Google is introducing significant changes to the way its advertising and analytics products operate across EEA and UK markets. Utilizing a Google CMP (Consent Manager Platform) partner ensures best practices are followed to maintain functionality.
Starting March 2024, Google’s “EU Consent Mode V2” is mandatory for certain Google products ensuring users’ consents are collected before being able to utilize certain functionality in Google’s products.
What’s the history of Google Consent Mode V1 and V2?
The EU Google Consent Mode V1 was optional and was first introduced in 2015 to improve compliance with data privacy laws for advertising purposes. It included a revision of how Google tracks and optimizes data for programmatic advertising strategies.
The EU Google Consent Mode V2 is now required for tracking and using a Google-certified Consent Management Platform (CMP) ensures that your experience follows best practices. Google tracking takes place only when consent has been given via the enabled Google Consent Mode consent manager experience. It is important to ensure that the configurations and implementations of your consent experience are accurate with your Google Tag Manager.
TrustArc’s knowledgeable and highly skilled Technical Account Management team can ensure that your TrustArc Google Consent Mode experience is correctly configured and functioning as intended for compliance and optimal advertising experience.
How does Google Consent Mode work?
Google Consent Mode can be deployed on a site in one of two methods – a Basic or Advanced deployment. With a Basic deployment, Google Tags are not fired until the user opts in. With an Advanced deployment, Google Tags continuously fires cookieless pings until consent is given. You can learn more in Google’s documentation here.
Who is impacted by the mandatory EU Google Consent Mode V2 requirement?
Organizations deploying cookies or trackers for behavioral or targeted ad marketing/ remarketing in Europe should pay attention! This impacts organizations using Google tools: all Google Ad Services (Ad Mob, Ad Serve, Ad Manager), Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager.
What is the impact?
Organizations not using Google Consent Mode V2 will experience measurement loss affecting marketing campaigns. Impacting all your advertising activities, campaign optimization, and conversion metrics.
Why the change?
Google has made an important change to its advertising tools, including Google Ads. The Consent Mode will become mandatory for all users starting from March 2024. Companies utilizing Google Ads will need to implement Google Consent Mode to avoid the blocking of personalized ads such as remarketing. In the future, Google plans to block conversion tracking as well for those who don’t comply.
What are the benefits of using a Google Consent Manager Platform (CMP) partner?
You can rest assured that you provide the best advertising experience while meeting all technical requirements with Google. Save time with codeless implementation, and know that your CMP partner is continuously upgrading integrations to Google’s latest standards.
TrustArc Support
As a certified Google CMP Partner, TrustArc provides a dedicated support path for Google Consent Mode and certification-related inquiries. This includes:
- A specialized support email [email protected] that you can use for any issue related to Google Consent Mode v2, or integration verification.
- For customers with a managed service or with Cookie Consent Manager Advanced, we provide direct access to a Technical Account Manager (TAM) trained in Google’s CMP certification criteria.
- An option to directly contact Google’s CMP Support Team by copying [email protected]. With client approval, TrustArc can engage directly with Google for complex issues or certification blockers.
TrustArc offers the following response time commitments for all issues related to Google Consent Mode:
- Premium / Enterprise Clients – within 1 business day (24 hours)
- Standard Clients – within 2 business days (48 hours)
Creating a banner that meets Google’s banner requirements
TrustArc offers an out-of-the-box consent banner designed to comply with Google’s Consent Mode requirements. Implementing this banner correctly ensures that you meet Google’s policies for using their advertising and measurement products, such as Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Floodlight. This banner automatically includes a link to the Google Privacy Policy if you designate all Google Core Platform Services (CPSs) for data reception. If you intend to designate only a subset of Google CPSs, consult your Technical Account Manager to include a document link in your banner that discloses the specified Google CPSs.
NOTE: For specific customizations or to support advertisers designating all Google CPSs, collaborate with your Technical Account Manager or our support team to add this link to your Cookie Banner. If you intend to designate only a subset of Google CPSs, consult your Technical Account Manager to include a document link in your banner that discloses the specified Google CPSs.
Sample Banner with Google Privacy Policy link:
For more information, refer to our helpdesk information here.
