Google Consent Mode is here: what you need to know + integration with Shore Booking

Google Consent Mode (GCM) is Google’s response to increasingly strict data protection guidelines in the European Union (EU). As a website operator, you should be aware of Google Consent Mode if you use Google tools such as Google Analytics or Google Ads. We explain the background and give you tips for practical implementation plus step-by-step instructions for integration with Shore Booking.

In the beginning was the cookie banner

With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU has regulated the processing of personal data by private and public institutions.

It used to be the wild west on the internet from a data perspective: anyone could do whatever they wanted with the data provided by their website visitors. With the GDPR, this was suddenly no longer possible. It was the birth of the cookie banner.

The cookie banner now regulates which data you are allowed to analyze and store from your website visitors. The website visitor can use the cookie banner to object to certain things and is informed about what actually happens to their data.

However, the EU is tightening the thumbscrews more and more and is targeting large companies such as Apple, Meta and Google in particular. This is great for consumers, but for website operators the battle between the EU and the internet giants is quickly becoming a stress factor.

Google Consent Mode in response to EU requirements

Google released Google Consent Mode some time ago. The first version was not mandatory, the second version will be mandatory from March 2024 in the Basic version if you want to use Google Tools.

Google Consent Mode is Google’s response to the EU regulation. With the GCM, Google is creating the first opportunities to respect the will of website visitors and at the same time offer the website operator, i.e. you, alternative ways to measure your most important statistics.

If someone visits your website on which you have set up Google Consent Mode, there are two possibilities:

• The visitor consents to the cookies. Everything works as usual.
• The visitor does not consent to cookies. In the past, this would have put an end to your tracking. Now, however, the GCM still enables a type of tracking via pings. These pings no longer contain any personal data, but your analysis is still more accurate.

If you use Google Analytics or Google Ads on your website, Google Consent Mode will be mandatory from March 2024. With Google Consent Mode, two new tags have been introduced on your website, which also means that you need to update your data protection measures.

Using Google Consent Mode on your website

If you want to use Google Consent Mode on your website, you should look for a CMP solution. You probably already have one. CMP is short for Consent Management Platform and is a complicated-sounding word for software that manages your cookie banner, registers and saves the consent (or rejection) given by the user.

There are various CMP solutions on the market. Depending on which solution you choose, you will need to take a few different steps. Unfortunately, we cannot help you with this in general. Basically, implementation is not that difficult, the tools do most of the work for you.

There are currently three tools that help you set up Google Consent Mode with simple templates: Cookiebot, CommandersAct and the Consent Manager.

The integration depends entirely on the choice of tool and the type of your website. All three providers have created corresponding instructions on their websites.

Using Google Consent Mode with Shore Booking

If you use Shore Booking, you must also implement Google Consent Mode in your booking widget, as it is a different domain to your website. Implementing Google Consent Mode in your Shore Booking widget is very simple. We’ll explain it to you using an example with Cookiebot.

We have chosen Cookiebot in this example because we know that many of our customers already use this solution. In addition, Cookiebot is based in Germany and is therefore always up to date when it comes to German and European law. We have examined various alternatives in order to be able to suggest the best solution from our point of view.

In our guide, you will also find a simple template for your Google Tag Manager to keep the effort on your site as low as possible.