Proprietary + Confidential

Consent
Playbook
for EU
user consent
 Proprietary + Confidential

Modules

01 Module I: Adapting to the evolving ads ecosystem

02 Module II: Consent overview

03 Module III: Consent mode

Introducing consent mode
Get started: Implement consent mode for web
Get started: Implement consent mode for app
Validate: Impact of consent mode for web
Case study

04 Module IV: Frequently asked questions

 Proprietary + Confidential

01

Module I:
Adapting to the
evolving ads
ecosystem
 Module I: Adapting to the evolving ads ecosystem Proprietary + Confidential

Module I: Adapting to the evolving ads ecosystem

It’s more important than ever to protect the healthy, ad-supported web where users can find what
they’re looking for, advertisers can reach the right audience and publishers can monetize their
content. At Google, we are committed to delivering ads responsibly, in a way that keeps users safe,
ensures that advertisers and publishers can thrive and meets the expectations of regulators.

Google has been investing in the teams, technology, processes, and safeguards to meet increasing
regulations, including the way we collect and process consent. Products, privacy and end-user
protections and practices will continue to evolve to meet regulatory requirements in the EU and beyond.

By the end of this module, you’ll be equipped to:

Explain how Google offers end-users transparency,

Identify the various regulations around consent
choice and control

Regulations that impact consent

The ePrivacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC) (also nicknamed the “Cookie Directive”) provides rules on
storing and accessing data on a users’ device, such as browser cookies.

In 2018, The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entered into force, having far reaching changes
for businesses that offer goods and services online to users in the EEA (European Economic Area). Among
other things, GDPR called for a legal basis for all processing
of personal data of which end-user consent played a prominent role.

[NEW] The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a new piece of legislation designed to regulate large online
platforms operating in the EEA. The legislation will start being enforced in March 2024. We have always
believed in offering people and businesses choice and control, and competing on the merits of our services.
The DMA will require Google and other companies to make various changes to the way their products and
services work.

In order for the Google tools that advertisers and publishers use to grow their businesses and measurement
(or monetization, for publishers), audience, predictive modeling, and AI advertising tools to keep working as
desired, there are some additional steps that our advertisers may need to take in the coming months due to
evolving privacy expectations for valid consent under existing laws in the EU, as well as new digital
regulations coming into force, such as DMA.
 Module I: Adapting to the evolving ads ecosystem Proprietary + Confidential

What can advertisers do to adapt to these changes for websites,

apps and personalization?

Advertisers need to enable or upgrade consent mode in order to maintain measurement features
like conversion tracking for websites and apps, and personalization features like targeting certain
audiences. Conversion modeling helps give advertisers a representative view of performance, more
efficient campaign optimization and bidding, and accurate, privacy-centric safe measurement in
instances when users do not consent to their data being shared with Google for advertising
purposes.

Advertisers should implement the following steps before March 2024 to preserve audience features.

Determine the best way to
obtain consent, either
through one of the
Consent Management
Platform (CMP) Partners -
recommended - or
in-house solution.
Ensure banner is Implement Verify your implementation
configured to collect user consent mode via one and compliance via status
consent and meets EU of the following: and diagnostic tooling in
User Consent Policy ● Partner CMP integration your Ads accounts.
(EUUCP) requirements. ● Manual implementation (Coming soon!)
through in-page or
in-app code

Follow the decision tree on the next page to learn about your individual next steps.
 Module I: Adapting to the evolving ads ecosystem Proprietary + Confidential

Step-by-step: How to take action

Follow the steps below to ensure you adopt or update all relevant
solutions to help you prepare.

Are you tracking conversions and/or using Customer Match and remarketing lists from EEA traffic?

Check with your Google account manager if CMPs and consent mode may be relevant in your market. This
No
playbook focuses on the EEA region.

Yes Move on to step 2

Do you have a consent banner on your website which meets EUUCP?

We recommend working with one of our Consent Management Platform (CMP) Partners to implement
No a consent banner.
Go to Module II to learn more about consent and Consent Management Platforms.

Ensure your consent banner is compliant with the EUUCP. If you are working
Partner CMP with a partner CMP from this list, work with your CMP to make necessary
updates to your banner.
Yes
Ensure your consent banner is compliant with the EUUCP. If you are working
Non-partner CMP
with a non-partner CMP or use an in-house solution to obtain consent
or In-house
go to this section to learn more about potential updates needed.

Move on to step 3 for more guidance on how to work with consent mode.

