Search Ads: What is Consent Mode V2 and how will it impact organizations?

In the context of the Digital Markets Act adopted by the European Commission, users of gatekeeper organizations services - must implement a new way of managing consent (Consent Mode V2 - CM V2) for cookies and trackers.

This step comes after the European Commission designated six gatekeeper organizations that must comply with the Digital Markets Act or risk heavy fines. Therefore, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta, and Microsoft must now ensure they only process consent data that complies with the Transparency Consent Framework 2.0 (TFC) standard.

CM V2 is a system that allows advertisers to obtain users' consent for cookies and trackers before collecting their data. This is done through GCS (Google Consent Status) and GCD (Google Consent Defaults) variables that transmit the current consent status to tracking codes.

According to Search Ads experts, CM V2 will have a significant impact on digital marketing campaigns because they will affect:

• Remarketing lists: list growth will be stopped after 4-8 weeks for users who have not provided consent.
• Importing audiences: Importing audiences from GA4 into Google Ads will be ineffective for those who have not accepted cookies.
• Demand Gen campaigns: The performance of conversion-based campaigns will be significantly affected.
• Detailed audience targeting: The use of detailed audiences for targeting will be limited to those who have given consent.

A few steps are essential for organizations to prepare for CM V2:

• Implement CM V2: companies can choose between basic and advanced deployment modes and integrate GCS and GCD code on websites;
• Estimate conversions: with Google's AI technology, conversions for non-consenting users can be estimated;
• Adapt campaign strategies: companies can adapt their focus to campaigns that do not depend on cookies, such as keyword-based campaigns.
• Transparent communication: organizations need to inform users about how they collect and use their data.

"The challenge for companies will be this difficulty in segmenting and targeting audiences as accurately as we did before in online marketing campaigns through Google Ads and Meta Ads. Therefore, they will have to rethink their marketing mix in general, but also specifically adapt their digital campaigns to remain successful and comply with data privacy legislation," says