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• Increasing Website Traffic : 11 Tips To Attract Visitors

  25 août 2023, par Erin — Analytics Tips, Marketing

  For your website and business to succeed, you need to focus on building traffic.

  However, you aren’t the only one with that goal in mind.

  There are millions of other websites trying to increase their traffic as well. With that much competition, it’s important to make sure your website stands out. Accomplishing that can require a great deal of strategy.

  We’ve compiled a list of tips to help you develop a solid plan for increasing website traffic, to expand your reach, grow your audience and boost customer engagement levels — creating more opportunities for your business.Using these tips, more visitors will find their way to your website — meaning more customers for your business.

  Why is website traffic important ?

  Website traffic is essentially the number of people visiting your website. When someone lands on your site, they’re considered a visitor and increase your website traffic. 

  When your website traffic is high, you’ll get more clicks, customer interactions and brand engagement. As a result, search engines will have a positive impression of your website and send more people there, meaning even more people will see your content and have the opportunity to buy your product.

  When using a website for your business or any other venture, tracking your website traffic using a web analytics solution like Matomo is critical.

  

  With over 200 million actively maintained and visited websites in 2023, it’s important to make sure yours stands out if you want to increase your website traffic and grow your online presence. 

  11 tips for increasing website traffic

  Here are 11 tips to increase your organic traffic and elevate your business.

  1. Perfect your SEO

  Optimising your website to show up in search engine results shouldn’t be overlooked, as 63% of consumers start researching a product by using a search engine. Search engine optimisation, or SEO, increases the visibility and discoverability of your website on search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO targets organic searches, which means it doesn’t add to social media traffic, direct traffic or referrals, and it isn’t paid traffic.

  SEO is number one on this list for a reason — most of these tips will directly, or indirectly, improve your SEO efforts. 

  Steps to improve your search engine optimisation can include :

  • Using relevant keywords that are incorporated naturally throughout your content
  • Using a web analytics tool like Matomo, with its search keyword feature, to gain insights and identify opportunities for improvement
  • Using descriptive meta titles and meta descriptions
  • Link to your own content internally with descriptive anchor tags, and make sure unused pages are removed 
  • Keeping your target audience in mind and marketing your content toward them
  • Making sure your website’s structure is optimised to be mobile-friendly, fast and responsive — such as with Matomo’s SEO Web Vitals feature, which monitors key metrics like your website’s page speed and loading performance, pivotal for optimising search engine results

  2. Research the competition

  It’s important to remember that while your business might be unique, it’s likely not the only one in its field. Thousands of other websites from other companies are also looking to improve their website traffic and increase sales, and you have to outcompete them.

  Looking at what your competitors are doing is vital from a strategic perspective. You can see what their content looks like, how they’re framing their specific use cases and what target audience they’re marketing toward.

  Knowing what your competitors are doing can help you find ways to improve your content and make it unique. Are your competitors missing a specific use case or neglecting a particular audience ? Fill in their content gaps on your website, and pick up the traffic they’re missing.

  3. Create high-quality, evergreen content

  If your content is high-quality, visitors will read more of it and stay longer on your site. This obviously increases the likelihood they will purchase your product or service, and it tells search engines that your website is a good answer for a search query.

  High-quality content will also be shared more often, leading to even more website traffic. You should aim to develop content that doesn’t lose relevance over time (aka “evergreen content”). If you include time-sensitive data, statistics or content in your website, blog posts or articles, it’ll be relevant only around that time frame. 

  While this month’s viral content is highly popular, it likely won’t be relevant in a few months. Instead, if you ensure your content is evergreen, it will continue to get engagement long after it’s published.

  4. Implement creative visuals

  It’s important to have engaging, fun and interactive media on your website to keep visitors on your site longer. Like good content, interesting visuals (and the resulting longer visits) can translate to more purchases (and favourable assessments by search engines).

  

  Media can take the form of videos, infographics, images or web graphics. 

  With Matomo’s Media Analytics feature, you can automatically gain even deeper insights into how your visitors engage with your media content, enhancing your understanding of their preferences and behaviours.

  If you have interesting, captivating visuals, visitors will be more likely to stay on your website longer and see what you have to offer. Without captivating visuals to break up walls of text, you’ll likely find visitors will tend to leave your site in favour of something more engaging.