Are you using the audience types Customer Match or Remarketing?

Yes No

Are you onboarding user data through online or offline methods? Have you already implemented consent mode?

Online (tags / SDKS) Offline (API / upload) No Yes

Have you already implemented Go to step 4 Are you working or willing Congratulation!
consent mode? to work with a partner You are done!
CMP from this list?
There’s no action to take
to maintain measurement
No Yes No Yes for apps and websites.

Are you willing to work with Are you working with a Go to Go to

a partner CMP from this list? partner CMP from this list? step 3b step 3a

No Yes No Yes

Go to Go to Go to Your CMP will provide upgrades

step 3b step 3a step 3c to pass back consent signals for
cookies and advertising
personalization.
 Module I: Adapting to the evolving ads ecosystem Proprietary + Confidential

Step-by-step: How to take action

You want to implement consent mode with one of the Google partner CMPs

Follow your CMP’s instructions to configure a banner that is compliant with EUUCP and implement the latest
version of consent mode. Find a CMP implementation overview here.

Learn more about consent mode, conversion modeling and its benefits in Module III.

Congratulations! You are done! You have taken necessary action to maintain measurement for apps and websites.

You want to implement consent mode with a non-partner CMP or in-house solution

Make sure you have configured a banner that is compliant with EUUCP.

Learn more about consent mode, conversion modeling and its benefits in Module III and implement the latest
version of consent mode via in-page code for web or in-app code for apps. You may want to read about the two
types of consent mode, particularly in relation to Google Analytics 4. Learn more about consent mode
and Google Analytics 4 here, and about in-page and in-app code implementation.

If you are working with remarketing audiences, remember to pass back consent signals for cookies and advertising
personalization and consider adopting customer match if not using it already.

You have taken necessary action to maintain measurement for apps

Congratulations! You are done!
and websites and obtain personalization consent if working with audiences.

Upgrade consent mode with a non-partner CMP or in-house solution to obtain personalization consent

Upgrade is only necessary if working with Remarketing or Customer Match.

Make sure you have configured a banner that is compliant with EUUCP.
To pass back consent signals for cookies and advertising personalization you have to upgrade to the latest version
of the consent mode API via the in-page / in-app code implementation. Learn more about in-page and in-app code.

Congratulations! You are done! You have taken necessary action to obtain personalization consent
to work with audiences.

You are importing offline data to Google

Upload consented user data only or provide

Upload through Ads UI
consent parameters in uploaded files.
How are you
uploading offline Upgrade your Google API
data to Google? No integration to include relevant
Are you using consent parameters for EEA users.
Upload through API
a data provider?
Work with your data provider to
Yes
upload consented data for EEA users.

Congratulations! You are done!

Note: You will likely see some change in reporting and remarketing based on consent rates/behaviors.
In most cases conversion modeling can help to recover conversions.
 Proprietary + Confidential

02

Module II:
Consent
overview
 Module II: Consent Overview Proprietary + Confidential

Module II: Consent overview

Why is consent important?
At its core, user consent is the permission granted by users to a website or organization to proceed with their
data collection and usage. Personal user data is valuable to websites because it ensures that advertisers and
publishers can create a personalized experiences for their users based on their browsing patterns.

Additionally, the data unlocks insights into how users behave on a site. In turn, websites and business
have a better chance to meaningfully engage with those users.

Regulations User expectations Trust

Many countries and regions have People are increasingly mindful 71% of people said they
laws that require companies to about sharing their personal preferred to buy from brands
obtain user consent for certain information. Consumers want to that are honest about what
uses of their personal data or know their personal data is data they collect and why.1
obtain consent for the use of secure, private, and handled
cookies. Examples of these laws with intention. They also expect
include the General Data to have the ability to control
Protection Regulation (GDPR) their data.
and the ePrivacy Directive. Additionally, when people
Customers of Google are already trust a brand, they are twice
required to comply with its EU as willing to share their
user consent policy. personal information.2

How does gathering consent work?

Users should be informed of what personal data is being collected and for what purposes, so that they can decide if
they agree to collection and processing or not. There are basic principles of how to gather consent. Find guidance
from data protection authorities on consent here.

