A CMP gives website owners control over cookies and other tracking technologies that collect data from their users. When you install tools like Google Analytics on your website or use technologies like remarketing, these solutions collect user data to collate traffic insights and deliver ads to previous visitors.
Changing privacy laws, including GDPR
require website owners to get consent from overseas data users before collecting any personal data. Instead of collecting data from all users, by default, these regulations require website owners and other data handlers to get consent from any individuals before capturing any personal data.
A CMP helps you capture this consent and blocks tracking scripts from running until you obtain it. Once users provide consent, your CMP will automatically update the relevant tags to allow tools like Google Analytics to collect the data they’ve opted-in to.
An example of a consent popup that you can implement on your website using consent management platform, CookieYes.
Choosing the right CMP makes it easier to adhere to GDPR and other data regulations while minimising key issues like traffic loss. Later, we’ll take a look at the most important features you should look for in a CMP but, first, let’s discuss the issues you could run into by not using a consent management platform.
What happens if you don’t use a consent management platform?
#1 You’ll lose more traffic
One of the biggest concerns ahead of the benefits of industry 4.0 are clear GDPR and consent requests was the potential loss of traffic. After the initial adjustment period, users in the EU and UK will be used to consent requests on every website they visit so, in theory, the impact on traffic should level out over time (not accounting for traffic from outside of the EU).
That being said, there are many reasons you could lose more traffic than you need by poorly implementing consent systems:
- Intrusive consent system: Creating a consent system that minimises friction is crucial for retaining as much traffic as possible.
- Complex settings: If you make it too difficult for users to choose their preferred settings, they’re more likely to quit the session.
- Default opt-ins: Not only is this a GDPR no-no for anything that tracks personal data, but it also forces users to manually opt out.
- Lack of information: Privacy-conscious users may want to see your privacy policy, cookie policy and other documentation – or, they may simply not trust websites that don’t make them visible in consent systems.
- No geo-targeting: Without geo-targeting, you could show consent banners to the wrong audience.
A good consent management platform will help you avoid or minimise the other issues. We use a system called CookieYes for our customers, allowing them to create and customise unintrusive consent banners and popups that adhere to GDPR guidelines in the most intuitive way possible.
#2 You’ll miss out on more data
Data loss is the bigger problem for china numbers companies with GDPR and consent requests. This refers to sessions where users refuse to provide consent and continue using your website. In these instances, Google Analytics can’t track important metrics like visits, unique visits, referral sources, bounce rates, goals or conversions, leaving a black hole in your reports.
To help you fill these data gaps, Google Analytics 4 uses behavioural modelling and conversion modelling to estimate key insights:
- Daily active users
- Users generated by campaigns
- User journeys from landing page to conversion
- Site visitor locations
- Mobile vs web behaviours
- Conversions
This is one of many reasons why it’s so important for companies to migrate over to Google Analytics 4 as soon as possible – and use a consent management platform that integrates with Google Consent Mode (more on this later).