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Looking for a simple way to manage cookie consent on your website? Cookiebot takes care of compliance automatically, and when combined with Google Tag Manager (GTM), the setup becomes quick and code-free.
Use Cookiebot CMP to collect user consent, stay compliant with GDPR and other global regulations, and ensure proper implementation of Consent Mode. Trusted by millions, available in 47+ languages, it’s the most popular solution for balancing privacy and performance. Easy to set up, fully customizable, and Google-certified.
In this article, I’ll walk you through how to implement Cookiebot using GTM in just 5 steps. From initial setup to final configuration, you’ll have a fully functional cookie-consent solution up and running in no time.
💡 If your website runs on WordPress: You can use the official Cookiebot plugin instead of Google Tag Manager. This option doesn’t require any coding either. Follow this step-by-step guide to set up Cookiebot using the WordPress plugin.
Before diving into the installation process, let’s get acquainted with our main characters:
Cookiebot: A robust, Google-certified Consent Management Platform (CMP) that helps websites comply with data protection laws by displaying a consent banner, managing user choices, and controlling cookie behavior.
Google Tag Manager (GTM): A free tool from Google that allows you to manage and deploy marketing tags (snippets of code) on your website without the need to modify the site’s code directly.
Consent Mode: A privacy-friendly feature that adjusts how tags in Google Tag Manager behave based on user consent. Instead of blocking all tags by default, Consent Mode lets you control how data is collected, only sending limited or no data until the user gives permission.
📔 Want to learn more? Take a deeper dive into Consent Mode and see how it works behind the scenes.
By integrating Cookiebot with GTM and enabling Consent Mode, it ensures your analytics and marketing tools respect privacy choices while still providing useful insights.
⚠️ Note: You can install Cookiebot on your website without using Google Tag Manager, but it requires some coding knowledge. If you’re not comfortable with that, using GTM is a much quicker and easier option.
Prepared to begin? Follow these 5 steps to integrate Cookiebot with GTM:
- Step 1: Create a Cookiebot Account and Add Your Domain
- Step 2: Adding Cookiebot in Google Tag Manager
- Step 3: Configure Consent Settings in GTM
- Step 4: Test Your Implementation
- Step 5: Inserting the Cookie Declaration
Use Cookiebot CMP to collect user consent, stay compliant with GDPR and other global regulations, and ensure proper implementation of Consent Mode. Trusted by millions, available in 47+ languages, it’s the most popular solution for balancing privacy and performance. Easy to set up, fully customizable, and Google-certified.
- Sign Up: Visit the Cookiebot website and sign up for an account. A 14-day free trial is available to get you started.
- Add Domain: After logging in, navigate to the Domains section and add your website’s domain. Cookiebot will scan your site and generate a cookie declaration, detailing all cookies and trackers found.
- Customize Your Cookie Consent Banner: In Cookiebot, go to the Configuration section to design your cookie consent banner. You can customize its appearance and behavior to align with your website’s design and local legal requirements.
🎨 Uncertain if your cookie banner meets all requirements? Here are 13 must-have consent banner requirements with real examples.
- Enter GTM: Sign into your Google Tag Manager account.
- Add Cookiebot Template by navigating to the Templates section in the left menu.
- Click on Search Gallery in the Tag Templates section
- Type Cookiebot in the search box
- Select the Cookiebot CMP template and click Add to workspace. Confirm by clicking Add.
- Create a New Tag by going to the Tags section and click New to create a new tag.
- Click on Tag Configuration and select Cookiebot CMP from the list of available tags.
- Give the new tag a name, such as Cookiebot.
- In the “Cookiebot ID” field, paste your Domain Group ID from the Cookiebot admin panel. You’ll find it under the Implementation section, scroll down to Installation guides to locate your Domain Group ID.
- Make sure that Google Consent Mode is enabled.
📘 Want to learn more about why it’s important?
Explore our complete guide to Google Consent Mode for everything you need to know.
- In the Trigerring section, choose Consent Initialization – All Pages as trigger. This trigger makes sure that your consent banner will be launched before any other tags.
- Your tag is now set up. Go ahead and save it.
Step 3: Configure Consent Settings in GTM
- Enable Consent Overview:
- In GTM, go to Admin > Container Settings.
- Check the box Enable consent overview under Additional Settings and click Save.
- Review Consent Settings:
- Return to the Tags section. You’ll notice that a shield icon now appears on the top right.
- Click on the shield icon to manage consent settings.
- Adjust Consent Settings for Each Tag:
- Tags with built-in consent (usually tags created by Google): Mark them all and choose No additional consent required.
- Tags with built-in consent (like Facebook Pixel): Open each tag, enable Require additional consent for tag to fire, and choose the appropriate consent types.
🔧 Do you need to implement Microsoft’s Consent Mode too? This guide to Microsoft Advertising Consent Mode covers everything you need to know.
Step 4: Test Your Implementation
- Preview Mode: In Google Tag Manager, click on Preview to enter Debug mode. This allows you to test your tags without publishing changes.
- Consent Testing: Visit your website in Debug mode. Interact with the cookie consent banner to ensure that tags fire or are blocked based on user consent.
- Publish Changes: Once satisfied with the setup, return to GTM and click “Submit” to publish your changes.
🕵️ Not sure if everything’s firing correctly? Here are 9 methods to check if Consent Mode is enabled. Choose the one that suits you best.
After adding your domain in Step 1, Cookiebot will automatically scan your website and generate a Cookie Declaration for you.
This scan runs monthly to keep your statement up to date, and there’s also an option to pay for more frequent scans if needed.
To display the Cookie Declaration content on your website follow these steps:
- Open or create a page on your website where you want the Cookie Declaration to appear.
- In the Cookiebot admin panel, go to Implementation > Cookie declaration tab.
- Click Copy to clipboard to copy the script tag.
- Paste the script tag into your page content using Custom HTML block. Then save the page.
Conclusion
By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can confidently manage user consents and control the loading of scripts based on those consents using Cookiebot.
Use Cookiebot CMP to collect user consent, stay compliant with GDPR and other global regulations, and ensure proper implementation of Consent Mode. Trusted by millions, available in 47+ languages, it’s the most popular solution for balancing privacy and performance. Easy to set up, fully customizable, and Google-certified.
Remember, staying compliant not only builds trust with your users but also enhances the overall credibility of your website. Plus, by properly managing consent, you can take full advantage of advertising functionalities while respecting user privacy.