1 BCG / Google, “Consumers Want Privacy. Marketers Can Deliver.” January 21, 2022.
2 Google/Ipsos, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, U.K., Privacy by design: the benefits of putting people in control, n=10,001, online
participants aged 18-70, July 2022.
 Module II: Consent Overview Proprietary + Confidential

Adopting or updating consent solutions

Consent Management Platforms (CMPs)

A CMP is a software solution that helps advertisers and publishers manage consent collection in line with data
protection laws and regulations like the EU’s GDPR.
CMP solutions give website users information about how and why their personal data may be used, and which
vendors and organizations are asking to use that data. CMPs provide tools to give end users a clear choice
about whether or not they want their personal data to be collected and used by all or some of the parties listed.

At Google, we partner with many CMPs. They will help you manage consent banners and direct the
consent management process, which begins when a user lands on your website and makes a consent
choice on a CMP banner. The CMP then communicates that choice to the Google tag via Consent
Mode, and the tag adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Using a CMP can help you by:

1) Making the consent collection process simple and straightforward
2) Ensuring you are collecting and respecting consent properly for all of your users
3) Storing and efficiently managing your consent data

How to get a CMP solution

Step I Step II Step III

Review the list of CMP When you find one you Follow CMP guidance and
Partners that work like, follow the link to their complete the banner
with Google website to start the setup workflow
process of obtaining a
consent solution

In house banners
If you already have a consent solution in place without using a CMP Partner, It’s important to ensure that it
complies with all local regulations. For example, if you advertise to users in the EEA with Google, your banner
should comply with the EUUCP.

Google cannot give legal guidance on what a consent solution should look like. Backend changes
should follow guidance for websites and apps.
 Proprietary + Confidential

03

Module III:
Consent mode
Introducing consent mode

Get started: Implement consent mode for web

Get started: Implement consent mode for app

Validate: Impact of consent mode for web

Case study
 Module III: Consent mode Proprietary + Confidential

Introducing consent mode

What is consent mode?

Consent mode allows you to signal the consent status of your users, adapt Google tag behavior accordingly, and
enables Google to model for gaps in conversions. Consent mode can help you adhere to local regulations that require
user consent to be obtained. Google products will dynamically adapt, only utilizing cookies & device IDs for the
specified purposes when consent has been given by the user. Using consent signals, conversion modeling is applied
to recover lost conversions due to consent choices to fill measurement gaps.

A user navigates to your
website or app and
indicates consent status
(for ads and/or analytics
storage, ad user data,
and ad personalization).
Consent mode will tell
Google whether a user
has given permission to
use cookies/device IDs
for ads and analytics.
When the user does not With modeling, the most
consent, no identifying accurate data will be
information will be passed surfaced in your account
to Google. Instead, to enable better reporting
conversion modeling will and optimization.
leverage Google AI to
solve for unknowns in the
customer journey for more
comprehensive reporting
and optimization.

User visits website or app

User rejects User consents

Consent banner
Google tags do not load* Google tags load

User does User does

User converts User converts
not convert not convert

No Conversion modeling: Attribution No

conversion recovered by conversion modeling Conversion reported conversion
reported for users who reject consent. Consent signal sent to Google that reported
user converts; reporting as normal.

Conversion reported

Total conversions = Modeled + Observed conversions

*based on a basic implementation; an advanced configuration will use non-identifying, cookieless pings.
 Module III: Consent mode | Introducing consent mode Proprietary + Confidential

How consent mode is helping advertisers

Consent mode enables advertisers to transmit their end user consent choices that govern how
users’ personal data may be used for advertising, including measurement and personalisation.
It can help advertisers to maintain measurement features like conversion tracking for websites
and apps, and personalization features like targeting certain audiences by communicating
consent status of a user and adjusting Google products accordingly.

Further, where advertisers see less data in their Google Ads or Google Analytics
account due to users’ consent choices, the use of consent mode means that
65%
Google measurement can be adjusted accordingly based on the Google AI
modeling of ad click to conversion journey.

For users who do not consent to their data being shared with Google for On average, consent mode
measurement purposes, conversion modeling helps give advertisers a recovers around 65% of
ad-click-to-conversion journeys
representative view of performance, more efficient campaign optimization
lost due to user cookie
and bidding, and more accurate, privacy-safe measurement by modeling
consent choices.1
for lost conversions.

1 Google Internal Data, 2023.

Google is committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of your data. We'll keep your data
confidential and secure using the same industry-leading standards we use to protect our own users’ data.
We only report aggregated conversions. You can read more about how we use your consent mode data.

