The consequences for your data after the Consent Mode V2 update

With the implementation of Google-Einwilligungsmodus v2 Many websites are experiencing a significant decrease in the amount of data collected. This is because a large proportion of visitors can no longer be tracked. This includes users who actively refuse cookies, ignore the cookie banner, or leave the website without any interaction with the site or the cookie banner.

Consequence for the marketer

For marketers and web administrators, this is naturally a major disadvantage. This is because far less information is available, both analytical information and information that influences marketing campaigns. This change has significant consequences. The insights into the results of your campaigns are far less accurate. When a website visitor has refused marketing cookies but has still led to a conversion, this visitor can no longer be attributed to the campaign. Furthermore, marketing platforms are highly dependent on this visitor data; the data feeds their algorithms to optimise campaigns more effectively. Less data therefore often means less results in practice.

Analytical data more valuable

In contrast, the data collected on analytical platforms has now become much more valuable. This is because this data is no longer obscured by visitors leaving the site directly. A comparison of the data collected in the period before the Consent Mode v2 update and the period after shows significant improvements in bounce and engagement rates.

Change of strategy

It is important for online marketers to be aware of these changes and to develop strategies to minimise the impact of reduced data collection. This can include, among other things, placing more emphasis on the use of first-party data to collect the dwindling data as accurately as possible. It is important to realise that the rules for Cookie Consent differ in various EU countries. In the Netherlands, for example, it is possible to set ‘analytics_storage’ to “granted”. While in Belgium and Germany this is not allowed, it must be set to “denied” by default. Consent Mode V2 does not actively look at ‘analytics_storage’, so if you always have this set to “granted”, you don't need to worry about not meeting the requirements as a Google Ads advertiser.

Tip: ensure visitors cannot bypass your cookie banner

To ensure your data is as complete as possible, it's important that the cookie banner on your website cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, we still too often see websites that simply continue to function without any interaction with the cookie banner being necessary. Visitors who ignore a cookie banner are virtually untraceable.

Need help?

Do you need help setting up Consent Mode V2? Or are you curious about how you can use first-party data to retain more insight into your data? Schedule a no-obligation appointment with one of our Growth Specialists.