I recently attended a Google Ads Academy workshop which covered the foundations of privacy-focused measurement including the role Enhanced Conversions, Consent Mode and Google Analytics 4 can play.
Here’s how you can get a head start!
A cookieless future is round the corner…
Cookieless browsing modes will be the norm in the near future, with Google Chrome blocking third party cookies late next year. This will follow several browsers such as Firefox and Safari who have already restricted cookie-based measurement.
Google has been developing a suite of privacy-centric measurement solutions to assist advertisers in this transition from dependency on 3rd party cookies to 1st party data collection.
What do we need to do first?
Advertisers must ensure accurate site-wide tagging is in place. Utilising Google Tag Manager (GTM) puts advertisers in the strongest position to collect the largest amount of conversion data as it will enable 1st party conversion modelling moving forwards.
Enhanced Conversions – why should we turn them on?
When bidding towards Google Ads website goals, advertisers are recommended to turn on ‘Enhanced Conversions’. In doing so, advertisers can gain increased accuracy in their conversion tracking and future conversion modelling as Google’s algorithms can access increased data points to work off by matching customer data to logged in user data.
GA4 – what do we need to do?
With Universal Analytics sunsetting on 1st July 2023 many advertisers have already migrated to GA4.
Having set up GTM and GA4, the next focus should be on setting up your GA4 conversion goals (if you’re not bidding on Google Ads website goals). Having imported these into Google Ads, Google are strongly recommending these conversion goals are set as secondary actions for 2-4 weeks, with the Universal Analytics goal remaining as primary.
Provided there are no major discrepancies between the two goals, only then should the GA4 goal become the primary action, making you ready for smart bidding.
Test Predictive Audiences
Alongside conversion goals, Google is also strongly recommending testing the new audience type - Predictive Audiences. Predictive Audiences are algorithm-based audiences which use predictive metrics such as purchase probability and revenue predictions to identify potential new customers.
A simple way to think about this audience type is an updated version of Similar Audiences (which are being retired in summer 2023) but with more of a focus on e-commerce goals using machine learning.
It is worth noting that this audience is only (currently) available for e-commerce businesses.
And finally…Consent Mode and Smart Bidding
Completing the recommendations is setting up Consent Mode. Once set up, Consent Mode tells Google which cookie choices have been selected. It then allows you to model for conversions appropriately with enhanced conversions being used to model for users who’ve accepted cookies.
Consent mode is trained in the background of this process, learning off the enhanced conversions data. When cookies have been declined, consent mode steps in and models for conversions based on the training it’s received and ensures accurate conversion modelling.
So here’s the plan...
It’s crucial that businesses act now and prepare for the 1st party-focused future.
Your checklist for actions is to set up the following:
- GTM set up with sitewide tagging
- Switch on Enhanced Conversions (for Google Ads website goals)
- Finish your GA4 conversions and audiences set up
- Enable Consent Mode Start Smart bidding towards GA4 Conversions, Google Ads website goals and GA4 Audiences.
As we move into this new chapter of digital marketing it is imperative that you prepare for GA4 and 1st party conversion modelling through building a strong foundation in privacy-focused measurement and automation.
Get in touch now to find out how equimedia can help!
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| Author | Kieran Hadfield |
| Channel | Analytics |