Google Ads says consent signals are missing? How to fix it

You log in to Google Ads and see a notice that consent mode isn't detected, or that your conversion tags aren't sending consent signals. For a UK store this matters. Google's EU user consent policy covers users in the UK as well as the EEA and Switzerland, and without the right signals, features like remarketing and some conversion measurement are restricted for those users.

Here's what Ads is checking and how to fix it.

What Google Ads is looking for

Google Ads checks whether your Google tags send Consent Mode v2 signals, especially for traffic from the UK and EEA. That means all four:

• ad_storage: may advertising cookies be used?
• analytics_storage: may analytics cookies be used?
• ad_user_data: may user data be sent to Google for advertising?
• ad_personalization: may data be used for remarketing and personalised ads?

Each needs a default before tags run and an update when the visitor chooses. The diagnostics usually appear around your conversion actions and in the Google tag's settings. Google moves these screens around, so if you can't find them, search the Ads help centre for "consent mode diagnostics".

The five usual causes

1. No Consent Mode at all

The site has a cookie banner, but it blocks or allows tags without telling Google anything. Blocking tags isn't the same as sending consent signals. Google needs to see the states.

Fix: enable Google Consent Mode v2 in your consent app or plugin, or add a CMP template in GTM on the Consent Initialization trigger. Our Consent Mode v2 explainer covers the basics.

2. v1 only: the two new signals are missing

Setups from before 2024 often send only ad_storage and analytics_storage.

Fix: update the consent app, plugin or GTM template, and map the Marketing category to ad_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization. If you wrote the default yourself, add the two missing signals.

3. The conversion tag isn't the one you think

Ads conversions may come from a different install than the one you fixed. On Shopify, that could be the Google & YouTube app, a GTM container in the theme, or a custom pixel. On WooCommerce, it could be Google for WooCommerce, Site Kit, GTM or a tracking plugin. If you added Consent Mode to GTM but conversions are sent by an app, Ads still sees no signals.

Fix: identify which route sends your conversion. Place a test order and check which tag fires in Tag Assistant. Then configure consent on that route, or consolidate to one.

4. Banner not shown to UK visitors

If your consent tool only targets the EU, UK visitors may get no default and no banner at all.

Fix: include the United Kingdom in the banner's regions and check the denied default applies to UK visitors. See our Shopify cookie banner guide or WooCommerce troubleshooting guide for platform specifics.

5. Defaults or updates in the wrong order

Signals are sent, but the default arrives after the conversion tag has run, or the update never fires for returning visitors. Caching and "delay JavaScript" plugins are frequent culprits on WordPress.

Fix: put the default first, using the Consent Initialization trigger in GTM. Exclude the CMP and consent scripts from delay or defer, and confirm returning visitors get an update.

How to verify before Ads catches up

Diagnostics in Google Ads can take some time to reflect a fix, so check directly:

1. Tag Assistant: connect to your site in a private window. Before any click, the Consent tab should show all four signals denied as the on-page default.
2. Accept all and confirm an on-page update with all four granted.
3. Place a test order with consent accepted and check the Google Ads conversion tag fires on the purchase, with the updated consent state.
4. Network tab: requests to Google Ads and GA4 should carry gcs=G111 after accepting and G100 after rejecting.
5. Reject all in a fresh window and check the conversion tag either doesn't fire (basic mode) or fires only with denied states (advanced mode).

Basic or advanced: which does Ads need?

Both count as Consent Mode. In basic mode, Google tags don't load until consent, and Google applies a more general model for unconsented conversions. In advanced mode, tags load with denied states and send cookieless pings that feed more detailed conversion modelling. Advanced recovers more data, but it means sending some information to Google before consent. Make that choice deliberately, not by default. Either way, the key for the Ads warning is that valid v2 signals are present.

Related: enhanced conversions

If you use enhanced conversions, they rely on hashed customer data like email addresses being sent to Google. That's tied to the ad_user_data signal, so with it denied, that data shouldn't be used for advertising. Make sure your enhanced conversions setup respects the visitor's choice. It's another reason the v2 signals need to be mapped correctly.

Don't forget non-Google pixels

Fixing Google Ads' warning says nothing about Meta, TikTok or Pinterest. They don't read Google's signals. Check them separately with our guide to pixels firing before consent.

Quick checklist

• One consent tool, set to opt-in for the UK
• All four signals default to denied before any Google tag
• Update sent on choice and for returning visitors
• The route that sends Ads conversions has consent configured
• Test order verified in Tag Assistant with accepted consent
• Diagnostics re-checked in Ads after a few days

This article is technical guidance, not legal advice. Platform menus change; check the vendor's current documentation if a setting has moved.