> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.omegatheme.com/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Omega Google Ads: Compliance - consent tracking

Omega **automatically respects your shoppers' consent** when sending tracking data to Google Ads and GA4. This guide explains how it works, where to see its impact, and how to verify your tracking.

## What this feature does
Shoppers in privacy-regulated regions (EU/EEA, UK, and US states such as California) may **decline** tracking on your store's consent banner. Omega handles this for you automatically:
* Shoppers who **accept** consent → their events are sent to Google.
* Shoppers who **decline** consent → their events are **not** sent to Google.
Omega respects each **consent purpose independently**:
* **Analytics consent** controls **GA4**.
* **Marketing consent** controls **Google Ads**.

## Before you start 
###### Set up a consent banner in Shopify first
Omega Google relies on Shopify's Customer Privacy API to know which shoppers are in a regulated region and whether they accepted or declined.
1. In Shopify admin, go to **Settings → Customer privacy**.
2. Enable and configure a **cookie/consent banner** for your regulated regions.
> If you don't have a consent banner configured, Shopify won't flag any visitor as "regulated", and **Respect consent will have no one to apply to** — everyone will be treated as trackable.

###### Set up a consent banner from a third-party app
If you don't use Shopify native consent banner and choose a third-party one, we still support consent tracking flow without any additional setup.

## How it works
For each event, Omega gets the shopper's consent status from Shopify and decides per channel:
| Shopper | Consent | Sent to Google? |
| No consent required (banner not shown) | — | ✅ Sent (Google Ads + GA4) |
| Consent **accepted** | Granted | ✅ Sent |
| Marketing **declined** | Denied | ❌ Not sent to **Google Ads** (GA4 still sent if analytics accepted) |
| Analytics **declined** | Denied | ❌ Not sent to **GA4** (Google Ads still sent if marketing accepted) |
| Consent not yet known (banner still loading) | Unknown | ❌ Not sent (safe default) |
Omega decides based on Shopify's consent signal, it never guesses by country and never overrides a shopper's choice.

## Where to see your consent impact
Consent no longer reduces data silently — you can see exactly what happened.
**On the Home screen**, the **Event Overview** card confirms *"All events collected below comply with visitor consent"* and has a **View detailed analytics** link.
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/3/8/3/8383e5404a31c000/image_zmj89w.png)
**In Analytics → Signal quality**, you'll find ${color}[#007bff](***(this is coming soon)***)
* **Consent breakdown** — a donut showing your **accept rate**, the number of accepted vs declined events, and the order value that wasn't sent because of declined consent.
* **Consent accepted rate by country** — how often shoppers accept consent per market (EU/EEA is usually lower than the US).
* A **Google Ads / GA4 toggle** on each chart, so you can see the numbers per channel.
* A **Consent recommendation** if a meaningful share of events were blocked, with tips to improve your consent banner in low-acceptance markets.

## How to verify your tracking
### 1. Run a real-time test event
Use our **Test event** feature to confirm your pipeline is connected. Test events are sent regardless of consent (so you can always verify setup) and are marked as tests — they don't count toward your real data.
### 2. Test the "Accepted" path
1. Open your store as a shopper (regulated region or a test profile).
2. **Accept** the consent banner.
3. Place a test event/test order.
4. Check: Confirm the event appears in **GA4 → Realtime/DebugView** and in **Google Ads** conversions.

### 3. Test the "Declined" path (the important one)
1. Open your store as a shopper in a regulated region.
2. **Decline** the consent banner.
3. Place a test event/test order.
4. Confirm the event does **not** appear in GA4 or Google Ads.
5. Check **Analytics → Consent breakdown** - the declined shopper should be reflected in the declined count / accept rate. ${color}[#0091ff](***(coming soon)***)

## FAQ & Troubleshooting
* **My numbers dropped, is something broken?** No. Omega now always respects consent, so shoppers who declined tracking are no longer sent to Google. This is expected and keeps you compliant. See **Analytics → Consent breakdown** to see exactly how much was affected.
* **Declined orders still show in my table — is that a bug?** No. Declined orders are shown (labeled `Declined`) so your totals stay consistent with Shopify. They are not forwarded to Google.
* **Can I allow analytics but block marketing separately?** Yes this is automatic. Analytics consent controls GA4 and marketing consent controls Google Ads, independently.
* **Respect consent is on, but a declined shopper still seems tracked.** Check that your **consent banner is properly set up in Shopify** (Settings → Customer privacy) or **your third-party app**. Without it, Shopify may not mark the shopper as regulated. If the issue persists, contact support with your store domain and the order ID.
* **Does this make my store fully compliant?** This feature helps you respect shoppers' consent choices, but overall compliance also depends on your consent banner, privacy policy, and store configuration. It's a tool to support compliance, not legal advice.
* **Can I allow analytics but block marketing separately?** Yes, this is automatic. Analytics consent controls GA4 and marketing consent controls Google Ads, independently.

|| *Should you have any concerns or questions, please contact our 24/7 live chat support or via email* support@omegatheme.com*. We are more than happy to help!*