WPConsent implements Google Consent Mode V2 for all websites that use tracking scripts from Google.
One of the primary concerns websites face when switching to Consent Mode is the potential for a drop in reported traffic. This article will guide you on what to expect in terms of traffic changes and how our plugin’s implementation of GCM optimally handles this transition.
Why Expect Traffic Drops?
When you implement GCM, you’ll likely notice a decrease in reported traffic for a few key reasons:
- Consent-Based Data Collection: Google Consent Mode allows you to adapt your data collection based on users’ consent decisions. If users opt out of data tracking, their activity will not be fully captured in standard analytics figures, leading to an initial drop in observable traffic.
- Anonymized Data: In cases where users do not consent, GCM modifies its data handling to anonymize and aggregate certain data points. This results in limited data precision on individual user actions, which can look like a drop in total traffic when reviewing analytics dashboards.
- GA4 Implementation: As Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is structured to work with GCM, it may show reduced visitor numbers compared to Universal Analytics due to the aforementioned consent-based limitations on data collection.
How WPConsent Mitigates Data Variability
WPConsent is designed to implement Google Consent Mode following Google’s best practices, ensuring minimal disruption and accurate data capture as much as possible:
- Smooth Transition to GA4: Our plugin provides seamless integration with most GA4 implementations so that you can continue to use your favorite plugin or implementation.
- Advanced Consent Interfaces: We offer highly customizable consent banners, ensuring users understand the value and implications of enabling consent. This can help you improve consent rates.
Over time, you might see some traffic data recover as Google’s behavioral modeling gets enough information to fill more gaps.
You can disable Google Consent Mode from the WPConsent settings page, but we highly recommend using it. With GCM, you get event tracking from scripts like Google Analytics or Google Ads even before consent is given (without cookies). Once your users consent to the use of cookies, all Google tags will know to match event data better.