Three factors ensure a successful implementation

EEA presence
Consent mode is recommended
to customers with an EEA presence
or a region with opt-in consent
regulations.
Consent banner &
consent mode
Consent mode is a mechanism for
passing consent signals to respect
user consent choices made on a
consent banner within website or
within an app.
Google tag (Web) & Google
Analytics for Firebase SDK (Apps)
Must either use Google tag or Google
Tag Manager (web) or Google Analytics
for Firebase SDK (apps). Legacy tags are
not supported.

More resources: About consent mode | How Google uses consent mode data
 Module III: Consent mode | Introducing consent mode Proprietary + Confidential

How conversion modeling helps with measurement gaps

Conversion modeling refers to the use of Google AI to quantify the impact of marketing efforts when a
subset of conversions can’t be tied to ad interactions. It comes with different benefits for an advertiser:

Holistic conversion measurement Efficient campaign optimization

Gain a more accurate picture of your advertising Modeled conversions help you optimize your
outcomes (ROI), and a complete picture of the campaigns more effectively and achieve better
conversion path across devices and channels business results.
resulting from ad interactions.

Accurate privacy-centric measurement

Modeled conversions use data that doesn't
identify individual users to estimate conversions
that cannot be observed directly.

Conversion modeling is powered by a number of aggregate, non-identifying signals:

Device Type Conversion Type Country Time of Day Browser Type

How consent mode modeling works

When a user doesn’t consent,
consent mode, ensures that
Google tags do not read or write
cookies for advertising or
analytics purposes.
Conversion modeling uses
Google AI to quantify the
relationship between
consented and
unconsented users.
Using observable,
consented user journeys,
attribution paths will be
modeled for the
unconsented journeys.
Modeled conversions will be
integrated directly in your
Google Ads campaign
reports and used for bidding
and optimization.

The relationship between consent rates and modeled conversions:

You should expect unconsented conversion rates to be significantly lower than consented conversion rates. Through
extensive analysis, we have found that user conversion rates vary based on user consent status. Consented users are
typically 2-5x more likely to convert than unconsented users. However, this varies widely depending on factors such as
consent rates, industry, and conversion type. Google AI factors this component into its modeling.

More resources: About consent mode modeling | About modeled online conversions
 Module III: Consent mode | Introducing consent mode Proprietary + Confidential

Conversion modeling: Basic vs. advanced implementation

There are two ways to implement consent mode: basic implementation and advanced
implementation. The decision between basic and advanced implementation will influence which
data is being used for conversion modeling.

The advanced implementation is recommended for advertisers that:

● Need Google Analytics 4 behavioral modeling
● OR Have site traffic of <700 clicks/week
● OR Are using apps

To learn more about consent mode and Google Analytics 4 review this section.

Advanced implementation Basic implementation

Google tags are loaded before the

consent dialog appears Google tags blocked until
Tag behavior
Tags send cookieless pings when consent is granted
cookie consent declined

Behavioral modeling in GA4

Conversion modeling in GA4

Conversion modeling in Ads

*When tags are blocked due to consent choices, no personal data is collected, and conversion modeling in Ads
is based on a general model. The models use features such as browser type, conversion action type, country,
and other high-level, non-identifying variables.

What are cookieless pings?

Cookieless pings are only deployed with Advanced implementations. After consent mode is deployed, it will adjust the
behavior of consent status pings, conversion pings, and Google Analytics pings. Consent mode respects a user's privacy
choices, and when consent is not granted by a user, consent mode only sends pings that include functional, non-identifying
information. More information about pings is available in the Help Center.
 Module III: Consent mode | Introducing consent mode Proprietary + Confidential

Consent mode and enhanced conversions for web help in

a changing digital world

Please note: Enhanced conversions for web is available for Google Ads and Google Analytics 4.

User clicks Click ID gets

www.example.com/?gclid=XXXXExample
on ad appended to URL

Browser restrictions
Normal path Regulatory impact 1
impact

Cookie settings

Accept
Accept all Reject all
selection

Click ID Consent banner restricts Click ID cannot

cookies for advertising be appended to the Cookie

Purchase User makes consent choice

on website and purchases on website

Consent mode impact Enhanced conversions

Conversion ID for web impact
gets matched with
Consent mode collects
the Click ID from Consented customer data only
consented first-party cookies
the Ad. (e.g. email, phone number) is
Click ID for conversion tracking and
hashed and securely matched
models for non-consented data.
against hashed Google data to
recover conversions.

