Consent Mode v2: a checklist for advertisers reaching Europe

When we work with brands that want to bring patients, customers or guests from Germany, the Netherlands or the UK, we often hear the same complaint: "The ads bring in enquiries, but the report does not show them." Most of the time the problem is not the ad. It is the measurement setup. In Europe you cannot measure without user consent, and Google requires that consent to reach its ad systems through Consent Mode v2.

Note: this post is general information and not legal advice.

What is Consent Mode v2?

A way of passing the choice a visitor makes in your cookie banner on to Google's tags. Since March 2024, two additional signals have been required for users in the European Economic Area: consent to send ad data to Google (ad_user_data) and consent to personalised advertising (ad_personalization). Without them, remarketing lists and some measurement features stop working for those users.

Basic or advanced mode?

In basic mode, Google tags do not load at all until the visitor consents. In advanced mode, tags load and, when consent is denied, send cookieless, anonymous pings. Google can use these to model missing conversions. We suggest deciding which one fits you together with your legal adviser.

The situation in Germany

In Germany, consent for non-essential cookies is governed by the TDDDG (formerly TTDSG) as well as the GDPR. Accept and reject are expected to carry equal weight in the banner. In Türkiye, the cookie guidance published by the data protection authority in 2022 takes a similar line.

Checklist

• Does the site have a cookie banner where accept and reject look equally prominent?
• Is your consent tool connected to Google Tag Manager through Consent Mode?
• Are the ad_user_data and ad_personalization signals being sent?
• Have the consent and no-consent cases been tested in Google Tag Assistant?
• Are enhanced conversions switched on?
• Do Meta and other pixels follow the same consent decision?
• Is the consent rate tracked over time?

Why it matters

When consent is set up badly, a campaign looks weak when it is not. Budget moves to other channels for the wrong reasons. With measurement working properly, you can see which creative actually performs.

If you want to review the measurement behind campaigns that reach users in Europe, see our ads management page. For cookie and analytics setup on your website, our web design team can help.