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• Unlocking the power of web analytics dashboards

  22 juillet, par Joe — Analytics Tips, App Analytics

  In the web analytics world, we have no shortage of data — clicks, views, scrolls, bounce rates — yet still struggle to extract valuable, actionable insights. There are facts and figures about any action anybody takes (or doesn’t take) when they visit your website, place an order or abandon their shopping cart. But all that data is often without context.

  That’s where dashboards come in : More than visual summaries, the right dashboards give context, reduce noise, and help us focus on what matters most — whether it’s boosting conversions, optimising campaigns, or monitoring data quality and compliance efforts.

  In this article, we’ll focus on :

  • The importance of data quality in web analytics dashboards
  • Different types of dashboards to use depending on your goals 
  • How to work with built-in dashboards in Matomo
  • How to customise them for your organisation’s needs

  Whether you’re building your first dashboard or refining a mature analytics strategy, this guide will help you get more out of your data.

  What is a web analytics dashboard ?

  A web analytics dashboard is an interactive interface that displays key website metrics and data visualisations in an easy-to-grasp format. It presents key data clearly and highlights potential problems, helping users quickly spot trends, patterns, and areas for improvement.

  Dashboards present data in charts, graphs and tables that are easier to understand and act upon. Users can usually drill down on individual elements for more detail, import other relevant data or adjust the time scale to get daily, weekly, monthly or seasonal views.

  Types of web analytics dashboards

  Web analytics dashboards may vary in the type of information they present and the website KPIs (key performance indicators) they track. However, sometimes the information can be the same or similar, but the context is what changes.

  Overview dashboard

  This offers a comprehensive overview of key metrics and KPIs. For example, it might show :

  • Traffic metrics, such as the total number of sessions, visits to the website, distinct users, total pages viewed and/or the average number of pages viewed per visit.
  • Engagement metrics, like average session duration, the bounce rate and/ or the exit rate by specific pages.
  • Audience metrics, including new vs. returning visitors, or visitor demographics such as age, gender or location. It might also show details of the specific device types used to access the website : desktop, mobile, or tablet.

  An overview dashboard might also include snapshots of some of the examples below.

  Acquisition dashboard

  This reveals how users arrive at a website. Although an overview dashboard can provide a snapshot of these metrics, a focused acquisition dashboard can break down website traffic even further. 

  They can reveal the percentages of traffic coming from organic search engines, social platforms, or users typing the URL directly. They can also show referrals from other websites and visitors clicking through from paid advertising sources. 

  An acquisition dashboard can also help measure campaign performance and reveal which marketing efforts are working and where to focus efforts for better results.

  Behavioural dashboard

  This dashboard shows how users interact with a website, including which pages get the most traffic and how long visitors stay before they leave. It also reveals which pages get the least traffic, highlighting where SEO optimisation or greater use of internal links may be needed.

  Behavioural dashboards can show a range of metrics, such as user engagement, navigation, page flow analysis, scroll depth, click patterns, form completion rates, event tracking, etc. 

  This behavioural data lets companies identify engaging vs. underperforming content, fix usability issues and optimise pages for better conversions. It may even show the data in heat maps, click maps or user path diagrams.

  Goals and ecommerce dashboard

  Dashboards of this type are mostly used by e-commerce websites. They’re useful because they track things like sales goal completions and revenue targets, as well as conversions, revenue, and user actions that deliver business results. 

  

  The typical metrics seen here are :

  • Goal tracking (aka conversions) in terms of completed user actions (form submissions, sign-ups, downloads, etc.) will provide funnel analysis and conversion rates. It’ll also give details about which traffic sources offer the most conversions.
  • Revenue tracking is provided via a combination of metrics. These include sales and revenue figures, average order value, top-selling items, revenue per product, and refund rates. It can also reveal how promotions, discounts and coupons affect total sales.
  • Shopping behaviour analysis tracks how users move from browsing to cart abandonment or purchase.

  These metrics help marketing teams measure campaign ROI. They also help identify high-value products and audiences and provide pointers for website refinement. For example, checkout flow optimisation might reduce abandonment.