Conversion
is reported

Conversion
is reported

Enhanced conversions for web and consent mode go hand-in-hand to provide a more
accurate picture of performance:

● Consent mode solves for regulatory changes and enhanced conversions for web solves for browser changes.
● Consent mode models for unconsented conversions that cannot be observed; enhanced conversions observes
conversions that are not observed today on certain browsers.
● Both solutions can help to get more accurate reporting, modeling, and bidding and both will be reported in the
conversion column in your Google Ads account.
● Enhanced conversions for web data is never sent for non-consented customers.

1
Regulations such as GDPR and ePrivacy are not new and obtaining consent is not a new requirement. Learn more.
 Module III: Consent mode | Introducing consent mode Proprietary + Confidential

Consent mode and Google Analytics 4

Please ensure you are using the latest version of Google Analytics (GA4)
to benefit from the latest privacy centric features.
When you implement a consent banner for your website or app, Analytics will be missing data for users who decline
consent. There are two ways modeling in Google Analytics 4 can help to fill data gaps.

Behavioral modeling with consent mode in Google Analytics 4

Behavioral modeling for consent mode uses Google AI to model the behavior of users who decline analytics cookies
based on the behavior of similar users who accept analytics cookies. Modeled data allows you to gain useful insights
from your Analytics reports while respecting your users’ privacy.

Data being modeled based on user and session metrics can help answer questions like:
● How many daily active users do I have?
● How many new users did I acquire from my last campaign?
● What is the user journey from landing on my website to actually making a purchase?
● How many of my site visitors are based in Germany vs. the UK?
● What is the difference in user behavior between mobile vs. web visitors?

Pre-requisites:

Consent mode
enabled across all
pages of your site /
screens of your app.
Consent mode for
web pages: tags must load
before the consent dialog
appears, and Google tags
must load in all cases, not
only if the user consents.
(Advanced implementation)
At least 1,000 events
per day with
analytics_storage='deni
ed' for at least 7 days.
At least 1,000 daily
users sending events
with analytics_storage
='granted' for at least 7
of the previous 28 days.

Behavioral modeling in Google Analytics 4 requires the advanced implementation of consent mode,
meaning that the Google tag must load in all cases, not only when the user consents.

Conversion modeling with consent mode in Google Analytics 4

In Google Analytics 4 conversion modeling has been introduced to model for cases where conversion events cannot be
deterministically connected with previous engagement events. Refer to this page for more information on conversion
modeling.

Import to Google Ads:

Any conversions imported into Google Ads from linked Google Analytics 4 properties will include modeling.

More resources: [GA4] About modeled conversions | [GA4] Behavioral modeling for consent mode | Manage user consent
 Module III: Consent mode Proprietary + Confidential

WEB

Get started:
Implementing consent mode for web
Implementation overview:

Check the three factors for a successful implementation

● You have an EEA presence.
● You have a consent banner on your website that is blocking tags
● You have a Google tag installed.
Move to step 2.

Decide for the right implementation path for you

Follow the decision tree to decide for the right implementation path based on your setup:

Have you made sure to check the three factors

for a successful implementation?

Please go back and make sure you have

No
a compliant banner and a Google tag installed.

Are you using a certified Consent Management

Yes
Platform (CMP) from this list?

Implement consent mode with the help

Yes
of your CMP. Learn more.

Do you need Google Analytics 4 behavioral modeling

No
or have site traffic of <700 click/week?

Implement consent mode through in-page code using

No
either basic or advanced implementation. Learn more.

Implement consent mode through in-page code

Yes
using the advanced implementation. Learn more.

Validate implementation
Validate the consent mode implementation in Google Ads by checking the consent mode status and your consent mode
impact results 7 days later in the “Diagnostics” tab.
 Module III: Consent mode | Get started: Implementing consent mode for web Proprietary + Confidential

WEB

A) Implement consent mode with an integrated CMP

Consent Management Platforms allow for simpler implementation due to an integration with Google
consent APIs. Find an overview of the CMP partners here.

Please note: We always recommend to reach out to your CMP partner for more details
on how to enable consent mode with your specific platform.

Consent Management Platform Implementation guidance

Follow Commanders Act’s implementation instruction if you use TagCommander here,

Commanders Act
or if you use Google Tag Manager here.

In order to enable the Google consent mode, go to Menu > CMPs > Edit > Other
Consentmanager
settings and enable Google Consent Mode. Learn more here.

Implement Cookie Information’s GTM template OR insert the initial config script in the
Cookie Information A/S
head section of your website. Learn more here.

Cookiebot (Cybot) Follow Cookiebot’s implementation instructions here.

Navigate to the OneTrust UI > Geolocation Rules, select the rule group to configure,
OneTrust
and enable the Google consent mode setting. Learn more here.

