Ad words conversion without GDPR consent

Question

Is it possible to track Google Ad conversions on a marketing site, cookieless and without the GDPR consent?

There are articles like such that explain that you can create a hash combining the IP address, user agent, and other data, to use that for tracking instead of cookies:

https://helgeklein.com/blog/2020/06/google-analytics-cookieless-tracking-without-gdpr-consent/

However it only applies to Google Analytics, and I'm not sure if something similar is possible with Google Ads.

Is anyone using, or aware of a conversion tracking mechanism that does not paradoxically decrease conversions through these terrible GDPR consent banners?

Answer 1

Yes, you need consent for conversion tracking, remarketing and other personal data collection/usage in the GDPR zone.

GDPR forces us to gain consent for using and collecting personal data of EU users with Google Ads campaigns.

Answer 2

I will describe a method which one of my friend's businesses used in the past. Though his use case was different, I think the same solution could work in your case. Though I can give you an outline of the method, you have to work on the nuances and implementation.

The method involves importing conversions offline on a schedule. Steps follow:

1. Google (with auto-tagging enabled) passes CGLID (unique to every click) along with every click. Ref: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9744275?hl=en

2. You have to store the converting GCLIDs with other parameters that may be required as part of step 3.

3. You have to import conversions into Google Ads using CSV files. Templates and method have been discussed in detail at https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7014069