Consent Mode: A Key Tool to Improve the Measurement of Your Google Ads Campaigns

Consent Mode is a tool that can enhance the measurement of your Google Ads campaigns. Are you making the most of it?

Proper implementation of Consent Mode not only helps comply with privacy regulations but also significantly improves the ability to measure and understand campaign results, especially in a context where user consent is becoming increasingly complex.

What happens without Consent Mode?

Ad clicks that lack appropriate consent turn into lost data for platforms, leading to incomplete conversion reports. For instance, a campaign might appear less effective than it actually is, prompting decisions such as cutting budgets or changing strategies based on inaccurate data. This impacts the efficiency of advertising investment. With partial information, decisions are based on an incomplete reality.

How does Consent Mode help?

With Consent Mode, Google can model conversions that would otherwise remain invisible. This is achieved using statistical modelling techniques that analyse similar behavioural patterns to estimate how many conversions likely occurred, even when direct data is unavailable. Even without cookie consent, statistical modelling allows the estimation of conversions to provide a more realistic view.

The difference is clear: a 5% conversion rate without Consent Mode could rise to 5.9% with conversion modelling enabled, representing an 18% improvement in reporting accuracy.

Implementation is key

Ensuring that Consent Mode is properly configured is crucial. It’s not enough to rely on just any CMP (Consent Management Platform). A Google-certified CMP, such as Cookiebot, can automate this process, simplifying management and ensuring compliance with regulations.

In my experience, there are several ways to check if a website has implemented Consent Mode correctly. Some useful tools include Consent Mode Inspector and Google Tag Assistant (the latter is used to verify proper implementation of Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics on the site). You can even perform a more in-depth analysis through Google parameters, where "gcs: G111" would indicate that Google recognises Consent Mode.

Do you already have Consent Mode implemented on your website?