  Technical performance dashboard

  This monitors a website’s technical health and performance metrics. It focuses on how a website’s infrastructure and backend health affect user experiences. It’ll track a lot of things, including :

  • Page load time
  • Server response time
  • DNS lookup time
  • Error rates
  • Mobile optimisation scores
  • Browser usage
  • Operating system distribution
  • Network performance
  • API response times
  • Core web vitals
  • Mobile usability issues

  This information helps organisations quickly fix issues that hurt SEO and conversions. It also helps to reduce errors that frustrate users, like checkout failures. Critically, it also helps to improve reliability and avoid downtime that can cost revenue.

  Geographic dashboard

  When an organisation wants to analyse user behaviour based on geographic location, this is the one to use. It reveals where website visitors are physically located and how their location influences their behaviour. Here’s what it tracks :

  • City, country/region 
  • Granular hotspots
  • Language preferences
  • Conversion rates by location
  • Bounce rates/engagement by location
  • Device type : Mobile vs. tablet vs desktop
  • Campaign performance by location
  • Paid ads effectiveness by location
  • Social media referrals by location
  • Load times by location

  Geographic dashboards allow companies to target marketing efforts at high-value regions. They also inform content localisation in terms of language, currency, or offers. And they help identify and address regional issues such as speed, payment methods, or cultural relevance.

  Custom segments dashboard

  This kind of dashboard allows specific subsets of an audience to be analysed based on specific criteria. For example, these subsets might include :

  • VIP customers
  • Mobile users
  • New vs. returning visitors
  • Logged-in users
  • Campaign responders
  • Product category enthusiasts. 

  What this dashboard reveals depends very much on what questions the user is trying to answer. It can provide actionable insight into why specific subsets of visitors or customers drop off at certain points. It allows specific metrics (bounce rate, conversions, etc.) to be compared across segments. 

  It can also track the performance of marketing campaigns across different audience segments, allowing marketing efforts to be tailored to serve high-potential segments. Its custom reports can also assist in problem-solving and testing hypotheses.

  

  Content performance dashboard

  This is useful for understanding how a website’s content engages users and drives business goals. Here’s what it tracks and why it matters :

  • Top-performing content
    • Most viewed pages
    • Highest time-on-page content
    • Most shared/linked content
  • Engagement metrics
    • Scroll depth (how far users read)
    • Video plays/podcast listens
    • PDF/downloads of gated content
  • Which content pieces lead to
    • Newsletter sign-ups
    • Demo requests
    • Product purchases
  • SEO health
    • Organic traffic per page
    • Keyword rankings for specific content
    • Pages with high exit rates
  • Content journey analysis
    • Entry pages that start user sessions
    • Common click paths through a site
    • Pages that often appear before conversions

  All this data helps improve website effectiveness. It lets organisations double down on what works, identify and replicate top-performing content and fix underperforming content. It can also identify content gaps, author performance and seasonal trends. The data then informs content strategy and optimisation efforts.

  The importance of data quality

  The fundamental reason we look at data is to make decisions that are informed by facts. So, it stands to reason that the quality of the underlying data is critical because it governs the quality of the information in the dashboard.

  And the data source for web analytics dashboards is often Google Analytics 4 (GA4), since it’s free and frequently installed by default on new websites. But this can be a problem because the free version of Google Analytics is limited and resorts to data sampling beyond a certain point. Let’s dig into that.

  Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

  It’s the default option for most organisations because it’s free, but GA4 has notable limitations that affect data accuracy and functionality. The big one is data sampling, which kicks in for large datasets (500,000+ events). This can skew reporting because the analysis is of subsets rather than complete data. 

  In addition, user privacy tools like ad blockers, tracking opt-outs, and disabled JavaScript can cause underreporting by 10-30%. GA4 also restricts data retention to 2-14 months and offers limited filtering and reduced control over data collection thresholds. Cross-domain tracking requires manual setup and lacks seamless integration. 

  One solution is to upgrade to Google Analytics 360 GA360, but it’s expensive. Pricing starts at $12,500/month (annual contract) plus $150,000 minimum yearly spend. The costs also scale with data volume, typically requiring $150,000−500,000 annually.

  

  Matomo’s built-in dashboards

  Matomo is a better solution for organisations needing unsampled data, longer data retention, and advanced attribution. It also provides functionality for enterprises to export their data and import it into Google BigQuery if that’s what they already use for analysis.

  Matomo Analytics takes a different approach to data quality. By focusing on privacy and data ownership, we ensure that businesses have full control over all of their data. Matomo also includes a range of built-in dashboards designed to meet the needs of different users. 

