This post was most recently updated on July 6th, 2022
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Question:
Hi Monetize More!
I installed Ginger Cookie Plugin. I’m fairly familiar with the privacy concerns and the applicable laws that make it a requirement to disclose all the data collection. However, I’m not sure if this plugin’s consent mechanism actually works. It simply pops up a bar to let users explicitly opt-in. All of the cookies from third parties are loaded separately. I’m not sure if the plugin will stop cookies from dropping before consent is obtained.”
-Cheng Qian of nicee.co
Answer:
Hi Cheng,
The plugin you have implemented complies already with Google’s new policy. But this is a very interesting question that may have crossed the minds of most publishers. What about the backend? The solution to comply at the backend requires a bit of coding fun, but some available Wordpress plugins are options to try, as well.
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Let’s dive into the basic steps to make this work:
Step 1: Conduct a Cookie Audit of Your Website
The first step is to determine how many cookies does your site drop to your visitors. This is formally called a cookie audit. There are online resources that provide a detailed guide about a cookie audit which will include both Google’s DoubleClick cookie and many others.
TIP:
To have a general diagnostic of your site’s compliance, you can also try the Online Cookie Audit free checker. Various companies also offer this service. But if you are okay with a little tweaking, there are open source counterparts from Github repositories and plugins like Cookie Audit Software.
Step 2: Choose your cookie opt-in or opt-out weapon of choice
It is difficult to pinpoint a very specific fix for all websites that need to comply to EU’s new policy. It all depends on your situation and your bunch of cookies. Bottom line, you will need to use a tool that works for you.
A recommended (paid) option is the Cookiebot API. Their comprehensive API will illustrate that there is some benefit to proprietary and reuse-oriented tactics. If you are not willing to spend extra for cookie auditing or Cookiebot, you can have the following free alternatives below:
- Pure Plugin Way: It may seem like a clunky solution but installing a second plugin for backend compliance may be the easiest fix in the UI way of doing things. Plugins such as the Do Not Track Wordpress plugin can allow you to conduct the non-tracking on the fly.
- Silk Tide’s Modification: Google puts Silk Tide on top of their list for the EU Compliance policy reference and recently, the group behind their cookie cons Site Beam has provided an update on how to use cookie consent through the use of server-side scripts connected to their original code in the front-end.
Step 3: Link your Cookie Audit with your Cookie Weapon of Choice
Our sample implementation now features the other Google-recommended Civic UK cookie control mechanism via its official plugin for a Wordpress site setup. Last time, we featured Ginger Cookie Plugin for front-end compliance. (Note: The Civic UK provider also has one for Magento, Drupal, Zen Cart, and Typo3.)
Go to http://www.civicuk.com/cookie-control/cookie-configurator-v6 to get a unique API key for your domain.
Collect your code after filling out the rest of the details on the same page.
Copy that code under your wp-content/plugins folder
Activate the official Wordpress plugin on your site.
Configure the rest on the Cookie Control page Dashboard panel and hit save at the very bottom:
Of particular interest to your situation is to take a look at this part of the Dashboard:
Step 4: (Optional) Present your reader with the Google-specific Cookie Opt-out
Another static option is to offer the DoubleClick Cookie opt-out Plugin option for readers. But this might affect your ability to study your consumers or site visitors
Certainly, there are other options out there for implementing backend compliance to the cookie policy. It certainly will vary for a publisher site’s requirements. In the meantime, we hope this step-by-step guide in making sure your site’s cookie consent mechanism is doing its job – will give you the peace of mind.
With EU & the GDPR initiative, many publishers are struggling to understand the rules to make sure they are compliant when handling their audience’s data. International traffic monetization and user consent management are areas of specialty for MonetizeMore.
Click here to sign up so we can help you become compliant.
Related Reads:
- How to Show the EU User Consent Banner Only to EU Visitors
- Google’s EU User-Consent Policy: Step-by-Step Guide
- The EU User Consent Policy: What’s in it for Publishers?
- Doubleclick Now Offers Cross-Device Tracking & Native Advertising to Mobile Advertisers & Publishers
Kean Graham is the CEO and founder of MonetizeMore & a pioneer in the Adtech Industry. He is the resident expert in Ad Optimization, covering areas like Adsense Optimization,GAM Management, and third-party ad network partnerships. Kean believes in the supremacy of direct publisher deals and holistic optimization as keys to effective and consistent ad revenue increases.