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Google Ads logo
AdvertisingHigh complexity

Google Ads

by Google

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Sets cookies
Yes
Sends PII
Yes
Cross-site tracking
Yes
Consent required
Advertising / Marketing
Transfer mechanism
EU-US Data Privacy Framework
Cookies
_gcl_au_gcl_awIDE

Overview

Google's advertising platform. Its website tags - conversion tracking, remarketing, and Enhanced Conversions - measure ad performance, build audiences, and optimise bids. Typically deployed via GTM or gtag.js with deep GA4 integration for cross-platform attribution.

Detection capabilities

Signature count
7
Detection methods
network
Property types
hostnamepathname

Consent Mode v2

Consent Mode v2

Google Consent Mode v2 signal requirements for this tag.

analytics_storagenot used
ad_storagerequired
ad_user_datarequired
ad_personalizationrequired

Performance impact

Performance Impact

Script size
35 KB
Requests per page
4

Common mistakes

  • 1Deploying the remarketing tag without consent - sets third-party cookies and enables cross-site tracking before opt-in
  • 2Enabling Enhanced Conversions without updating the privacy notice - hashed PII transmission is additional processing
  • 3Not configuring Consent Mode v2, preventing cookieless conversion modelling when consent is denied
  • 4Using the same conversion action across domains without understanding that cross-domain attribution shares user identifiers
  • 5Setting inappropriate conversion windows and attribution models, inflating conversion counts

Compliance considerations

Sets first-party and third-party cookies (_gcl_au, _gcl_aw, IDE) and transmits conversion and remarketing data to Google servers.

Consent: Explicit consent typically required under GDPR/ePrivacy before firing on EU/UK sites. Remarketing constitutes cross-site tracking - categorise under advertising consent in your CMP.

Enhanced Conversions: Sends hashed first-party data (email, phone) to Google. Requires disclosure in your privacy notice and may need additional consent depending on legal basis.

International transfers: Covered by EU-US Data Privacy Framework - verify your Google entity's DPF self-certification status.

Consent Mode v2: Allows cookieless conversion modelling when consent is denied, but pings may still constitute personal data processing in some jurisdictions.

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