  The default options provide a starting point for tracking key metrics and gaining insight into their performance. They’re accessible by simply navigating to the reports section and selecting the relevant dashboard. These dashboards draw on raw data to provide more detailed and accurate analysis than is possible with GA4. And at a fraction of the price of GA360. 

  You can get Matomo completely free of charge as a self-hosted solution or via Matomo Cloud for a mere $29/month — vs. GA360’s $150k+/year. It also has other benefits :

  • 100% data ownership and no data sampling
  • Privacy compliance by design :
    • GDPR/CCPA-ready
    • No ad-blocker distortion
    • Cookieless tracking options
  • No data limits or retention caps
  • Advanced features without restriction :
    • Cross-domain tracking
    • Custom dimensions/metrics
    • Heatmaps/session recordings

  Customisation options

  Although Matomo’s default dashboards are powerful, the real value lies in the customisation options. These extensive and easy-to-use options empower users to tailor custom dashboards to their precise needs.

  Unlike GA4’s rigid layouts, Matomo offers drag-and-drop widgets to create, rearrange or resize reports effortlessly. You can :

  • Add 50+ pre-built widgets (e.g., traffic trends, conversion funnels, goal tracking) or create custom SQL/PHP widgets for unique metrics.
  • Segment data dynamically with filters (by country, device, campaign) and compare date ranges side-by-side.
  • Create white-label dashboards for client reporting, with custom logos, colours and CSS overrides.
  • Schedule automated PDF/email reports with personalised insights.
  • Build role-based dashboards (e.g., marketing vs. executive views) and restrict access to sensitive data.

  For developers, Matomo’s open API enables deep integrations (CRM, ERP, etc.) and custom visualisations via JavaScript. Self-hosted users can even modify the core user interface.

  Matomo : A fully adaptable analytics hub

  Web analytics dashboards can be powerful tools for visualising data, generating actionable insights and making better business decisions. But that’s only true as long as the underlying data is unrestricted and the analytics platform delivers high-quality data for analysis. 

  Matomo’s commitment to data quality and privacy sets it apart as a reliable source of accurate data to inform accurate and detailed insights. And the range of reporting options will meet just about any business need, often without any customisation.

  To see Matomo in action, watch this two-minute video. Then, when you’re ready to build your own, download Matomo On-Premise for free or start your 21-day free trial of Matomo Cloud — no credit card required.

• 7 Benefits Segmentation Examples + How to Get Started

  26 mars 2024, par Erin

  Every copywriter knows the importance of selling a product’s benefits, not its features. So why should your marketing efforts be different ?

  Answer : they shouldn’t.

  It’s time to stop using demographic or behavioural traits to group customers and start using benefits segmentation instead.

  Benefits segmentation groups your customers based on the value they get from your product or service. In this article, we’ll cover seven real-life examples of benefits segmentation, explain why it’s so powerful and show how to get started today.

  What is benefits segmentation ?

  Benefits segmentation is a way for marketers to group their target market based on the value they get from their products or services. It is a form of customer segment marketing. Other types of market segmentation include :

  • Geographic segmentation
  • Demographic segmentation
  • Psychographic segmentation
  • Behavioural segmentation
  • Firmographic segmentation

  Customers could be the same age, from the same industry and live in the same location but want drastically different things from the same product. Some may like the design of your products, others the function, and still more the price. 

  Whatever the benefits, you can make your marketing more effective by building advertising campaigns around them.

  Why use benefits segmentation ?

  Appealing to the perceived benefits of your product is a powerful marketing strategy. Here are the advantages of you benefit segmentation can expect :

  

  More effective marketing campaigns

  Identifying different benefits segments lets you create much more targeted marketing campaigns. Rather than appeal to a broad customer base, you can create specific ads and campaigns that speak to a small part of your target audience. 

  These campaigns tend to be much more powerful. Benefits-focused messaging better resonates with your audience, making potential customers more likely to convert.

  Better customer experience 

  Customers use your products for a reason. By showing you understand their needs through benefits segmentation, you deliver a much better customer experience — in terms of messaging and how you develop new products. 

  In today’s world, experience matters. 80% of customers say a company’s experience is as important as its products and services.

  Stronger customer loyalty

  When products or services are highly targeted at potential customers, they are more likely to return. More than one-third (36%) of customers would return to a brand if they had a positive experience, even if cheaper or more convenient alternatives exist.

  Using benefits segmentation will also help you attract the right kind of people in the first place — people who will become long-term customers because your benefits align with their needs. 

