Google Consent Mode V2: Everything you need to know for schools

Feeling confused about Google’s new Consent Mode V2? Look no further, in this blog, we explain all.

So, here we go… Google’s consent management solution helps website owners comply with data privacy laws like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and ePrivacy regulations. These laws require websites to get explicit consent from users before collecting or processing their personal data.

Here’s how Google’s solution works currently:

A. When you visit a website you see a banner asking your consent – provided by the website owner using Google’s code instructions.

B. You are able to choose what you would like the website to track and not track and Google ads and Analytics will therefore be impacted by what you chose.

C. This is saved and you don’t have to choose again.

The idea behind this is that it gives the user control over their data. This Google’s solution helps websites follow privacy laws by getting clear permission before using your data for analytics or personalised ads.

Google Consent Mode V2 is an updated version of Google’s consent management solution that helps website owners comply with data privacy regulations like GDPR and ePrivacy.

What is Google Consent Mode V2? 

Google Consent Mode V2 is a significant update that aims to boost user privacy and data compliance. It’s an interface that tells Google what consent the website user has given for using cookies. It only takes effect if your website users refuse cookies. If they consent, Google uses its cookies for tracking as usual.

The key aspects of Consent Mode V2:

1. Improved Privacy Compliance – more granular control over tracking such as analytics, advertising and functional cookies

2. It blocks Google’s tags from loading until visitor consent is obtained through a Consent Management Platform (CMP).

3. It integrates with CMPs to pass visitor consent choices to Google’s tags.

4. It provides a centralised consent signal that can be used across multiple Google products.

How does this Impact your School?

As a website owner you will need to ensure your website is compliant.

1. Compliance: Implementing Consent Mode V2 helps website owners comply with data privacy laws like GDPR by obtaining explicit visitor consent before loading Google’s tags and processing personal data.
2. Integration with CMPs: Website owners need to integrate their existing CMP with Consent Mode V2 to pass visitor consent choices to Google’s tags. Many major CMPs have already integrated with Consent Mode V2.
3. Implementation Effort: Updating to Consent Mode V2 requires changes to the website’s tagging implementation, which may involve development effort and testing, especially for complex setups.
4. Visitor Experience: Consent Mode V2 introduces an additional step where visitors must provide consent choices before Google’s tags load, potentially impacting user experience and metrics like bounce rate.
5. Data Loss: If visitors do not provide consent, Google’s tags will not load, resulting in incomplete data collection for those visitors in products like Google Analytics.
6. Consent Auditing: Consent Mode V2 provides a centralized consent signal that can be audited to demonstrate compliance with data privacy regulations.

In summary, while Consent Mode V2 helps website owners comply with privacy laws, it also requires integration work with CMPs, changes to tagging implementations, and may impact visitor experience and data collection. Schools need to carefully plan and test the migration to ensure a smooth transition while maintaining compliance. 

Is Consent Mode A Legal Requirement?

Google Consent Mode V2 is not strictly required by law. Still, it is effectively mandatory for websites using Google’s advertising and analytics services, especially those operating in regions with strict data privacy regulations like the European Economic Area (EEA).

Consent Mode V2 Limitations and Challenges

Potential limitations and challenges to be aware of:

Here is a summary of the limitations and challenges of implementing Google Consent Mode V2 in a list format:

1. Impact on User Experience – the extra step in the user journey can disrupt the experience and may lead to higher bounce rate for schools.

2. Data Loss for Non-Consenting Users – non consenting users data will not be collected so it will affect reporting, conversion tracking and analysis.

3. Conversion Modeling Limitations – the anonymous data is used for modelling conversions but it has limitations and will not provide the same level of accuracy.

4. Implementation Effort and Complexity – requires integration with a Google-certified CMP, significant changes to tagging and quality assurance.

5. Ongoing Maintenance and Updates – requires up to date practices and constant monitoring.

6. Potential Revenue Impact – the opting out will impact ad targeting and ultimately revenue streams.  Businesses maybe need to explore.

Need Help with Consent Mode V2?

If you need assistance with the implementation or want to ensure it’s done correctly. Our team are experienced in implementing Consent Mode V2 with various Google-certified CMP’s. We can also help select the best CMP for your business and budget.

We have an offer on our Google Analytics services for Google Consent Mode V2 setup and configuration with Complianz or CookieScript. Please note, there will be an additional cost from the CMP – there is an official list of these here.

To speak to one of the team about this click here.