Google Consent Mode? Yes, of course. Now version 2 is out, sure… But what exactly is it? What does it mean to me? Don’t worry, so that you don’t keep saying “yeah, right” and making mental notes to google for more information or leave the task to your techie, in this post we clarify what’s behind the term “Google Consent Mode”. Also, as version 2 comes into effect from March 2024, we keep you up to date on the changes and what you should do to avoid problems with your website or your campaigns. Because yes, even if it seems like a very cryptic term that has nothing to do with you, if you have a business with an online presence and you use tools like Google Analytics or Google Ads, it does affect you.
What is Google’s Consent Mode?
Let’s start with the basics: What is Consent Mode? It is practically Google’s way of complying with two European regulations, the GDPR, el Reglamento General de Protección de Datos, que entró en vigor en 2018 y el ePrivacy Directiveque ya existe desde el 2002 y lógicamente, con el desarrollo constante del mundo digital, se ha ido revisando en varias ocasiones.
Resumiendo, para no liarnos mucho con el tema de las leyes, estos dos reglamentos están pensados para asegurar la seguridad y la protección de datos de los usuarios europeos de internet. Lo que no solo afecta empresas y sitios web europeos, sino también a cualquiera fuera de la Unión Europea que se dirige a usuarios europeos. Un eCommerce con sede en California, por ejemplo, que quiere captar con sus anuncios clientes de cualquier país europeo, está obligado a cumplir con estos reglamentos.
Hence, Google is obliged to adapt its services, and so are you. On the one hand, to protect users according to the law and, on the other hand, to continue to allow the possibility of personalising ads and adapting their distribution according to the individual user data we have, thanks to Cookies. Google’s solution? To ask users’ permission, every time they enter a website, to collect their data through, exactly, Cookies.
Breve repaso de lo de los Cookies
Los cookies por más lindo que suene, no tienen nada que ver con tus galletas favoritas. A este punto, eso ya lo sabemos todos. Se trata de un pequeño texto informático que se manda desde cualquier sitio web a los ordenadores de los usuarios en internet. Prácticamente crea un lazo que permite identificar a los usuarios y observar sus hábitos.
Por un lado suena como espionaje, de ahí que se han creado las leyes anteriormente mencionadas, por otro lado, gracias a eso puedes entrar en una página web, por ejemplo tu cuenta de Amazon o la de tu banco, y no tienes que introducir tus datos de acceso cada vez que abres la página. O sea de por sí, los cookies no son malos. Pero hay diferentes tipos, entre otros:
- Los cookies que sirven para detectar la ip de tu navegador se llaman First Party Cookies.
- Los que se utilizan principalmente para conocer los hábitos de los usuarios se llaman Third Party Cookies, ya que se comparten con terceros para crear anuncios etc.
Podríamos entrar más en detalle, but we don’t want to get too far off track, and the ones that are important for Google Consent Mode in the end are these two.
¿Qué tiene que ver lo del Modo de Consentimiento de Google con mi negocio?
Well, all this data collection, which can be used to create user profiles based on their interests, location etc. has led to the hyper-personalisation of digital ads. If you for example have a sports shop, you can create ads that will be shown only to people who, according to what we know about them from cookies, are really interested in sports. This way your ads will be much more profitable, because you won’t pay for them to be seen by your neighbour, for example, who at most walks her dog and probably doesn’t want to buy technical clothing. You pay for them to be seen by a person really interested in sports, who perhaps regularly enters your website and will most likely make a purchase. And that’s where you win.
Back to the subject. Precisely so that users have a say in what you do and don’t do with their personal data, the obligation to ask for permission has been established. So if you want to use Google Analytics or Google Ads, you have to ask for the users’ consent. Until now, if the user did not give permission, it was complicated to measure data and personalise ads.
The only backdoor that was still open was the advanced mode, which means that data is still collected, but anonymously. So models are created and ads are launched based on these models. Obviously they are not as accurate as the ones that are created based on the information we have when a user accepts our request. How does that work? Yes, with a banner, that’s what we see when we enter a web page. What we don’t see is the important part, that this banner is connected to a platform to manage the information, a CMP (Consent Manager Platform), that is to say the permissions or rejections received in order to configure how the cookies should work, if they can be activated.
¿Qué cambia con Consent Mode V2?
Todo esto lo repasamos para tener claro lo que cambia al respecto a partir de ahora. Para empezar, si quieres seguir utilizando los servicios de Google para tu negocio, estás obligado a implementar el nuevo Consent Mode.
En primer lugar Google te da dos opciones:
- El modo básico, le da al usuario la posibilidad de aceptar o rechazar la recolección de datos y a ti solo te transmite la información sobre los usuarios que dieron su consentimiento.
- El modo avanzado , le da al usuario la posibilidad de aceptar o rechazar la recolección de datos y a ti te transmite la información sobre los usuarios que dieron su consentimiento y para la información sobre usuarios que lo negaron tiene un plan B.
¿Cuál es el plan B del modo avanzado en el Google Consent Mode V2?
While Google Consent Mode V1 was still valid, we said that when a user refuses our request to collect their data, there was an option to create ads based on anonymous models created by Google’s algorithm. To create these models, it practically takes advantage of the data of the users who gave us permission and makes an estimate. If x people from the consenters behave like this, probably x people from the deniers behave the same way.
With Google Consent Mode V2 and its advanced mode, we can actually take advantage of more data so that the Google algorithm creates these anonymous models for us. How? Where do we get more data from, if we don’t have permissions? Well, it practically takes advantage of the time it takes for the user to reject the request. In the meantime, tags called “cookieless pings” are triggered and transmit information only about the type of device, the type of conversion, the type of browser, the time and the country. As Google defines this as non-identifying information, the model that is created is still anonymous, but it becomes a little more useful when it comes to personalising your ad.
Hasta aquí, bien. Ahora sí, tener opciones de qué tipo de Consent Mode V2 utilizar, no es la única novedad.
Nuevos parámetros en Google Consent Mode V2
Con Google Consent Mode V1 recibimos la información sobre dos tipos de consentimientos. Por un lado, a través del cookie, supimos si el usuario estaba de acuerdo con que utilizamos su información para fines analíticos y por otro lado, si estaba de acuerdo con que utilizamos su información para fines de marketing.
Con Google Consent Mode V2, no es que se hayan sustituido estos parámetros por otros. Básicamente se ha especificado más en detalle el parámetro publicitario. Se le añade las subcategorías, por decirlo de alguna manera, de fines publicitarios y de fines de remarketing.
Conclusión final
Dicho todo esto, esperamos que todo lo que que conlleva el término Google Consent Mode y su versión 2 quede un poco más claro. Ahora,¿cómo saber si tienes que hacer algo? Es muy simple,¿utilizas servicios de Google como Google Ads o Google Analytics para tu emprendimiento y quieres seguir haciéndolo? Entonces si, estás obligado a implementar Google Consent Mode V2. Para eso si, si no estás del todo seguro de cómo hacerlo a nivel técnico, you can leave the task to a specialist, but now at least you know what it’s all about.
This way you make sure that your marketing strategy is in line with the law and on the other hand you also build trust with your customers. Giving them the option to reject cookies does not mean that you will lose the information you need to create ads and generate sales. It means that you are transparent, which for loyal customers is an important factor when it comes to making a purchase. Plus with the new modes and parameters we’ve mentioned, you actually have more options at hand to run your campaigns. It’s just a matter of adapting them to the new digital environment.
