Understanding consent rate
Consent Rate is the percentage of your site visitors who accepted personalised advertising. It sits on the Performance page alongside Impressions, Earnings, and eCPM because it has a direct effect on the quality and competitiveness of the ad demand available on your inventory.
Why consent matters for your inventory
When a user consents, advertisers can use audience data to target that specific user. This increases the pool of buyers competing for each impression and strengthens demand on your inventory. Non-consented impressions are still monetised — using contextual signals based on the content of the page — but they attract a smaller pool of buyers.
What a falling consent rate can indicate
A declining consent rate can reduce the overall competitiveness of your inventory in the auction. Common causes include:
- A change to your consent notice design or configuration — even small copy or layout changes can affect acceptance rates
- A browser or operating system update affecting how the consent notice renders
- A traffic source shift — new paid traffic from audiences with lower consent propensity
- The consent notice loading slowly on mobile, causing users to scroll past it before it appears
What you can do about it
Consent rate is closely tied to how your consent notice is designed and presented. Small changes to copy, layout, and visual hierarchy can move acceptance rates meaningfully. Your Account Manager can share best practices and connect you with optimisation guidance.
- Consent rate should be reviewed regularly — a slow downward drift is easy to miss week-to-week.
- If your consent rate and eCPM are both declining at the same time, the two are likely connected. Flag this to your Account Manager.
See also: Understanding eCPM · What counts as an impression?