Matomo: The privacy-oriented alternative to Google Analytics

In today's digital world, understanding and analyzing website data is essential to the success of an online business. While Google Analytics is a popular and powerful platform, there are legitimate privacy concerns. For those who value privacy and data sovereignty, Matomo is an excellent alternative. In this article, we will highlight the most important aspects of Matomo and explain why it is a privacy-friendly choice.

What is Matomo?

Matomo, formerly known as Piwik, is an open source web analytics software that focuses heavily on data privacy and control over your own data. Unlike Google Analytics, which stores the collected data on Google's servers, Matomo allows users to store their data on their own servers. As a result, companies retain complete control over their data and can ensure that it does not fall into the hands of third parties.

Main functions of Matomo

1. Real-time analytics: Matomo offers detailed real-time statistics that provide valuable insights into visitor behavior and website performance.
2. Customizable dashboards: Users can customize their dashboards and add various widgets to keep track of key metrics.
3. Event tracking: Matomo can be used to accurately track specific actions such as clicks, downloads and form submissions.
4. E-commerce tracking: For online stores, Matomo offers comprehensive e-commerce reports that analyze sales, orders and conversion rates.
5. Data protection functions: Matomo offers features such as IP address anonymization and the ability to provide visitors with opt-out options.

Why data protection is important

Protecting the privacy and personal data of website visitors is of paramount importance today. With the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and other data protection laws around the world, companies must ensure that they handle their users' data responsibly and compliantly.

Data protection concerns with Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a powerful platform, but there are some privacy concerns:

• Data transfer to third parties: Data collected with Google Analytics is stored and processed on Google's servers, which raises concerns about third parties accessing this data.
• GDPR compliance: GDPR compliance is possible with Google Analytics, but requires additional measures and explicit user consent for data collection
• Data sovereignty: Companies do not have complete control over the data collected as it is stored on external servers.

Advantages of Matomo with regard to data protection

Matomo offers a number of advantages for companies that want to ensure the privacy of their users:

1. Full data control: because Matomo can be self-hosted, companies retain complete control over their data and can ensure that no unauthorized third parties have access to it.
2. GDPR compliance: Matomo offers built-in GDPR compliance features, including anonymization of IP addresses and the ability to offer opt-out options to visitors.
3. Transparency: As open source software, Matomo's source code is publicly available, ensuring transparency and trust.
4. No data transmission: As the data is stored on the company's own servers, there is no need to transfer data to external providers, which increases security.

Comparison of Matomo and Google Analytics

User friendliness

Google Analytics is known for its user-friendly interface and extensive documentation. Matomo has made significant improvements in terms of usability and documentation in recent years, but may offer a slightly steeper learning curve for newcomers.

Functionality

Both platforms offer a variety of features for web analytics, but there are some differences:

• Google Analytics: Offers advanced features such as machine learning and predictive analytics.
• Matomo: Focuses more on privacy and flexibility, with a variety of plugins and integrations that can be added.

Costs

Google Analytics offers a free version, but for advanced features and larger amounts of data, Google Analytics 360, a paid version, is required. Matomo is also available for free as open source software, but there is also a paid cloud version for those who do not want to host their own.

Data protection and security

In terms of data protection and security, Matomo has the edge as it gives users control over their data and does not require data to be transferred to third parties. However, Google Analytics can also be used in compliance with data protection regulations if appropriate measures are taken.

Installing and configuring Matomo

The installation and configuration of Matomo is relatively simple and requires only a few steps:

1. Download and install: download the latest version of Matomo from the official website and unzip the files into your server's web directory.
2. Set up the database: Create a MySQL database and a user for Matomo.
3. Carry out the installation: Go to the Matomo installation page in your web browser and follow the instructions to install the software.
4. Add tracking code: Add the generated tracking code to the pages of your website that you want to track.

Configuration of the data protection functions

Matomo offers various data protection options that can be configured to ensure compliance with the GDPR:

• IP anonymization: Activate the anonymization of IP addresses to protect the identity of visitors.
• Opt-out options: Offer visitors the option to opt-out of data collection.
• Cookies: Customize cookie settings to comply with data protection requirements.

Matomo plugins and integrations

Matomo offers a variety of plugins and integrations that can extend the functionality of the platform. Here are some of the most important ones:

1. Heatmap & Session Recording: this plugin allows you to visually display user activity and record sessions.
2. Form Analytics: Analyze how users interact with forms on your website.
3. A/B Testing: Run A/B tests to compare the performance of different versions of your website.
4. Monitor SEO websites: Monitor the SEO performance of your website directly in Matomo.
5. Integration with CMS: Matomo integrates seamlessly with popular content management systems such as WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.

Matomo Cloud Hosting

For companies that want the benefits of Matomo without having to worry about server maintenance and technical details, we offer Matomo Cloud Hosting. Our Matomo cloud hosting service gives you complete control over your data while ensuring that your Matomo installation is secure, reliable and always up to date.

Advantages of our Matomo cloud hosting

1. Easy setup: We take care of all the technical setup and maintenance so that you can concentrate on your core business.
2. Data protection and security: Your data is hosted in a secure environment that meets the highest data protection standards.
3. Scalability: Our cloud hosting offering is scalable and can be adapted to your growing requirements.
4. 24/7 support: Our support team is available around the clock to help you with any questions or problems.

How does our Matomo Cloud Hosting work?

Our Matomo Cloud Hosting is designed to make it as easy as possible for you to get started. Once you have chosen our hosting, we take care of the installation and configuration of Matomo on our secure servers. You get access to your Matomo instance, which is already configured for optimal performance and security.

We provide regular backups, software updates and security checks to ensure that your data is always protected and available. In addition, you can always rely on our experienced support team to assist you with technical questions and challenges.

Success stories: How companies benefit from Matomo

Many companies worldwide have already recognized and successfully implemented the benefits of Matomo. Here are some examples of how Matomo has helped companies:

Case study 1: An e-commerce company

A medium-sized e-commerce company decided to switch from Google Analytics to Matomo to maintain control over its data and better comply with GDPR requirements. With Matomo, the company was able to create detailed reports on user behavior and optimize conversion rates while ensuring data sovereignty. By using Matomo cloud hosting, the company was also able to avoid the technical challenges of self-management.

Case study 2: An NGO

A non-profit organization that advocates for privacy and digital rights was looking for a web analytics solution that reflected their values. With Matomo, the organization found a privacy-friendly platform that allowed them to analyze user behavior on their website without compromising on privacy. The easy integration into their existing infrastructure and Matomo's comprehensive data protection features completely convinced the NGO.

Case study 3: An educational institute

A renowned educational institute was looking for web analytics software that would meet the data protection requirements of their international student body. With Matomo, the institute was not only able to comply with legal requirements, but also gain detailed insights into the use of their online educational resources. The flexibility and ability to customize reports helped the institute to improve their educational offerings in a targeted manner.

Conclusion

Matomo offers a privacy-focused alternative to Google Analytics, giving companies full control over their data and helping to ensure compliance with data protection laws such as the GDPR. With a variety of features and customization options, Matomo is a powerful solution for web analytics.

If you want to take advantage of Matomo without having to worry about the technical infrastructure, our Matomo Cloud Hosting is the ideal solution. Contact us today to find out more about our offering and how we can help you make your web analytics compliant and efficient.