  Just make sure you design your visuals with your target audience in mind. Flashy, fun graphics might not be a good fit for a professional audience, but they’re great for younger audiences. If you get your audience correct, they may also share the images with others. Depending on your business, that might be a useful infographic shared across LinkedIn, or a picture of a clever use case shared on Pinterest. 

  As a bonus, if other companies use your graphics on their websites, that earns you some backlinks — more on those in a bit.

  5. Create a comprehensive knowledge base

  Having a knowledge base is critical to making sure your service or product is well understood and well documented, especially in the tech industry. If a visitor or potential customer is interested in your product or service, they need to know exactly what it will do for them and that they have a good foundation of support in case they need help. A knowledge base is also a good place for internal links (more on those in a bit).

  Visitors can also use your knowledge base as a source of information, and if they cite you as a source, that’ll lead right back to more website traffic for you (see our backlinks section for more about this). If your website is a good source of information, visitors will come back to it again and again.

  6. Use social media often and consistently

  Digital marketing nowadays heavily relies on social media platforms. Having an online presence no longer means just having a website — if you’re not using social media sites, you’re missing out on a huge portion of potential visitors and customers.

  A strong social media presence with profiles on platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram or LinkedIn can be invaluable for increasing your website traffic. Visitors to your social media profiles will click on regularly shared content, read your blog posts and possibly become customers.

  Participating in relevant communities and networking with other companies in groups in your industry can also be invaluable. If you participate in online communities and forums for your niche, you can offer insight, answer questions and plug your website. All of this will increase your clicks, which will increase your website traffic.

  If you’ve managed to build your own community on social media, make sure to keep them engaged ! Implementing your own forum, hosting live chats and Q&As, offering helpful and engaging content will make sure visitors keep coming back and spreading the word. 

  7. Use email marketing or newsletters

  Having an email list and sending marketing emails or newsletters is a great way to increase website traffic. You can offer exclusive content, and promise discounts or resources to your subscribers for when they return to your website. This will help keep your loyal audience engaged, entice new customers to subscribe to your newsletter, give you a chance to upsell to people who have already expressed an interest in your product and potentially convert curious subscribers into customers.

  8. Make sure your content can earn backlinks

  A backlink is when a website links to a different website — ideally using relevant anchor text — and it’s an effective strategy for increasing referral traffic, that is, visitors who get to your website via a link on another website. The more backlinks you have, the more your referral traffic will increase. Social share buttons make it easy for people to cite you on social platforms, too. 

  We’ve already talked about making expert content that’s link-worthy, but also make sure that you’re creating linkable assets (like those interesting visuals mentioned earlier), building relationships with other sites that will link to you (like by inviting an expert or influencer to write on your page and promote it from their platform, or by writing your own guest content for their sites) and sharing your own content. All of this can help increase your referral traffic, particularly when you’re linked from websites with a higher domain authority than you have.

  You can also make sure your website is listed in online directories. Some sites will do interviews and roundups, as well — these are great opportunities to increase your backlinks.

  9. Optimise your CTR

  Click-through rate, or CTR, is the percentage of users who click on specific links to your website. A high CTR means your visitors are following a link — whether in an advertisement, a search result or a social media post — and a low CTR means they’re passing it by. Optimising your CTR can greatly improve your website traffic.

  To improve CTR, identify successful elements such as copy, imagery, and offers in your ads, enabling you to amplify effective elements and minimise less impactful ones.

  10. Ensure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly

  If a visitor is frustrated by your site being slow, laggy, clunky or not mobile-friendly, they won’t stay long. That doesn’t look good to search engines if that’s how your visitors got there. Your website needs to be clean, responsive, user-friendly and accessible.

  If your website is slow, try increasing your website’s performance by :

  • Optimising images : Reduce the size of images and compress them for faster load times. Opt for JPEG format for photos and PNG format for graphics. 
  • Limit the use of plugins : If you are using a CMS like WordPress, consider removing plugins that are unnecessary or not essential.
  • Embrace lazy loading : To further enhance site speed and reduce initial load times, set up your site to load images and content only as visitors scroll down. Prioritising the content and images at the top of the page makes the site feel faster. Some CMS platforms will offer this option, but others may require a bit of coding to set this up. 

  Many people rely on their phones to research services or products, especially if they’re doing a quick search. Make sure your website is friendly to mobile users. It should scale vertically and scroll smoothly so users aren’t frustrated when using your site. They should be able to find the info they need immediately without any technical issues.

