The CNIL wants to “ban” Google Analytics. There are alternatives, including the Matomo solution, an open source solution recommended by the CNIL. Overview .
What is Analytics?
Analyzing your audience behavior and performance indicators is crucial for maintaining effective web visibility.
Have you implemented a tool that allows you to do this?
Identify the different sources of traffic on your website, identify the different ways to browse it .
The indicators to follow will not always be the same depending on the nature of your site (showcase site, institutional, networking, e-commerce, etc.)
Among the most observed indicators we find all sectors combined:
- the number of visitors, their interaction with your content
- pages visited
- the duration of consultation
- the different points of contact with your organization, the acquisition channels
- the different passages to action
- the origin of your traffic (geographic or by device type)
- the path followed by users
- connection hours
- the arrival and exit pages
- the bounce rate
- page loading time
Have you clearly determined the main objectives and key indicators for your site?
The goal is to understand user behavior specialized photo editing throughout navigation, their behavior in the sales funnel, or more generally their journey to you.
Analyzing your audience , measuring your performance by defining the right “KPIs” (key performance indicators) for your site or application, and adapting accordingly, will impact the development of your business.
The collection of this data (DATA), based on the results, allows you to adjust your visibility or sales strategy on the web at any time.
Example of actions to be planned following the interpretation of the KPIs:
- Redesign of the site or a page
- SEO optimization (natural referencing)
- Modification of a key element such as a Call to Action button (contact form, shopping cart validation, registration on a module)
- Paid SEO strategy on Google Ads
- Social media communication strategy (organic or paid)
- Adapting your commercial offer to the end customer
Are you already working on a tool dedicated to analyzing your traffic data?
If you have already implemented data tracking, you have secure passwords? don’t write them on sticky notes probably done so with the most widespread tool on the market: Google Analytics.
A large majority of website usa b2b list managers use this solution. Its use concerns approximately 10 million sites, or more than 80% of the global market!
With the idea of eventually removing the majority of cookies, data protection is becoming increasingly stronger. Everyone has heard of GDPR, but are we really up to date with our data storage and processing practices?
Reminder on European regulations (GDPR) and the role of the CNIL
GDPR
The acronym GDPR stands for “General Data Protection Regulation”.
The main objectives of the GDPR:
- Strengthening the protection of persons concerned by the processing of their personal data
- Make stakeholders responsible for processing this data.
These principles can be applied by increasing the power of supervisory authorities, such as the CNIL.
CNIL
The National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL) was created by the Data Protection Act of January 6, 1978.
It is responsible for ensuring the protection of personal data contained in computer or paper files and processing, both public and private.
Its role is to ensure that IT serves the citizen and does not infringe on human identity, human rights, privacy or individual or public freedoms.
The CNIL is an independent administrative authority (AAI). It is a public body that acts on behalf of the State.
It has a role of alerting, advising and informing all audiences but also has the power of control and sanction.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS in the sights of the CNIL among others…
An association (NOYB) has contacted the European CNIL, considering that the transfer of data to the United States and via Google Analytics is not secure. It would therefore not comply with the GDPR.
Last month, the Austrian CNIL issued an important decision regarding the use of Google Analytics, considering non-compliance with the GDPR.
A few days ago, the French authorities delivered an equivalent verdict.
In short, in the current process of processing its data, Google Analytics would be “outside the law”, and therefore its use would become illegal.
Alternative solutions to GOOGLE ANALYTICS
The level of confidentiality is not the same between the United States and the countries of the European Union.
In fact, this gap leads Google to ask the American and European executives to agree on a text governing data exchanges between the EU and the United States. Another solution would be to host foreign data outside the United States.
While waiting for these major adjustments, it is possible at our level to be in line with good practices in terms of data protection.
Our observation is not intended to oust Google Analytics, but to keep you informed about another alternative solution. While waiting for adjustments from Google on the functioning of their application on sites hosted in France, which will not fail to occur.
Do you know MATOMO and its advantages?
Matomo is a free and open source software for measuring web statistics. This tool has the advantage of being GDPR compliant.
Currently on the market, Matomo is one of the rare audience measurement software that does not allow tracking of the personal data of a site’s users, because it is capable of anonymizing the IP addresses of Internet users .
Another advantage over Google Analytics: Matomo can be self-hosted. Only you can access the data while respecting users’ privacy. (no data transfer outside the area covered by the GDPR…)
This anonymization of IP addresses is essential since it complies with the recommendations of the CNIL.
For example: no personal data (sexual orientation, interests, religion, etc.) is associated with a user.
With Matomo, you have a self-hosting solution that is already compliant with European legislation.
There are actually two ways to host Matomo Analytics:
- Self-hosting mode yourself
- Or on Matomo’s cloud.
The Shokola team is available to assist you in developing a statistical monitoring strategy and the various dedicated tools available on the market.
