Written for Cookie Rocks 2.9.14, checked on 5 November 2026. The current version is 2.11.2: some details may have changed.
This guide is for sites that use Google Analytics, Google Ads, Tag Manager or Site Kit. Google Consent Mode tells these tags what each visitor chose. Without it, Google Ads and Analytics lose most of their data from Europe.
You need: Cookie Rocks Audit (free) to find your Google tags and get the right mode. Your cookie plugin, or Cookie Rocks Pro, to send the signals.
Find the right mode
- Open Cookie Rocks, then Cookies, and click Scan my pages. The scan finds your Google tags.
- Open Google. Under Your traffic, answer Google Ads campaigns and Daily visitors. If you do not know, keep I do not know. This section appears only once the scan has found a Google tag.
- Click Save Changes. The row Recommended for this site gives the mode, with the reason.
There are two modes. In basic mode, Google tags wait for consent: nothing is sent before the visitor decides. In advanced mode, Google tags load at once and send signals without cookies until the visitor decides. Advanced mode is worth it only for sites with many ad clicks or many visitors. Basic mode is the safe choice.
Send the signals with your current banner
- Open the settings of your cookie plugin. Turn on Google Consent Mode, and choose the recommended mode if it offers a choice.
- Click Scan my pages again. On the Google page, Consent signals should say Sent.
If you see… Not sent, with “Not in the free version of your current cookie plugin”: its free version does not send these signals. Use its paid version, or Cookie Rocks Pro.
With Cookie Rocks Pro
Tip. Install WP Consent API, a free plugin. Site Kit and WooCommerce read the visitor’s choice through it. The Google page shows whether it is Active or Not installed.
Browser opt-out signals and Google Analytics
When a browser sends an opt-out signal such as Global Privacy Control, Cookie Rocks stops advertising: ad_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization are denied. Statistics can keep running, because a measurement tool bound by a service contract is not a sale or sharing.
That only holds if your Google Analytics account does not share data for advertising. Cookie Rocks cannot see these settings, so check them yourself:
- In Google Analytics, open Admin, then Account settings, then Account details. Under Data Sharing Settings, turn off Google products & services.
- In Admin, open Product links in the property settings. If a Google Ads account is linked, check that you need that link.
- Accept the Data Processing Terms on the same Account details page, if you have not already done so.
These settings matter most for visitors in US states with a privacy law. They are a practical check, not legal advice.
Every detail, with Site Kit and Tag Manager: Google Consent Mode, Tag Manager and Site Kit. The screen itself: Google.
Next step: Fix what the Overview shows