  11. Track your website’s metrics

  As you test out each of these strategies to increase your web traffic, don’t forget to closely analyse the performance of your site. To truly understand the impact of your efforts, you’ll need a reliable web analytics solution. Think of a dependable web analytics solution as your website’s GPS. Without it, you’d be lost, unsure of your direction and missing out on valuable insights to steer your growth.

  Matomo is a powerful web analytics tool that can help you do just that by providing information on your site visitors and campaign performance, complemented by an array of behavioural analytics features that delve into user interactions. Among these, our heatmap feature stands out, enabling greater insights into user interactions and optimisation of your site’s effectiveness.

  

  Google Analytics is another powerful analytics option, though it has challenges with data accuracy ; there are multiple other web analytics solutions as well.

  Regardless of what web analytics solution you choose, the process of analysing your website metrics is incredibly important for identifying areas of improvement to increase website traffic.

  Increasing your web traffic is a process

  Increasing website traffic isn’t something you accomplish overnight. It’s a comprehensive, ongoing endeavour that requires constant analysis and fine-tuning. 

  By applying these tips to create consistent, high-quality content that gets spotlighted on search engines, shared on social media and returned to again and again, you’ll see a steady stream of increased traffic. 

  With Matomo, you can understand your visitor behaviour to see what works and what doesn’t as you work to increase your website traffic. Get your free 21-day trial now. No credit card required.

• GDPR Compliance and Personal Data : The Ultimate Guide

  22 septembre 2023, par Erin — GDPR

  According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the world generated 109 zettabytes of data in 2022 alone, and that number is on track to nearly triple to 291 zettabytes in 2027. For scale, that’s one trillion gigs or one followed by 21 zeros in bytes.

  A major portion of that data is generated online, and the conditions for securing that digital data can have major real-world consequences. For example, online identifiers that fall into the wrong hands can be used nefariously for cybercrime, identity theft or unwanted targeting. Users also want control over how their actions are tracked online and transparency into how their information is used.

  Therefore, regional and international regulations are necessary to set the terms for respecting users’ privacy and control over personal information. Perhaps the most widely known of these laws is the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

  What is personal data under GDPR ?

  Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), “personal data” refers to information linked to an identifiable natural person. An “identifiable natural person” is someone directly or indirectly recognisable via individually specific descriptors such as physical, genetic, economic, cultural, employment and social details.

  It’s important to note that under GDPR, the definition of personal data is very broad, and it encompasses both information that is commonly considered personal (e.g., names and addresses) and more technical or specialised data (e.g., IP addresses or device IDs) that can be used to identify individuals indirectly.

  Organisations that handle personal data must adhere to strict rules and principles regarding the processing and protection of this data to ensure individuals’ privacy rights are respected and upheld.

  Personal data can include, but is not limited to, the following :

  1. Basic Identity Information : This includes a person’s name, government-issued ID number, social address, phone number, email address or other similar identifiers.
  2. Biographical Information : Details such as date of birth, place of birth, nationality and gender.
  3. Contact Information : Information that allows communication with the individual, such as phone numbers, email addresses or mailing addresses.
  4. Financial Information : Data related to a person’s finances, including credit card numbers, bank account numbers, income records or financial transactions.
  5. Health and Medical Information : Information about a person’s health, medical history or healthcare treatments.
  6. Location Data : Data that can pinpoint a person’s geographical location, such as GPS coordinates or information derived from mobile devices.
  7. Online Identifiers : Information like IP addresses, cookies or other online tracking mechanisms that can be used to identify or track individuals online.
  8. Biometric Data : Unique physical or behavioural characteristics used for identification, such as fingerprints, facial recognition data or voiceprints.

  Sensitive Data

  Sensitive data is a special category of personal data prohibited from processing unless specific conditions are met, including users giving explicit consent. The data must also be necessary to fulfil one or more of a limited set of allowed purposes, such as reasons related to employment, social protections or legal claims.

  Sensitive information includes details about a person’s racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, political opinions, religion, trade union membership, biometric data or genetic data.

  What are the 7 main principles of GDPR ?

  The 7 principles of GDPR guide companies in how to properly handle personal data gathered from their users.

  

  The seven principles of GDPR are :

  1. Lawfulness, fairness and transparency

  Lawfulness means having legal grounds for data processing, such as consent, legitimate interests, contract and legal obligation. If you can achieve your objective without processing personal data, the basis is no longer lawful.

