In Defence of Web Analytics Cookies
The recent data law update now allows collecting website analytics cookies without asking for consent. This is a win for digital and content teams as well as small business owners.
Let me tell you a story about my wound-up UK GDPR compliance business.
Some years ago, I was surprised how little small business owners and freelancers knew about data protection law. What stood out for me was that if they received a personal data request from someone, it was not a question of “how do I do it?”, but “what is personal data?”. So I decided to set up on my own and help them.
I wrote and launched my website and was obsessed with how many visitors a day I got and on what page they left the website. However, because I’d set the cookie settings to be compliant – not to drop any analytics cookies unless the visitor clicked “consent” – I knew my numbers were unreliable and didn’t realistically represent what everyone was doing.
In hindsight, my business strategy wasn't great (let’s save that for another blog post). I was too focused on my website performance to determine how in demand my services were, when a chunk of this energy should have gone somewhere else.
I was so concentrated on website analytics because one of my early jobs was web editor and digital content producer. I had spent a lot of time writing online content and tracking its performance, which I couldn’t let go of.
The new cookie order means more compliant and better websites
With those cookie changes introduced, I think of the one-wo/man bands, freelancers, and creative teams that can use data to improve their services more easily in a compliant way; and I am happy for them. Of course, the information collected has to be:
just for statistical purposes, to improve online journeys;
not personally identifying visitors, monitoring or tracking them;
not used for online advertising.
The bad news is, cookie banners are here to stay for now. Even though you don’t need to ask for consent before placing website analytics cookies, there still must be something to provide information about their existence and use, and an opportunity to opt out.
So, enjoy the extra data you can obtain without too many formalities. May I suggest that when you’re creating your cookie banner, you get together your designers, developers, and ideally someone from data protection, to make a visually appealing and compliant pop-up.
The Information Commissioner’s Office is updating their guidance on the use of cookies and similar technologies. Stay up-to-date.