Install SiteTrust Consent via Google Tag Manager

Before you start

If your site loads Google Tag Manager in the head, use this guide. If you prefer to add a script directly to your site head without GTM, see the standard installation guide.

The key requirement: the Consent Mode v2 default must fire before any Google tag loads. GTM's Consent Initialization trigger makes this possible.

Step 1

Create the Consent Initialization tag

In GTM, create a new tag. Tag type: Custom HTML. Name it SiteTrust — Consent Default.

Paste this code:

<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('consent', 'default', {
    ad_storage: 'denied',
    analytics_storage: 'denied',
    ad_user_data: 'denied',
    ad_personalization: 'denied',
    wait_for_update: 500
  });
</script>

Trigger: Consent Initialization — All Pages.

This tag sets all four Consent Mode v2 signals to denied before any other tag runs.

Step 2

Create the SiteTrust Consent Widget tag

Create a second tag. Tag type: Custom HTML. Name it SiteTrust — Consent Widget.

Paste this code, replacing YOUR_CONFIGURATION_ID with your actual configuration ID from the SiteTrust dashboard:

<script src="https://www.sitetrust.com/consent-widget.js"
  data-configuration-id="YOUR_CONFIGURATION_ID">
</script>

Trigger: Consent Initialization — All Pages.

Tag sequencing: set this tag to fire after SiteTrust — Consent Default.

Step 3

Verify the order

In GTM, open the SiteTrust — Consent Widget tag. Under Advanced Settings, find Tag Sequencing and set it to fire after SiteTrust — Consent Default. This guarantees the default fires first.

Step 4

Publish and test

Publish your GTM container. Then verify the installation:

• Open your site in a browser
• Open DevTools (F12) and go to Console
• Paste this and reload the page:

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
var _push = window.dataLayer.push;
window.dataLayer.push = function() {
  var args = arguments[0];
  if (args && args[0] === 'consent') console.log('[Consent Mode]', args[1], args[2]);
  return _push.apply(this, arguments);
}

You should see:

[Consent Mode] default { ad_storage: denied, analytics_storage: denied, ad_user_data: denied, ad_personalization: denied, wait_for_update: 500 }

Click Accept All — you should see:

[Consent Mode] update { ad_storage: granted, analytics_storage: granted, ad_user_data: granted, ad_personalization: granted }

Important notes

• Do not load consent-widget.js in the site head AND in GTM at the same time. Use one method only.
• Your Configuration ID is available in the SiteTrust dashboard under Banner Setup, in the Installation card above the Header snippet.
• GA4 and Google Ads tags should use the Built-in Consent Check in GTM so they wait for the consent update before firing.