Implementing Consent Mode v2 on a website or online store

What Consent Mode v2 is and when it matters

Consent Mode is a Google interface through which a website tells Google tags whether the visitor agreed to cookies, and the tags adjust their behaviour. According to Google Ads Help, it shows no banner itself; it takes the choice from the site’s existing banner, technically a CMP (consent management platform).

Version 2 added two new signals, ad_user_data and ad_personalization. Google requires advertisers measuring EEA users to collect their consent and share consent signals with Google. Without them, according to Google Analytics Help, audiences for linked advertising products contain only users from outside the EEA from early March 2024. Google’s EU user consent policy also covers the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

So it matters if your site runs GA4 or Google Ads and has visitors from the EEA.

Consent signals and what they control

Google’s documentation lists seven consent types. For analytics and advertising, these four matter (what each signal affects):

• ad_storage: advertising cookies. When denied, they are neither written nor read.
• analytics_storage: analytics cookies, typically GA4.
• ad_user_data: may user data be sent to Google for advertising? When denied, Enhanced Conversions do not work either.
• ad_personalization: personalised ads and remarketing. Personalisation needs both new signals granted.

Further signals (functionality_storage, personalization_storage, security_storage) cover site features, personalisation and security.

It works in two phases. First, a default state is set before any tag loads (for EEA visitors usually everything denied). After the visitor clicks the banner, an update with their choice is sent.

Basic or advanced mode

The differences according to the consent mode overview:

What differs	Basic mode	Advanced mode
When tags load	only after the banner is answered	immediately, typically with a denied default
What reaches Google without consent	nothing, not even the consent state	cookieless pings
Conversion modelling in Google Ads	general model	advertiser-specific model

According to Google Ads Help, a cookieless ping contains, among other things, a timestamp, browser details, the referrer, the consent state and whether the URL contained ad click information.

Modelling has thresholds. Google Ads needs 700 ad clicks over 7 days per country and domain combination. Behavioural modelling in GA4 requires advanced mode, at least 1,000 daily events without consent for at least 7 days and at least 1,000 daily users with consent on at least 7 of the previous 28 days. Meeting the thresholds does not by itself make a site eligible. A small site rarely reaches them, so advanced mode brings it little in terms of modelling.

The choice is the site owner’s. Advanced mode sends data without consent, albeit without cookies, and whether that is acceptable is a legal question, not a configuration one.

Who it suits and who it does not

It suits websites and online stores using GA4 or Google Ads, with their own banner or a GTM setup, that need tags to genuinely follow consent.

You do not need it without Google tags. On Shoptet with the native integration, the right banner variant is usually enough (see below). Banner wording and the privacy policy belong to the site owner, or their lawyer.

How the implementation works

1. Inventory. Which tags the site loads and how (GTM, theme code, a plugin, a native integration), and whether the banner supports v2 signals.
2. Choice of mode. Basic or advanced, as the site owner decides.
3. Default state and update. Setup in Google Tag Manager or gtag, connection to the banner choice and tying each tag to the right signals.
4. Verification. Browsing the site in preview mode with both accept and reject, checking which tags fired.
5. Check in Google Ads and GA4 a few days later, once the consent status shows up in diagnostics.

What you get

• A default consent state that runs before all tags, and an update after the banner choice.
• Google tags and tags from other platforms tied to the right signals.
• A record of the check: what fired on accept and what on reject.
• A short description of the setup and what changes in data collection.

What to watch out for

• Order. According to Google’s guide, the default state must run before any command that sends data. For a banner that loads with a delay, wait_for_update is used.
• A custom banner without v2. A certified CMP updates to v2 by itself; a custom banner has to be updated by the site owner.
• Non-Google tags. Consent Mode controls Google tags. Others need to be tied to consent separately: the OpenAI pixel, for example, defaults to consent granted.
• Certified CMP. It is mandatory for publishers in AdSense, Ad Manager and AdMob. For Google Ads advertisers, Google lists it as one option alongside a custom banner that sends the signals correctly.
• The banner itself. In the Czech Republic, Section 89(3) of Act No. 127/2005 Coll., as amended by Act No. 374/2021 Coll., has required prior consent (opt-in) since 1 January 2022, except for technical cookies (ÚOOÚ). The Czech data protection authority (ÚOOÚ) lists among cookie banner shortcomings a missing reject option in the first layer and accept and reject buttons with different visibility.

An example: webrocks.cz itself loads GA4 only after consent, keeps advertising signals denied, and its banner offers accept and reject as equal buttons.

Shoptet and WooCommerce

According to its help centre, Shoptet has its banner under Vzhled a obsah → Cookies (Appearance and content). The legal wording variant fires analytics and marketing code only after consent; the informational variant only informs. Shoptet added v2 signals in 2024 as part of marketing consent. If you measure through GTM, according to the same help page Shoptet passes consent via its own events and the tags in GTM need the required consent set.

WooCommerce: according to its documentation, the Google Analytics for WooCommerce plugin has no banner of its own and is integrated with the WP Consent API. That is only an interface between a cookie plugin and plugins that set cookies, and when no cookie plugin is active, it reports consent as granted. For GTM there is, for example, the GTM4WP plugin, which according to its description supports the Consent Mode v2 default state and integration with several banners. How this ties into ecommerce data is covered by GA4 ecommerce tracking.

How much it costs

The setup falls under Tracking, which the price list shows as scope-based. The indicative hourly rate in the price list is from 500 CZK/hr. It goes up with more tags and platforms, a custom banner needing a v2 update and code scattered outside GTM. It goes down with native platform support, such as on Shoptet, and a clean GTM container. Send the site address and a description of what you measure via the contact form.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I do not implement Consent Mode v2?

Conversion measurement does not stop entirely. According to Google Analytics Help, EEA users will, however, be missing from remarketing and personalised advertising audiences, and the use of data for advertising will be limited.

Basic or advanced mode?

Basic sends nothing without consent. Advanced sends cookieless pings and allows more detailed modelling, which needs enough traffic. The site owner decides, based on their own legal assessment.

How do I check the setup works?

In Tag Assistant, the Consent tab should show the default as denied and, after consent, granted. In Google Ads, the conversion action’s Diagnostics tab reports that Consent Mode is implemented. According to Google’s guide, this can appear after 48 hours, exceptionally up to 2 weeks.

Does Consent Mode replace a cookie banner or legal advice?

No. It is a technical setting that only passes on the banner choice. The banner’s wording and the privacy policy are for the site owner, or their lawyer.

Does it work on Shoptet and WooCommerce?

Yes. According to its blog, Shoptet supports v2 signals natively in its banner. On WooCommerce it depends on the combination of cookie plugin and tracking plugins.