Consent Mode Blocker for Sgtm - Comprehensively test your Server Side Tracking setup with more security.

You've implemented your setup for Server Side Tracking, giving you access to expanded data for your analytics platforms. However, despite this enrichment, you notice a decrease in conversions. This situation may be caused by the implementation of Consent Mode V2. Consent Mode V2 may cause that if users do not accept certain cookies, those specific cookies will not be activated. This can cause you to test Server Side yourself only in preview mode and not in a live situation that provides a representative picture. For this we have developed the TAGGRS Consent Mode Blocker, which allows you to analyze the effectiveness of your SST set up over a longer period of time.

The problem with Consent Mode V2 in the Server Container

Situation: You've implemented Consent Mode and Server Side Tracking and you're measuring a drop in conversions. The problem may lie with incorrect configuration of Consent Mode V2, but it is also possible that, despite the automatic settings within your server container that should handle everything correctly, user refusal of cookies results in a decrease in conversions.

Because the Automatic Consent Mode settings apply, you have limited control regarding the processing of consents within the server container. This is contradictory, as one of the main advantages of Server Side Tracking is precisely the ability to control data processing and consents.

Example: Consent Mode in preview mode

Take for example the situation where the marketing cookies are not accepted; in such a case, all Google Tags (GA4, Conversion Linker, Floodlight, Google Ads) tags will not be triggered. This leads in the web container that the consent states are set to Denied and in the server container to False. In itself a good situation, user does not accept cookies and Google Tags are not fired or are fired in a limited way. Only there is a problem. You can't test your set up extensively in a longer live situation.

Extensive testing Server Side Configuration made difficult

The challenge is to comprehensively test your Server Side Tracking configuration extensively without the influence of consent mode. However if you don't set up Consent Mode, you lose certain capabilities in Google Ads and GA4 such as Google Ads remarketing and using audiences. This makes it practically impossible to test your server side set up without Consent Mode in a live situation.

The transition from client-side to server-side tracking introduces complexity in certain situations that necessitates thorough testing. While testing your server-side implementation, you can use debug mode to monitor conversions, which usually works well. However, it becomes problematic if you want to assess the effectiveness of tracking for a longer period of time, such as a week. Because of the automatic consent settings in the server container, specific tags cannot be activated if the user's consent is not set to "allowed" (true).

This results in uncertainty whether the challenges with conversion tracking stem from your conversion tag settings within Google Tag Manager (GTM) or are a result of Google's automatic permission mode.

TAGGRS Consent Mode Blocker

To address this ambiguity, we have developed the TAGGRS Consent Mode Blocker for Sgtm. This TAGGRS tool allows you to temporarily set the consent states in the server container to 'allowed' (granted), so that you can thoroughly test your setup. This allows you to test without the restrictions Google imposes when not installing consent mode. After completing your tests, you can easily deactivate the tool. The result of the consent mode blocker is that you can temporarily collect all data without being blocked by consent mode.

TAGGRS Consent Mode Blocker Use

What you need

• TAGGRS Account
• Server Side Tracking configured

Open the TAGGRS dashboard, then go to the testing section and activate the Consent Mode Blocker.

Next, you can start testing in Google Tag Manager's debug mode.

In the video below, we show you how to test the Consent Mode Blocker for your own configuration.

After the initial setup, the tool provides the ability to:

• Disable the Consent Mode for a certain period of time, which allows you to analyze the lead time of your conversions over a longer period of time.
• Evaluate the impact of Consent Mode on your website by alternately enabling and disabling consent states so that you can accurately measure the impact on your website.

Please note that this tool is for testing purposes only. Modifying consent states does not do justice to the preferences entered by the website user and therefore does not fall within the limits of privacy laws when used on an ongoing basis.

Conclusion: Server Side Tracking configuration completed.

With the introduction of Consent Mode V2, companies face new challenges in testing the server side set up. The TAGGRS Consent Mode Blocker was developed as a solution to address these challenges. It allows users to thoroughly test Server Side Tracking configuration without the limitations of Consent Mode V2 interfering with data collection accuracy. With this feature, you retain all Google Ads and GA4 functionality associated with using CMV2. This provides more certainty and reliability in the data, which is essential for making informed decisions.