  Fairness means you’re processing data reasonably and in line with users’ best interests, and they wouldn’t be shocked if they find out what you’re using it for.

  Transparency means being open regarding when you’re processing user data, what you’re using it for and who you’re collecting it from.

  To get started with this, use our guide on creating a GDPR-compliant privacy policy.

  2. Purpose limitation

  You should only process user data for the original purposes you communicated to users when requesting their explicit consent. If you aim to undertake a new purpose, it must be compatible with the original stated purpose. Otherwise, you’ll need to ask for consent again.

  3. Data minimisation

  You should only collect as much data as you need to accomplish compliant objectives and nothing more, especially not other personally identifiable information (PII).

  Matomo provides several features for extensive data minimisation, including the ability to anonymize IP addresses.

  Data minimisation is well-liked by users. Around 70% of people have taken active steps towards protecting their identity online, so they’ll likely appreciate any principles that help them in this effort.

  

  4. Accuracy

  The user data you process should be accurate and up-to-date where necessary. You should have reasonable systems to catch inaccurate data and correct or delete it. If there are mistakes that you need to store, then you need to label them clearly as mistakes to keep them from being processed as accurate.

  5. Storage limitation

  This principle requires you to eliminate data you’re no longer using for the original purposes. You must implement time limits, after which you’ll delete or anonymize any user data on record. Matomo allows you to configure your system such that logs are automatically deleted after some time.

  6. Integrity and confidentiality

  This requires that data processors have security measures in place to protect data from threats such as hackers, loss and damage. As an open-source web analytics solution, Matomo enables you to verify its security first-hand.

  7. Accountability

  Accountability means you’re responsible for what you do with the data you collect. It’s your duty to maintain compliance and document everything for audits. Matomo tracks a lot of the data you’d need for this, including activity, task and application logs.

  Who does GDPR apply to ?

  The GDPR applies to any company that processes the personal data of EU citizens and residents (regardless of the location of the company). 

  If this is the first time you’ve heard about this, don’t worry ! Matomo provides tools that allow you to determine exactly what kinds of data you’re collecting and how they must be handled for full compliance. 

  Best practices for processing personal data under GDPR

  Companies subject to the GDPR need to be aware of several key principles and best practices to ensure they process personal data in a lawful and responsible manner.

  Here are some essential practices to implement :

  1. Lawful basis for processing : Organisations must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Common lawful bases include the necessity of processing for compliance with a legal obligation, the performance of a contract, the protection of vital interests and tasks carried out in the public interest. Your organisation’s legitimate interests for processing must not override the individual’s legal rights. 
  2. Data minimisation : Collect and process only the personal data that is necessary for the specific purpose for which it was collected. Matomo’s anonymisation capabilities help you avoid collecting excessive or irrelevant data.
  3. Transparency : Provide clear and concise information to individuals about how their data will be processed. Privacy statements should be clear and accessible to users to allow them to easily understand how their data is used.
  4. Consent : If you are relying on consent as a lawful basis, make sure you design your privacy statements and consent forms to be usable. This lets you ensure that consent is freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous. Also, individuals must be able to withdraw their consent at any time.
  5. Data subject rights : You must have mechanisms in place to uphold the data subject’s individual rights, such as the rights to access, erase, rectify errors and restrict processing. Establish internal processes for handling such requests.
  6. Data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) : Conduct DPIAs for high-risk processing activities, especially when introducing new technologies or processing sensitive data.
  7. Security measures : You must implement appropriate technical security measures to maintain the safety of personal data. This can include ‌security tools such as encryption, firewalls and limited access controls, as well as organisational practices like regular security assessments. 
  8. Data breach response : Develop and maintain a data breach response plan. Notify relevant authorities and affected individuals of data breaches within the required timeframe.
  9. International data transfers : If transferring personal data outside the EU, ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place and consider GDPR provisions. These provisions allow data transfers from the EU to non-EU countries in three main ways :
     1. When the destination country has been deemed by the European Commission to have adequate data protection, making it similar to transferring data within the EU.
     2. Through the use of safeguards like binding corporate rules, approved contractual clauses or adherence to codes of conduct.
     3. In specific situations when none of the above apply, such as when an individual explicitly consents to the transfer after being informed of the associated risks.
  10. Data protection officers (DPOs) : Appoint a data protection officer if required by GDPR. DPOs are responsible for overseeing data protection compliance within the organisation.
  11. Privacy by design and default : Integrate data protection into the design of systems and processes. Default settings should prioritise user privacy, as is the case with something like Matomo’s first-party cookies.
  12. Documentation : Maintain records of data processing activities, including data protection policies, procedures and agreements. Matomo logs and backs up web server access, activity and more, providing a solid audit trail.
  13. Employee training : Employees who handle personal data must be properly trained to uphold data protection principles and GDPR compliance best practices. 
  14. Third-party contracts : If sharing data with third parties, have data processing agreements in place that outline the responsibilities and obligations of each party regarding data protection.
  15. Regular audits and assessments : Conduct periodic audits and assessments of data processing activities to ensure ongoing compliance. As mentioned previously, Matomo tracks and saves several key statistics and metrics that you’d need for a successful audit.
  16. Accountability : Demonstrate accountability by documenting and regularly reviewing compliance efforts. Be prepared to provide evidence of compliance to data protection authorities.
  17. Data protection impact on data analytics and marketing : Understand how GDPR impacts data analytics and marketing activities, including obtaining valid consent for marketing communications.