  Improved products and services

  Benefits segmentation makes it easier to tailor products or services to your audiences’ wants and needs. 

  Rather than creating a product meant to appeal to everyone but doesn’t fulfil a real need, your team can create different ranges of the same product that target different benefits segments. 

  Higher conversion rates

  Personalising your pitch to individual customers is powerful. It drives performance and creates better outcomes for your target customer. Companies that grow faster drive 40 per cent more revenue from personalisation than their slower-growing counterparts.

  When sales reps understand your product’s benefits, talking to customers about them and demonstrating how the product solves particular pain points is much easier. 

  In short, benefits segmentation can lead to higher conversion rates and a better return on investment. 

  7 examples of benefits segmentation

  Let’s take a look at seven examples of real-life benefits segmentation to improve your understanding :

  Nectar

  Mattress manufacturer Nectar does a great job segmenting their product range by customer benefits. That’s a good thing, given how many different things people want from their mattress. 

  It’s not just a case of targeting back sleepers vs. side sleepers ; they focus on more specific benefits like support and cooling. 

  

  Take a look at the screenshot above. Nectar mentions the benefits of each mattress in multiple places, making it easy for customers to find the perfect mattress. If you care about value, for example, you might choose “The Nectar.” If pressure relief and cooling are important to you, you might pick the “Nectar Premier.”

  24 Hour Fitness

  A gym is a gym is a gym, right ? Not when people use it to achieve different goals, it’s not. And that’s what 24 Hour Fitness exploits when they sell memberships to their audience. 

  As you can see from its sales page, 24 Hour Fitness targets the benefits that different customers get from their products :

  

  Customers who just care about getting access to weights and treadmills for as cheap as possible can buy the Silver Membership. 

  But getting fit isn’t the only reason people go to the gym. That’s why 24 Hour Fitness targets its Gold Membership to those who want the “camaraderie” of studio classes led by “expert instructors.”

  Finally, some people value being able to access any club, anywhere in the country. Consumers value flexibility greatly, so 24 Hour Fitness limits this perk to its top-tier membership. 

  Notion

  Notion is an all-in-one productivity and note-taking app that aims to be the only productivity tool people and teams need. Trying to be everything to all people rarely works, however, which is why Notion cleverly tweaks its offering to appeal to the desires of different customer segments :

  

  For price-conscious individuals, it provides a pared solution that doesn’t bloat the user experience with features or benefits these consumers don’t care about.

  The Plus tier is the standard offering for teams who need a way to collaborate online. Still, there are two additional tiers for businesses that target specific benefits only certain teams need. 

  For teams that benefit from a longer history or additional functionality like a bulk export, Notion offers the Business tier at almost double the price of the standard Plus tier. Finally, the Enterprise tier for businesses requires much more advanced security features. 

  Apple

  Apple is another example of a brand that designs and markets products to customers based on specific benefits.

  

  Why doesn’t Apple just make one really good laptop ? Because customers want different things from them. Some want the lightest or smallest laptop possible. Others need ones with higher processing power or larger screens.

  One product can’t possibly deliver all those benefits. So, by understanding the precise reasons people need a laptop, Apple can create and market products around the benefits that are most likely to be sold. 

  Tesla

  In the same way Apple understands that consumers need different things from their laptops, Tesla understands that consumers derive different benefits from their cars. 

  It’s why the company sells four cars (and now a truck) that cover various sizes, top speeds, price points and more. 

  

  Tesla even asks customers about the benefits they want from their car when helping them to choose a vehicle. By asking customers to pick how they will use their new vehicle, Tesla can ensure the car’s benefits match up to the consumers’ goals. 

  Dynamite Brands

  Dynamite Brands is a multi-brand, community-based business that targets remote entrepreneurs around the globe. But even this heavily niched-down business still needs to create benefit segments to serve its audience better. 

  It’s why the company has built several different brands instead of trying to serve every customer under a single banner :

  

  If you just want to meet other like-minded entrepreneurs, you can join the Dynamite Circle, for example. But DC Black might be a better choice if you care more about networking and growing your business.

  It’s the same with the two recruiting brands. Dynamite Jobs targets companies that just want access to a large talent pool. Remote First Recruiting targets businesses that benefit from a more hands-on approach to hiring where a partner does the bulk of the work.

