In the ever-evolving landscape of online advertising, user privacy has become a predominant concern. With the advent of regulations like GDPR and DMA, advertisers are tasked with finding solutions to ensure compliance while still effectively reaching their target audience. Google Consent Mode emerges as a significant development in this realm, offering advertisers a way to navigate the complexities of user consent and data protection.
What is Consent Mode?
Consent Mode is a feature developed by Google as part of its efforts to help advertisers manage user consent by adjusting how Google tags behave based on the user's consent status. Essentially, it enables websites to adjust the behavior of tags like Google Analytics and Google Ads based on the user's consent preferences regarding data collection and processing.
Why Consent Mode V2 and why is it becoming (almost) mandatory?
Consent Mode V2 represents a significant enhancement over the first version. While the original Consent Mode focused on managing consent for ads and analytics, V2 expands its scope and will be used by Google as a legal tool in addition to its primary function. Basically, it’s all about translating your website consent settings into Google languages.
Alongside the original signals ad_storage and analytics_storage, two new signals are introduced:
- ad_user_data: Indicates whether the user consents to the use of their personal data for advertising purposes.
- ad_personalization: Indicates whether the user consents to the use of their data for remarketing.
These new parameters, unlike ad_storage and analytics_storage, do not directly affect how tags behave on the site itself. Instead, they serve as additional parameters sent with the pings to Google services, providing instructions on how user data can be utilized for advertising.
As of the 6th of March, Consent Mode V2 is slated to become mandatory for advertisers utilising Google products and services. By making Consent Mode V2 mandatory, Google aims to ensure that advertisers are equipped with the tools necessary to obtain and manage user consent effectively, thereby promoting transparency and respecting user privacy preferences.
What do advertisers risk if they don't implement Consent Mode?
Advertisers who don’t implement Consent Mode V2 by the deadline risk several consequences, especially for Google Ads :
- Their remarketing lists will stop populating,
- The targeting or exclusion of recent users will no longer be an option,
- The import of GA4 audiences to Google Ads will not be possible anymore
- Demand Gen lookalike audiences won’t be usable anymore.
Overall, they can expect a decrease in performances, depending on their audience structure.
In conclusion, Consent Mode V2 represents a significant advancement in the realm of user privacy and consent management for online advertising. By expanding its capabilities and making it mandatory for advertisers, Google is taking proactive steps to promote transparency, compliance, and user trust in the digital advertising ecosystem.
Margaux Snakkers
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