CookieYes Follow CookieYes’ implementation instructions here.

Checkbox "on" the consent mode option within the Didomi UI. Follow the developer
Didomi
instructions to properly configure it. Learn more here.

iubenda Follow iubenda’s implementation instructions here.

Navigate to “Consent Management”. Create or edit a consent manager configuration.

Osano
In “Setting”, flip the switch labeled “Google Consent Mode” on. Learn more here.

Termly Follow Termly’s implementation instructions here.

Go to Usercentrics Admin Interface -> Configuration -> CMP Settings, enable Google
Usercentrics
Consent Mode and click Save. Learn more here.

log in to your Sirdata CMP account -> configuration section -> editing icon -> select
Sirdata "Update add-ons". Move the slider of the "Activate Google Consent Mode" option.
Learn more here.

CookieScript Follow CookieScript’s implementation instructions here.

Cookie First Follow Cookie First’s implementation instructions here.

You can enable consent mode in the wizard under Statistics – Configuration. Learn
Complianz
more here.

More resources: CMP Partner Program

 Module III: Consent mode | Get started: Implementing consent mode for web Proprietary + Confidential

WEB

B) Implement consent mode via in-page code

For web conversions we recommend to work with an integrated partner CMP.

If you decide to implement consent mode via in-page code please note:

● Implementing consent mode manually will require changes to your code. Including your developer
early on is highly recommended.
● If you use Google Tag Manager, we recommend creating your own template using Tag Manager
consent APIs. This example is available to reference as a starting point.
● If you use gtag.js, you will have to manually add consent code to each page of your site as direct
commands or in a custom HTML snippet, since users can update consent preferences at any point
on your site.
● You can decide between the basic and the advanced implementation (learn more here). If you want
to utilize behavioral modeling in Google Analytics 4, you have to use the advanced implementation.

Find advanced
implementation instructions
and examples in the
developer guide.

How you enable and use consent

mode depends on your
implementation for obtaining
consent and which tagging
platform you use. Always make
sure that your settings match your
organization’s policy.

Looking for server-side Tag Manager implementation guidance? Use this developer guide for more information.
 Module III: Consent mode | Get started: Implementing consent mode for apps Proprietary + Confidential

APP

Get started:
Implementing consent mode for apps
Implementation overview:
Have you made sure to check the three factors for a successful
implementation?

Please go back and make sure you have a compliant banner

No
and a Google Analytics for Firebase SDK installed.

Are you willing to work with a partner CMP

Yes
from this list to implement consent mode?

Implement consent mode through in-app

No
code following the instructions below.

Implement consent mode with

Yes
the help of your CMP.

Implement consent mode for apps through in-app code

To implement consent mode for apps, use the Google Analytics for Firebase SDK to set a default setting
and use the consent mode API to manage the setting programmatically, based on in-app user consent.

Find implementation
instructions and examples
in the developer guide.

How you enable and use consent

mode depends on your
implementation for obtaining
consent and which tagging
platform you use. Always make
sure that your settings match your
organization’s policy.
 Module III: Consent mode Proprietary + Confidential

WEB

Validate: Impact of consent mode for web

Please note: Consent mode status and impact results are only available for web, not for app.

Understand the consent mode status

After consent mode is implemented, you’ll find one of 2 statuses in your conversion diagnostics tab. You’ll find a green checkmark
if they are active.
1. In your Google Ads account, click the “Goals” icon.
2. Click the “Conversions” drop down in the section menu. Click “Summary”.
3. In the conversion actions table, click on a Google Ads website conversion action.
4. On the top page menu, click the “Diagnostics” tab. You’ll find one of the following consent mode statuses:

Status Meaning

Your consent mode is implemented but you have not yet met the thresholds for conversion modeling.
Consent mode
The click threshold for conversion modeling is 700 ad clicks over 7 days for a domain x country grouping.
is implemented

You will be able to see modeling uplift impact results about 7 days after you implement consent mode.
Consent mode is
Modeling uplift numbers on a domain x country level will be shown for 4 weeks after the publish time,
implemented and
which starts once you meet volume and modeling thresholds for a country. After the impact table with
modeling is active
your modeling uplift goes away, this status validates that consent mode is working.

See the consent mode impact results

Diagnostics tab:
1. In your Google Ads account, click the “Goals” icon.
2. Click the “Conversions” drop down in the section menu and
click “Summary”.
3. In the conversion actions table, click on a conversion action
with this icon in the status column .
4. On the top page menu, click the “Diagnostics” tab. You can
view your consent mode impact results.

