Your cookie banner is an important link for collecting your data. If users don’t accept your cookie banner, you could be missing out on valuable data. In this blog we highlight 5 ways (+ a bonus tip) through which you can optimize your cookie banner, so that you not only meet the legal requirements, but also ensure a better user experience and higher acceptance rate.
Table of Contents
What is the optimal cookie banner?
What does the optimal cookie banner look like? The optimal cookie banner is one that effectively collects data while respecting visitor/consumer choice.
What is and isn’t allowed in a cookie banner?
What is and is not allowed in a cookie banner varies by country. In September 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) established a “cookie banner task force,” which published a report in January 2023 with their findings and recommendations. This report, noyb’s consent banner report, compares the task force’s findings with the guidelines and decisions of national data protection authorities (DPAs).
Stay abreast of privacy laws and regulation (GDPR) and adjust your cookie banner accordingly to stay compliant and maintain your users’ trust.
How can I see what the opt-in rates are?
How many people accept my cookie banner? You can see this for yourself with some CMP providers:
Option 1: Cookiebot
Are you using Cookiebot as your CMP provider? In the dashboard, you can see the acceptance rate.
Option 2: TAGGRS Consent Tool.
The TAGGRS Consent Tool, part of TAGGRS Server Side Analytics, allows you to measure your website’s consent rates with Server Side Tracking and understand what percentage of data you may be missing.
The graph is optimized with Consent Mode v2 data and unique measurements in our ecosystem:
- Consent Mode V2 parameters.
- Visualized percentage of partial acceptance
- Missed pageviews/events visualized
- Data loss due to no choices on cookie banner
With these charts, we provide an accurate and actionable view for marketers looking to maximize their opt-in rates.
What is a normal acceptance rate?
On average, the Cookie Banner acceptance rate is 31%, but this can range from 4% to 85%. This also varies by country: Poland has the highest acceptance rate (64%), while the United States has the lowest (32%).
Cookie Consent rates vary by industry. Websites with a blog often see higher consent rates because users want to read the content.
5 ways to optimize your opt-in rates
After you understand consent rates and what the guidelines are in your country, it’s time to optimize the cookie banner. You can A/B test different aspects to improve performance:
1. Placement of the cookie banner.
The location of the cookie banner can determine a lot. Make sure the cookie banner is prominently displayed so that people have to make a choice immediately. By doing so, you reduce the number of “no choice made” cases. If it is not in a prominent place, such as at the bottom of the page, no data may be collected until the choice is made. For example, if a visitor continues to the next page, no data should be collected until that choice is made.
A banner at the top of the page or in the middle of the screen attracts more attention and leads to higher acceptance rates.
2. Transparency and simplicity
Users should immediately understand what the pop-up screen is about. Balance transparency and privacy in the cookie banner. Users should immediately know what consent means for their personal data. This promotes trust and informed decision-making.
3. Color and position of buttons.
A 2021 Finnish study examined the influence of the color and position of Accept/Decline buttons on user choices for cookies. The findings were:
– Color of buttons: Users were more likely to accept cookies if the Accept button was blue and the Decline button was gray, instead of both buttons being the same color.
– Position of buttons: The position of the Accept button (to the left or right of the Decline button) did not significantly affect the acceptance rate.
By experimenting with these factors, you can improve the effectiveness of your cookie banner.
Think of your cookie banner as a CTA. Like any other CTA, performance varies depending on how it is designed.
4. Button placement
The positioning of buttons can affect the acceptance rate. By placing buttons in different locations, you can experiment with higher acceptance rates. Check local laws and regulations to make sure you meet the requirements in your country.
By experimenting with button placement, you can optimize the effectiveness of your cookie banner.
5. Remove the cross from the cookie banner
When you add a cross to the cookie banner and people click on it, they have not given consent and you are not allowed to track them. As a result, you get a lot of “no choice made” cases.
One example showed that the consent acceptance rate increased to 83.33% after removing the cross in the cookie banner.
Bonus Tip – Remove the CMP logo from the cookie banner
You can test by removing the CMP logo from your cookie banner. Often the CMP provider does not offer an option for this, but with a piece of HTML code and a tag in Google Tag Manager you can accomplish this.
The code you can add in Google Tag Manager:
<style type="text/css">
a#CybotCookiebotDialogPoweredbyCybot,
div#CybotCookiebotDialogPoweredByText {
display: none;
}
#CookiebotWidget .CookiebotWidget-body .CookiebotWidget-main-logo {
display: none;
}
</style>Outro: Check out the final results
Perfect cookie banner design requires ongoing effort in personalization and compliance. Test the points mentioned to optimize your cookie banner. Using the TAGGRS Consent Tool? Then create a free TAGGRS account (no credit card required).
Ate Keurentjes is a Server Side Tracking specialist at TAGGRS. He has experience with various Google Tag Manager concepts. Keurentjes has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in data collection / Server side tracking since 2023.