  Organisations should be on the lookout for GDPR updates, as the regulations may evolve over time. When in doubt, consult legal and privacy professionals to ensure compliance, as non-compliance could potentially result in significant fines, damage to reputation and legal consequences.

  What constitutes a GDPR breach ?

  Security incidents that compromise the confidentiality, integrity and/or availability of personal data are considered a breach under GDPR. This means a breach is not limited to leaks ; if you accidentally lose or delete personal data, its availability is compromised, which is technically considered a breach.

  What are the penalty fines for GDPR non-compliance ?

  The penalty fines for GDPR non-compliance are up to €20 million or up to 4% of the company’s revenue from the previous fiscal year, whichever is higher. This makes it so that small companies can also get fined, no matter how low-profile the breach is.

  In 2022, for instance, a company found to have mishandled user data was fined €2,000, and the webmaster responsible was personally fined €150.

  Is Matomo GDPR compliant ?

  Matomo is fully GDPR compliant and can ensure you achieve compliance, too. Here’s how :

  • Data anonymization and IP anonymization
  • GDPR Manager that helps you identify gaps in your compliance and address them effectively
  • Users can opt-out of all tracking
  • First-party cookies by default
  • Users can view the data collected
  • Capabilities to delete visitor data when requested
  • You own your data and it is not used for any other purposes (like advertising)
  • Visitor logs and profiles can be disabled
  • Data is stored in the EU (Matomo Cloud) or in any country of your choice (Matomo On-Premise)

  Is there a GDPR in the US ?

  There is no GDPR-equivalent law that covers the US as a whole. That said, US-based companies processing data from persons in the EU still need to adhere to GDPR principles.

  While there isn’t a federal data protection law, several states have enacted their own. One notable example is the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which Matomo is fully compliant with.

  Ready for GDPR-compliant analytics ?

  The GDPR lays out a set of regulations and penalties that govern the collection and processing of personal data from EU citizens and residents. A breach under GDPR attracts a fine of either up to €20 million or 4% of the company’s revenue, and the penalty applies to companies of all sizes.

  Matomo is fully GDPR compliant and provides several features and advanced privacy settings to ensure you ‌are as well, without sacrificing the resources you need for effective analytics. If you’re ready to get started, sign up for a 21-day free trial of Matomo — no credit card required.

  Disclaimer
  We are not lawyers and don’t claim to be. The information provided here is to help give an introduction to GDPR. We encourage every business and website to take data privacy seriously and discuss these issues with your lawyer if you have any concerns.

• Understanding Data Processing Agreements and How They Affect GDPR Compliance

  9 octobre 2023, par Erin — GDPR

  The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) impacts international organisations that conduct business or handle personal data in the European Union (EU), and they must know how to stay compliant.

  One way of ensuring GDPR compliance is through implementing a data processing agreement (DPA). Most businesses overlook DPAs when considering ways of maintaining user data security. So, what exactly is a DPA’s role in ensuring GDPR compliance ?

  In this article, we’ll discuss DPAs, their advantages, which data protection laws require them and the clauses that make up a DPA. We’ll also discuss the consequences of non-compliance and how you can maintain GDPR compliance using Matomo.

  What is a data processing agreement ?

  A data processing agreement, data protection agreement or data processing addendum is a contractual agreement between a data controller (a company) and a data processor (a third-party service provider.) It defines each party’s rights and obligations regarding data protection.