Tracking status hover card:

1. In your Google Ads account, click the “Goals” icon.
2. Click the “Conversions” drop down in the section menu and
click “Summary”.
3. Find the conversion action you want to check. Under the
“Tracking status” column, your conversion action should
indicate “Recording conversions” with an arrow icon. Hover
over it and a card will show the status of the conversion tag.
4. The hovercard should indicate “Conversion modeling for
consent mode is active.”
5. Click View impact to be redirected to the Diagnostics page.
 Module III: Consent mode | Validate: Impact of consent mode for web Proprietary + Confidential

WEB

Troubleshoot unexpected or missing results

Troubleshooting missing impact results and uplift data

If the consent mode impact results of a certain country aren’t available in your report,
it may be due to one of several possible reasons:

1 Consent mode hasn’t been implemented for at least 7 full days.

The 4-week window of modeling impact results has passed. Modeling uplift data is only shown for 4 weeks after
2
the modeling start date.

3 We don’t have enough data to model for that domain and country.

The domain x country has active conversion modeling, but the uplift is below 1%, which is the minimum
4
threshold to appear in your impact results.

If the uplift data of all or one of your largest geographic segments is missing, then there may be an
implementation issue. Double-check your consent mode implementation by using the instructions for Google tag or
consent configuration with Google Tag Manager.

Troubleshooting lower uplift than expected

To receive full modeling benefits, make sure that you have implemented consent mode correctly on all pages of your
website. If uplift is lower than you expected it to be, it could be for these reasons:

Reason Solution

When consent mode isn't detected on 100% of your pages you can experience gaps
Consent mode isn't detected
in modeling. Make sure your: (1) Google tag is present on all pages. (2) Consent state
on some pages
is set on all pages. (3) Default or update call is firing before Google tags fire.

The ad click consent rates Your consent management platform (CMP) may be best positioned to advise you on
we detect from a domain are optimizing consent rates. Make sure your: (1) Default and update calls are set in the
too low to receive full right order. (2) Default or update call is firing before Google tags fire. (3) Banner
modeling benefits meets regulatory guidance for your region.

Unblock tags to fire cookieless Cookieless pings have no ad click identifier sent if data redaction = true. The pings
pings for users that don't can provide more accuracy and improve modeling results. Learn more about how to
consent to conversion tracking manage consent settings.

More resources: About Consent mode impact results

 Module III: Consent mode Proprietary + Confidential

Case study
Boosting HALLHUBER’s The challenge
As a premium fashion brand, HALLHUBER has been offering a unique
performance with more selection of clothing, bags, shoes, and accessories for over 40 years.
The increased activity of many retailers (especially during peak
comprehensive seasons), market challenges, and the client's strong

conversion measurement performance-oriented focus led to a review of the latest measurement

standards to maintain an accurate conversion measurement foundation
and recover conversions lost due to regulatory changes.

The approach
Premium women’s fashion retailer HALLHUBER wanted to respect its users' consent choices and at the
EMEA - Germany • hallhuber.com same time retain an accurate picture of its ad performance. The
company implemented consent mode on its websites in Germany,
Agency Name: PIA Media
Austria, and Switzerland to recover conversion loss due to user cookie
consent choices.
Partnering with PIA Media: PIA Media's ads strategy and technical
understanding of the latest standards helped HALLHUBER close
measurement gaps and increase efficiency.

The results
With more accurate data available through consent mode, HALLHUBER
was able to significantly improve its cost-to-revenue ratio and better
calibrate its campaigns. The retailer experienced a 14% overall increase
in conversions, which led to more qualified and cost-efficient traffic.

Performance Lift

By implementing the industry

95% 14%
standard consent mode, we were able sitewide tag coverage conversion increase
via Google tag from consent mode
to successfully close data gaps and
align our customer approach in a more
precise and efficient way.”
Primary marketing objective
Karoline Dammel, Head of Performance
❯ Grow online sales
Marketing, HALLHUBER

Featured product area

❯ Measurement: Consent mode

For more information on how to future-proof your measurement with privacy-first solutions visit
ads.google.com/intl/en_us/home/privacy/.

© 2023 Google LLC. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names
may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
 Proprietary + Confidential

04

Module IV:
Frequently
asked questions
 Module IV: Frequently asked questions Proprietary + Confidential

Module IV: Frequently asked questions

Find more FAQs here to help with the EU user consent policy.

