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Troubleshooting Common Google Site Kit Consent Mode Issues

20 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Site kit by google

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Integrating Google Site Kit with a Consent Management Platform (CMP) is a common requirement for website owners, especially those targeting audiences in the European Economic Area (EEA). However, this setup can sometimes lead to unexpected behavior. Based on community reports, here are the most frequent Consent Mode issues and their potential solutions.

Common Problem: Duplicate Page Views in Analytics

Symptoms: When a user interacts with a consent banner, Google Analytics records two page views instead of one, leading to inflated and inaccurate data.

Why This Happens: This often occurs due to a conflict in how the consent banner plugin and Site Kit's Consent Mode interact. The initial page load might trigger a hit, and the act of granting consent might trigger a second, unintended hit.

Potential Solutions:

  • Test by temporarily disabling the CMP plugin and Site Kit's Consent Mode to confirm they are the source of the duplicate hits.
  • Ensure your CMP plugin is fully compatible with the WordPress Consent API, which acts as a standard for plugins to communicate consent status.
  • Check for any manual Google tag code snippets that might be duplicating the tracking implemented by Site Kit.

Common Problem: "Default Consent Set Too Late" Error

Symptoms: Tools like Google Tag Assistant report an error stating that the default consent state was set after Google tags (like Tag Manager or Analytics) began loading.

Why This Happens: The 'Site Kit by Google' plugin places its tracking code snippets in the <head> section of your site. If your CMP's code, which sets the initial default consent state, loads after Site Kit's code, this timing issue occurs.

Potential Solutions:

  • The most effective workaround is to disable the "Let Site Kit place code" option for the relevant service (e.g., Tag Manager) within Site Kit's settings.
  • Manually implement your Google tags using your CMP or a code snippet, ensuring the command to set the default consent state is placed at the very top of the <head> section, before any Google tags.
  • This approach gives you full control over the loading order and resolves the timing conflict.

Common Problem: Confusion Over AdSense Privacy & Messaging

Symptoms: Uncertainty about whether the consent banner configured directly within Google AdSense is sufficient for compliance and how it integrates with Site Kit.

Why This Happens: The AdSense messaging tool is a separate product from the Consent Mode feature in Site Kit. Their integration and sufficiency as a full CMP can be unclear.

Potential Solutions:

  • If you rely solely on AdSense's Privacy & Messaging tool, you likely do not need to enable Consent Mode within Site Kit.
  • For a more integrated and robust solution, many users choose a dedicated WordPress CMP plugin (like Complianz or Cookiebot) that supports the WordPress Consent API. You would then enable Consent Mode in Site Kit to work with this plugin.
  • Always verify your setup using a tool like Google Tag Assistant to see what consent signals are being sent.

Common Problem: Consent Mode and Cache Confusion

Symptoms: After disabling Consent Mode in Site Kit, a consent banner or code snippet still appears on the site, even after clearing all caches.

Why This Happens: The lingering banner or code is almost certainly not from Site Kit. The plugin may have been disabled, but another source, such as a setting within your Google AdSense account or a different plugin, could still be active.

Potential Solutions:

  • Thoroughly check your AdSense account settings for any enabled "Privacy & Messaging" features and disable them if necessary.
  • Review all your installed plugins to see if another one is injecting a consent banner or code.
  • Use your browser's "View Page Source" feature to search for the term consent and identify the origin of the code.

General Best Practices

  • Use the WP Consent API Plugin: This plugin creates a standardized way for other plugins to recognize consent, reducing conflicts. Note that it may show warnings in Site Health about other plugins not declaring compatibility, but this is often informational and does not necessarily mean they are broken.
  • Verify with Tag Assistant: Always use Google's Tag Assistant to debug and confirm that consent signals (ad_storage, analytics_storage) are being set correctly.
  • One CMP at a Time: Ensure you are only using one method of collecting consent (e.g., either AdSense's tool OR a dedicated CMP plugin) to avoid conflicts.

Successfully configuring Consent Mode often involves some troubleshooting. By methodically testing these common scenarios, you can identify the root cause of your issue and implement a compliant setup that provides accurate data.

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