  A DPA also defines the responsibilities of the controller and the processor and sets out the terms they’ll use for data processing. For instance, when MHP/Team SI sought the services of Matomo (a data processor) to get reliable and compliant web analytics, a DPA helped to outline their responsibilities and liabilities.

  A DPA is one of the basic requirements for GDPR compliance. The GDPR is an EU regulation concerning personal data protection and security. The GDPR is binding on any company that actively collects data from EU residents or citizens, regardless of their location.

  As a business, you need to know what goes into a DPA to identify possible liabilities that may arise if you don’t comply with European data protection laws. For example, having a recurrent security incident can lead to data breaches as you process customer personal data.

  The average data breach cost for 2023 is $4.45 million. This amount includes regulatory fines, containment costs and business losses. As such, a DPA can help you assess the organisational security measures of your data processing methods and define the protocol for reporting a data breach.

  Why is a DPA essential for your business ?

  If your company processes personal data from your customers, such as contact details, you need a DPA to ensure compliance with data security laws like GDPR. You’ll also need a DPA to hire a third party to process your data, e.g., through web analytics or cloud storage.

  But what are the benefits of having a DPA in place ?

  

  A key benefit of signing a DPA is it outlines business terms with a third-party data processor and guarantees compliance with the relevant data privacy laws. A DPA also helps to create an accountability framework between you and your data processor by establishing contractual obligations.

  Additionally, a DPA helps to minimise the risk of unauthorised access to sensitive data. A DPA defines organisational measures that help protect the rights of individuals and safeguard personal data against unauthorised disclosure. Overall, before choosing a data processor, having a DPA ensures that they are capable, compliant and qualified.

  More than 120 countries have already adopted some form of international data protection laws to protect their citizens and their data better. Hence, knowing which laws require a DPA and how you can better ensure compliance is important.

  Which data protection laws require a DPA ?

  Regulatory bodies enact data protection laws to grant consumers greater control over their data and how businesses use it. These laws ensure transparency in data processing and compliance for businesses.

  

  The following are some of the relevant data privacy laws that require you to have a DPA :

  • UK GDPR
  • Brazil LGPD
  • EU GDPR
  • Dubai PDPA
  • Colorado CPA
  • California CCPA/CPRA
  • Virginia VCDPA
  • Connecticut DPA
  • South African POPIA
  • Thailand PDPA

  Companies that don’t adhere to these data protection obligations usually face liabilities such as fines and penalties. With a DPA, you can set clear expectations regarding data processing between you and your customers.

  Review and update any DPAs with third-party processors to ensure compliance with GDPR and the laws we mentioned above. Additionally, confirm that all the relevant clauses are present for compliance with relevant data privacy laws. 

  So, what key data processing clauses should you have in your DPA ? Let’s take a closer look in the next section.

  Key clauses in a data processing agreement

  GDPR provides some general recommendations for what you should state in a DPA.

  

  Here are the elements you should include :

  Data processing specifications

  Your DPA should address the specific business purposes for data processing, the duration of processing and the categories of data under processing. It should also clearly state the party responsible for maintaining GDPR compliance and who the data subjects are, including their location and nationality.

  Your DPA should also address the data processor and controller’s responsibilities concerning data deletion and contract termination.

  Role of processor

  Your DPA should clearly state what your data processor is responsible for and liable for. Some key responsibilities include record keeping, reporting breaches and maintaining data security.

  Other roles of your data processor include providing you with audit opportunities and cooperating with data protection authorities during inquiries. If you decide to end your contract, the data processor is responsible for deleting or returning data, depending on your agreement.

  Role of controller

  Your DPA should inform the responsibilities of the data controller, which typically include issuing processing instructions to the data processor and directing them on how to handle data processing.

  Your DPA should let you define the lawful data processes the data processor should follow and how you’ll uphold the data protection rights of individuals’ sensitive data.

  Organisational and technical specifications

  Your DPA should define specifications such as how third-party processors encrypt, access and test personal data. It should also include specifications on how the data processor and controller will maintain ongoing data security through various factors such as :

  • State of the technology : Do ‌third-party processors have reliable technology, and can they ensure data security within their systems ?
  • Costs of implementation : Does the data controller’s budget allow them to seek third-party services from industry-leading providers who can guarantee a certain level of security ?
  • Variances in users’ personal freedom : Are there privacy policies and opt-out forms for users to express how they want companies to use their sensitive data ?