  Garmin

  Do you want your watch to tell the time or do you want it to do more ? If you fall into the latter category, Garmin has designed dozens of watches that target various benefits.

  

  Do you want a watch that tracks your fitness without looking ugly ? Buy the Venu. 

  Want a watch designed for runners ? Buy the Forerunner. 

  Do you need a watch that can keep pace with your outdoor lifestyle ? Buy the Instinct. 

  Just like Apple, Garmin can’t possibly design a single watch that delivers all these benefits. Instead, each watch is carefully built for the target customer’s needs. Yes, it makes the target market smaller, but it makes the product more appealing to those who care about those benefits.

  How to get started with benefits segmentation

  According to Gartner, 63% of digital marketing leaders struggle with personalisation. Don’t be one of them. Here’s how you can improve your personalisation efforts using benefits segmentation. 

  Research and define benefits

  The first step to getting started with benefit segmentation is understanding all the benefits customers get from your products. 

  You probably already know some of the benefits, but don’t underestimate the importance of customer research. Hold focus groups, survey customers and read customer reviews to discover what customers love about your products. 

  Create benefit-focused customer personas

  Now you understand the benefits, it’s time to create customer personas that reflect them. Group consumers who like similar benefits and see if they have any other similarities. 

  Price-conscious consumers may be younger. Maybe people who care about performance have a certain type of job. The more you can do to flesh out what the average benefits-focused consumer looks like, the easier it will be to create campaigns. 

  Create campaigns focused on each benefit

  Now, we get to the fun part. Make the benefit-focused customer personas you created in the last step the focus of your marketing campaigns going forward. 

  Don’t try to appeal to everyone. Just make your campaigns appeal to these people.

  Go deeper with segmentation analytics

  The quality of your benefit segmentation strategy hinges on the quality of your data. That’s why using a an accurate web analytics solution like Matomo to track how each segment behaves online using segmentation analytics is important.

  

  This data can make your marketing campaigns more targeted and effective.

  Benefits segmentation in practice

  Let’s say you have an e-commerce website selling a wide range of household items, and you want to create a benefit segment for “Tech Enthusiasts” who are interested in the latest gadgets and cutting-edge technology. You want to track and analyse their behaviour separately to tailor marketing campaigns or website content specifically for this group.

  1. Identify characteristics : Determine key characteristics or behaviours that define the “Tech Enthusiasts” segment. 

  This might include frequent visits to product pages of the latest tech products, site searches that contain different tech product names, engaging with tech-specific content in emails or spending more time on technology-related blog posts.

  One quick and surefire way to identify characteristics of a segment is to look historically at specific tech product purchases in your Matomo and work your way backwards to find out what steps a “Tech Enthusiast” takes before making a purchase. For instance, you might look at User Flows to discover this.

  

  2. Create segments in Matomo : Using Matomo’s segmentation features, you can create a segment that includes users exhibiting these characteristics. For instance :

  • • Segment by page visits : Create a segment that includes users who visited tech product pages or spent time on tech blogs.

  

  • • Segment by event tracking : If you’ve set up event tracking for specific actions (like clicking on “New Tech” category buttons), create a segment based on these events.
    • Combine conditions : Combine various conditions (e.g., pages visited, time spent, specific actions taken) to create a comprehensive segment that accurately represents “Tech Enthusiasts.”

  3. Track and analyse : Apply this segment to your analytics data in Matomo to track and analyse the behaviour of this group separately. Monitor metrics like their conversion rates, time spent on site or specific products they engage with.
  4. Tailor marketing : Use the insights from analysing this segment to tailor marketing strategies. This could involve creating targeted campaigns or customising website content to cater specifically to these users.

  Remember, the key is to define criteria that accurately represent the segment you want to target, use Matomo’s segmentation tools to isolate this group, and effectively derive actionable insights to cater to their preferences or needs.

  Try Matomo for Free

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  Track your segmentation efforts 

  Benefits segmentation is a fantastic way to improve your marketing. It can help you deliver a better customer experience, improve your product offering and help your sales reps close more deals. 

  Segmenting your audience with an analytics platform lets you go even deeper. But doing so in a privacy-sensitive way can be difficult. 

  That’s why over 1 million websites choose Matomo as their web analytics solution. Matomo provides exceptional segmentation capabilities while remaining 100% accurate and compliant with global privacy laws.

  Find out how Matomo’s insights can level up your marketing efforts with our 21-day free trial, no credit card required.

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• 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.