reflect the user’s choice, influencing subsequent data requests.  What does this look like in practice? It can vary depending on whether you already use CookieHub or not, and whether you are using Google Tag Manager. Here are generic implementation steps; however, please refer to our Consent Mode documentation for detailed instructions.    Create your consent banner   Implement CookieHub CMP on your website  Enable Consent Mode v2  Get the data and insight you need thanks to Consent Mode  

Consent Mode introduces two tag settings – one for cookie management for analytics (analytics_storage) and the other for cookie management for advertisement (ad_storage). Google Consent Mode v2 adds two more tag settings – one for consent for sending user data to Google for online ad purposes (ad_user_data), and the other to set consent for personalized advertising (ad_personalization).  analytics_storage  Google Consent Mode regulates analytics cookies in relation to user consent with the analytics_storage tag. Google Analytics adjusts the collection of data based on user’s consent. When consent is withheld, your site will still receives basic and non-identifying measurement data, including timestamps of site visits, whether users landed on your site, see how a user landed on your page, and so on.  ad_storage  Google Consent Mode manages marketing cookies on your site based on user consent using the ad_storage tag. Without user consent to marketing or advertising cookies, Google’s Consent Mode will not use these marketing cookies. Instead your site will still be able to display contextual ads based on anonymous data, not targeted, personal advertising.   Google Consent Mode enables your site to record and measure conversions in aggregate to offer some insight to website owners while still ensuring GDPR compliance and enhanced marketing performance despite the missing individual-level data. Google Consent Mode also adapts Google tags’ behavior based on the user’s region, so if certain cookies may be set without consent for US users, for example, but the same cookies would require consent from EU users, Google Consent Mode handles this.  ad_user_data  In Google Consent Mode v2, users give grant permission for their data to be collected and used specifically for ads. The parameter ad_user_data governs this. This consent covers things like demographic information, browsing behavior, and interaction with ads. Granting this consent, users allow Google to gather and analyze their data to enhance the relevance of the advertisements they see across the web.   ad_personalization  The tag ad_personalization related to advertisements being customized to target users based on their preferences and behavior. This consent gives Google the permission to use users’ data to personalize the ads they see across Google’s services and the broader internet – both to serve relevant display ads and to irrelevant or repetitive ads. This tag is important for enabling a tailored online ad experience for users. 

Any business using Google ad and analytics services should consider Consent Mode important.   More specifically, Consent Mode is most relevant for publishers, advertisers, marketing agencies and teams, web agencies, and any companies that implement consent banners and use Google Analytics and Google Ads.   For advertisers, Consent Mode enables effective tracking of ad performance and better insight into ad campaign spend to improve ad bidding strategies.  For marketers, Consent Mode allows for the continued collection of important user data in order to continue gathering and using insights that help deliver better marketing results.   For website operators and owners, Consent Mode can facilitate a better understanding of user journeys and conversions on their sites.

Google Consent Mode helps improve conversions and ad campaign performance in the following ways:  Preserves measurement accuracy  Even if users decline certain cookies, Consent Mode uses modeling to fill gaps in conversion data.  This means you still see accurate reports of how ads are performing, without losing insights due to consent restrictions.  Improves conversion tracking  With consent signals, Google Ads and Analytics know whether they can use cookies.  If cookies aren’t allowed, Consent Mode sends cookieless pings to keep tracking essential actions (like purchases or sign-ups).  Better campaign optimization  By recovering conversion data with modeling, Google Ads’ machine learning has more complete information.  This helps Smart Bidding optimize campaigns more effectively, leading to higher ROI.  Compliance + performance balance  You remain GDPR and ePrivacy compliant while still keeping campaign insights.  This avoids the common trade-off of either respecting consent or losing conversion data. 

There are a number of ways to tell if Consent Mode is activated. If you are using a Google-certified CMP, which you should be, there should be a dashboard or setting that confirms Consent Mode is firing correctly.  With CookieHub’s Consent Mode Checker, you can check whether Consent Mode is implemented properly. 

Not every jurisdiction in the world is subject to a data privacy regulations that make Google Consent Mode essential. But for the most part, locations that do impose data protection regulations place demanding rules on how user data is collected, processed, and managed. In particular, GDPR in the EU and the EU User Consent Policy (a Google policy that requires Google users to disclose cookie use on their websites and apps to get user consent) are particularly relevant to Google Consent Mode.   Note that using Google Consent Mode does not make a website or app GDPR (or any other data privacy regulation) compliant. 

As of 2024, Google Consent Mode has been required if you collect and process user data and serve Google ads to users in the European Economic Area. 

If your business is collecting and processing user data and serve Google ads to users in the European Economic Area, Google Consent Mode must be used.

At the most basic level, a Google-certified CMP (consent management platform) has been officially approved by Google to integrate with Consent Mode v2, ensuring compliance with Google’s ad and analytics requirements.  What does it mean to be a certified CMP Google Partner? Google puts its certified partners through a rigid vetting process, evaluating a platform’s capability to manage user consent effectively, with particular attention paid to its abilities vis-à-vis Google’s advertising and analytics services. Platforms that achieve certification status have shown an adherence to industry best practices in data privacy.  Certified CMP Google Partnership serves as the benchmark for websites, assuring users and businesses of a platform’s proficiency in handling consent management meticulously.  A non-certified CMP may still collect and manage consent but isn’t verified by Google, so it might not fully support Consent Mode v2 or guarantee compatibility with Google Ads and Analytics.

Yes, CookieHub is proud to be a Google-gold certified content management platform.