  Moreover, your DPA should define how you and your data processor will ensure the confidentiality, availability and integrity of data processing services and systems.

  What are the penalties for DPA GDPR non-compliance ?

  Regulators use GDPR’s stiff fines to encourage data controllers and third-party processors to follow‌ best data security practices. One way of maintaining compliance is through drafting up a DPA with your data processor.

  The DPA should clearly outline the necessary legal requirements and include all the relevant clauses mentioned above. Understand what goes into this agreement since data protection authorities can hold your business accountable for a breach — even if a processor’s error caused it.

  Data protection authorities can issue penalties now that the GDPR is in place. For example, according to Article 83 of the GDPR, penalties for data or privacy breaches or non-compliance can amount to up to €20 million or 4% of your annual revenue.

  There are two tiers of fines : tier one and tier two. Violations related to data processors typically attract fines on the tier-one level. Tier one fines can cost your business €10 million or 2% of your company’s global revenue.

  Tier-two fines result from infringement of the right to forget and the right to privacy of your consumer. Tier-two fines can cost your business up to €20 million or 4% of your company’s global revenue.

  GDPR fines make non-compliance an expensive mistake for businesses of all sizes. As such, signing a DPA with any party that acts as a data processor for your business can help you remain GDPR-compliant.

  How a DPA can help your business remain GDPR compliant

  A DPA can help your business define and adhere to lawful data processes.

  

  So, in what other ways can a DPA help you to remain compliant with GDPR ? Let’s take a look !

  1. Assess data processor’s compliance

  Having a DPA helps ensure that the data processor you are working with is GDPR-compliant. You should check if they have a DPA and confirm the processor’s terms of service and legal basis.

  For example, if you want an alternative to Google Analytics that’s GDPR compliant, then you can opt for Matomo. Matomo features a DPA, which you can agree to when you sign up for web analytics services or later.

  2. Establish lawful data processes

  A DPA can also help you review your data processes to ensure they’re GDPR compliant. For example, by defining lawful data processes, you better understand personally identifiable information (PII) and how it relates to data privacy.

  Further, you can allow users to opt out of sharing their data. As such, Matomo can help you to enable Do Not Track preferences on your website.

  

  With this feature, users are given the option to opt in or out of tracking via a toggle in their respective browsers.

  Indeed, establishing lawful data processes helps you define the specific business purposes for collecting and processing personal data. By doing so, you get to notify your users why you need their data and get their consent to process it by including a GDPR-compliant privacy policy on your website.

  3. Anonymise your data

  Global privacy laws like GDPR and ePrivacy mandate companies to display cookie banners or seek consent before tracking visitors’ data. You can either include a cookie consent banner on your site or stop tracking cookies to follow the applicable regulations.

  Further, you can enable cookie-less tracking or easily let users opt out. For example, you can use Matomo without a cookie consent banner, exempting it from many countries’ privacy rules.

  Additionally, through a DPA, you can define organisational measures that define how you’ll anonymise all your users’ data. Matomo can help you anonymise IP addresses, and we recommend that you at least anonymise the last two bytes.

  

  As one of the few web analytics tools you can use to collect data without tracking consent, Matomo also has the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) approval.

  4. Assess the processor’s bandwidth

  Having a DPA can help you implement data retention policies that show clear retention periods. Such policies are useful when ending a contract with a third-party service provider and determining how they should handle your data.

  A DPA also helps you ensure the processor has the necessary technology to store personal data securely. You can conduct an audit to understand possible vulnerabilities and your data processor’s technological capacity.

  5. Obtain legal counsel

  When drafting a DPA, it’s important to get a consultation on what is needed to ensure complete compliance. Obtaining legal counsel points you in the right direction so you don’t make any mistakes that may lead to non-compliance.

  Conclusion

  Businesses that process users’ data are subject to several DPA contract requirements under GDPR. One of the most important is having DPAs with every third-party provider that helps them perform data processing.

  It’s important to stay updated on GDPR requirements for compliance. As such, Matomo can help you maintain lawful data processes. Matomo gives you complete control over your data and complies with GDPR requirements.

  To get started with Matomo, you can sign up for a 21-day free trial. No credit card required.

  Disclaimer

  We are not lawyers and don’t claim to be. The information provided here is to help give an introduction to GDPR. We encourage every business and website to take data privacy seriously and discuss these issues with your lawyer if you have any concerns.