Catching up on Google Consent Mode (finally!)
This is the catch up edition...
I've promised Google Consent Mode v2 as well as the poll results so here we go. Let's do this and then get back to more current subjects in the next letter.
First.
Poll results.
You've made it clear. You want those deep dives and then a bit of the rest. I'll do my best. This does trigger one change though - the cadence of this letter, it will be one every 2-4 weeks. Deep dives take time and I can't get back on the every 2 week schedule and promise value. So it will come as it comes.
And now to the next bit I owe you:
Google Consent Mode V2
It's the talk of town (along with third party cookies of course) in the measurement community and it's trickling over to the general marketing world as well. But why the fuss. Google is just playing at being Google after all.
Well, because this one has implications that you should probably know about.
Let's assume you know what Google Consent mode is and what it is suppose to do (don't? - check this out). You've used it for a while now after all and there were no issues, right?
But first one major bit of news: Google Consent Mode is not a CMP!
It does not manage consent for you.
It doesn't even work with most tags to relay consent information.
It is not a replacement for a cookie banner.
Google Consent Mode is used in conjunction with whatever cookie banner tool or implementation you have, not solo.
Ok, now that that is out of the way.
What is best? Basic or Advance? What are the differences? What are the consequences?
In short - don't do it. Don't set up the advanced version if you want to stay compliant with the GDPR (if in the US there is a it more leeway but I would still consider that this could be an issue as you are misleading the user).
Google Consent mode is essentially a way to relay consent status to a given tag that you have set up in Google Tag Manager. For now that is mostly just Google tags such as Google Ads (or any other 'consent aware' tags), it does not work when a tag is not 'consent aware'. It tells the tag if a user has consented, or not, and then adjusts what is collected or if the tag is even triggered based on that consent.
Theoretically there are three options you can choose within Google Tag Manager:
No Consent Mode: Nothing is implemented and all data collected to Google services is assumed to have consent from the user.
Basic Consent Mode: Consent mode has been implemented but you only send data if the user has granted consent.
Advanced Consent Mode: Consent mode has been implemented and data is collected regardless if the user consents or not.
But Google is pushing. You need to enable consent mode by March as Google needs to comply with the Digital Markets Act and it's mandated to maintain auditable data that can differentiate on consenting and non-consenting users. (Don't blame the DMA. Google has a huge market share and therefor needs to report additional parameters - this does not make advanced mode mandatory) If you don't set it up your EU users will not be included in Google Ads and probably not in GA4.
No consent mode is no longer an option in Europe or companies that are targeting the EU.
We are left with Basic or Advance. But How do I know which one to use?
Basic is straight forward: no consent, no tracking. Got consent - all runs normally and you've got the data.
Advanced on the other hand does some fun stuff. Google decided that if a user does not consent to tracking they will track them anyway. They will send "cookieless pings" to the relevant services to help, for example, model conversions and visitor behaviour. The tag will not act as it would if consent was granted (such as accessing cookies) but the data will still be collected in Google servers. If consent is granted the data collection will happen as well but without any restrictions.
What does it boil down to? Advanced mode would breach the GDPR and the ePrivacy directive. You are tracking users when they say not to...
Want the the total (technical) breakdown? Check out this article on Simo Ahava's blog by Markus Baersch.
Siobhan's' take (WTF or FTW):
WTF!
Let's get real. A user says don't track me and you're going to anyway?
Google is asking you to trust them. That's it. Do you trust them?
And as a marketer, would you trust them? There is no transparency as to what is going on in Advanced mode so you need to blindly trust Google about the conversion models they apply to your ads.
The only winner here is Google.
But regardless of trust and Google for me it's quite simple. The person on the other end (yes, a person) clearly said they do not want to be tracked. Now think about if you want to track them anyway. Think about how you would feel if someone did that to you.
Siobhan 🤓
P.S: still confused as to what to do about Consent Mode? Book in a Power Hour and we'll hash it out.