How can user consent be obtained?

● Users should be informed (e.g. via a consent banner) that their personal data will be collected and for what purposes
so that they can decide if they agree to the processing or not. Learn more here.

Does consent mode collect personally identifiable data and / or personal data?

● When you enable consent mode, Google products ensure that a visitor’s consent mode state is preserved across the
pages they visit. With the advanced Implementation of Consent Mode, if consent is denied, tags that fire do not store
cookies, instead they communicate a minimum of information about user activity. Consent state and user activity are
then tracked by sending cookieless pings, or signals, to the Google server. With the basic implementation of Consent
Mode, if consent is denied, tags are blocked until consent is granted and no personal data is collected.
● Google is committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of your data. We'll keep your data confidential and
secure using the same industry-leading standards we use to protect our own users’ data. You can read more about
how we use your consent mode data.

Does consent mode collect IP addresses?

● IP address is critical to help advertisers manage user consent settings by region. The tags collect IP address as part
of regular HTTP protocols. For Google Ads and Floodlight systems, the IP address is used to derive user-country, and
immediately deleted upon collection. IP addresses are never saved or stored. Learn more about the tag behavior.
With the basic implementation of Consent Mode, if an advertiser chooses not to send a cookieless ping (tags
blocked/tags do not fire) when ad_storage is denied, IP address, Ad-click Identifiers, URL, 3P Cookies, 1P advertising
Cookies, and Analytics Cookies are not sent to Google.

How does consent mode work with Ads products?

● Once consent mode is implemented, advertisers will have access to a new tag setting, ad_storage, which controls
cookie behavior for advertising purposes, including conversion measurement and targeting features like
personalization. If a user does not provide consent for ads cookies, the relevant Google tags adjust accordingly and
do not use ads cookies. Without cookies, advertisers are no longer able to directly tie users' ad interactions to
conversions. To help close this gap, we launched conversion modeling through consent mode.

Does consent mode work with enhanced conversions for web?

● Consent mode and enhanced conversions for web are two standalone products and are not pre-requisites for each
other, but they work together to help provide a more accurate picture of performance. If consent is granted, enhanced
conversions for web can recover conversions that are being blocked by browser restrictions. If consent is not granted,
enhanced conversions for web will not be used for unconsented users and consent mode will model conversions.

Is consent mode required?

● For customers that do not use Google Analytics, TCF (Transparency & Consent Framework) is an alternative.
 Module IV: Frequently asked questions Proprietary + Confidential

What’s next: Prepare for a changing digital world

Power Google AI with durable measurement and first-party data
A holistic first-party data measurement strategy can help you to accurately measure and attribute
conversions for your campaigns to increase the performance of campaigns. More accurate conversion data
fuels Google AI to optimize your campaign performance and help grow revenue for your business.

Durable Measurement =

Hybrid data First-party

Google AI Performance
management data signals
Google tag, offline Customer-provided data Smart Bidding,
data uploads to model & enhance Performance Max,
conversion data attribution, & creatives

Google offers a suite of durable measurement solutions

Solution

Google tag Enhanced Enhanced Google

Customer Match
conversions for web conversions for leads Analytics 4

Use one tag across Increase reported online Measure offline Use Google Analytics 4 Reach customers and
Use case

your website to
measure effectiveness.
conversions that were
missed due to browser
restrictions on cookies.
conversions that came
from a website lead or
visitor GCLID-less
without a full
CRM integration.
for a variety of use build new audiences
cases, e.g. unified user using first-party data.
journeys and improved
data models, leveraging
Google AI.

Single tag solution & Connect offline data to AI-powered Advertisers who adopt
Customer Match with
foundation for Google Ads, for measurement
Benefit

uplift in conversion Automation see a

measurement example qualified leads platform with features
volume at a similar CPC or advanced value such as behavioral
when using tCPA with EC (profit / LTV) modeling and average increase of uplift in
for web1 predictive audiences conversions.2

overall increase in
conversions per dolar.2

(1) Advertisers who used tCPA with Enhanced conversions saw a +3.5% uplift in conversion volume at a similar CPC than advertisers who
used tCPA without EC. | Google internal data, Global, 7/2/2021 - 7/28/2021.
(2) Google Internal Data. 2022-2023. Conversions per dollar measured as Conversions / Cost. e.g. Pre Customer Match 10 conversions at
$100 = .1; Post Customer Match application 20 conversions at $150 = .133 -> This is a 34% difference between pre/post CPD