7 Reasons you Need A Privacy Policy On Your Website
Why Your Website Needs a Privacy Policy: Seven Crucial Reasons
Hello, I’m Kevin from the Online Visibility Agency and 99quidWebsites.co.uk. Today, we're delving into why it's essential for your website to have a privacy policy. Whether you think your site collects personal data or not, a privacy policy isn't just a formal document; it's a crucial element of your online presence. Let's explore seven reasons that highlight its importance.
1. Legal Compliance
In many countries, having a privacy policy on your website is the law. This isn't about stifling creativity or imposing needless restrictions; it's about complying with regulations designed to protect personal information online. Regardless of the nature of your site, ensuring you adhere to these laws isn't just good practice—it's a requirement.
2. Building Trust
Trust is a currency in the digital age. Users are increasingly aware of their privacy and seek reassurance that their data is safe. By displaying a clear and concise privacy policy, you signal that your business takes privacy seriously, thereby fostering trust with your audience.
3. Keeping Customers Informed
While few may read every word, having a privacy policy shows that you keep transparency at the forefront of your business operations. For those who have experienced privacy violations in the past, the presence of a policy can be the deciding factor in whether they engage with your site or not.
4. Promoting a Security-First Mindset
The introduction of GDPR and other privacy regulations didn't just create hurdles; it underscored the importance of data security. A robust privacy policy shows that you handle customer information with the utmost seriousness, aligning with best practices in data security.
5. Avoiding Legal Issues
Imagine this: you've added a new feature to your site, like a form to capture email addresses, but overlooked updating your privacy policy. This oversight could lead to significant legal headaches. A current and comprehensive privacy policy acts as a safeguard against such potential issues.
6. SEO Benefits
Search engines favour websites that are secure and transparent. A privacy policy may not skyrocket your SEO overnight, but it contributes to the overall trustworthiness of your site, which search engines reward. Ensuring that your privacy policy is accessible from your homepage can also enhance your site's structure in search rankings.
7. Doing the Right Thing
Sometimes, it's about more than just compliance or marketing advantages. It's about integrity and doing the right thing. Even if not legally required, having a privacy policy demonstrates to your visitors that you respect their privacy and are committed to protecting their personal information.
Implementing Your Privacy Policy
If you're unsure how to draft or update a privacy policy, consult a professional. It's not just about having any policy in place, but one that reflects the specific operations and compliance requirements of your business. Make it easily accessible on your website—both visibility and clarity are key.
In summary, a privacy policy is not just a legal formality—it's a crucial component of your online strategy. It reflects your commitment to privacy and security, enhances your business's trustworthiness, and ensures you're covered legally. Always make sure it's up to date and reflective of your latest practices.
Remember, if you can't find your privacy policy, neither can your customers. So, make it prominent and clear for everyone who visits your site. Have a great day, and stay proactive about your online privacy measures! See you in the next video.
Full Video Transcript - 7 Reasons why you new website needs a Privacy Policy
[00:00:00.000]
In this video, we're going to talk about privacy policies on your website.
[00:00:05.800]
My name is Kevin
[00:00:06.200]
from the Online Visibility Agency, and 99quidWebsites.co.uk
[00:00:09.360]
today, we're going to be tackling
[00:00:11.110]
the question of, do you need a privacy policy on your website?
[00:00:14.870]
I'm going to give you seven reasons why this is probably a good idea for you.
[00:00:19.920]
Let's get straight into this.
[00:00:22.520]
The first reason that you need a privacy
[00:00:24.510]
policy on your website is because it's actually, in a lot of countries, the law.
[00:00:29.430]
We need to comply with legal regulations within what we do online.
[00:00:33.510]
Yes, it's not a free thing that you can
[00:00:36.120]
just do whatever you like, however you like.
[00:00:38.280]
We do have to comply with certain online regulations, and that is one of them.
[00:00:42.720]
In all cases, you should have a privacy policy on your site.
[00:00:48.560]
Now, here's the thing.
[00:00:49.350]
Even if you think that you do not need to have a privacy policy because you
[00:00:54.520]
collect no data, it's still a great idea to have it.
[00:00:58.280]
Even if you say it's a policy where you do
[00:01:01.710]
not collect data, you're informing the client that you know
[00:01:04.720]
that privacy policies exist and that you take them seriously.
[00:01:10.520]
Of course, not every website that we build collects data, i.
[00:01:14.270]
E, names, addresses, all of that type of information.
[00:01:18.040]
Second, it builds trust.
[00:01:19.440]
People are now very aware of their privacy online.
[00:01:23.160]
They understand it a lot more than we give
[00:01:25.750]
them credit for, and therefore, we need to show that we take it seriously, too.
[00:01:30.560]
If you are a company that's taking leads in, ie, you're doing opt-ins,
[00:01:35.870]
you're doing sales, all of those things, then you need to show that you're
[00:01:40.440]
compliant and you take it seriously as much as they take it seriously.
[00:01:44.790]
So it's a big trust builder.
[00:01:47.520]
It also keeps the customer informed.
[00:01:49.880]
So number three is we keep them up to date
[00:01:52.110]
with the policies that you're complying with online.
[00:01:55.600]
A customer will want to read it.
[00:01:57.440]
Do they read the whole thing?
[00:01:58.800]
Unlikely.
[00:02:00.080]
But people that have had privacy issues
[00:02:02.040]
online will most certainly source out these policies,
[00:02:06.120]
and you can bet your bottom dollar, if there isn't one there and they were
[00:02:09.760]
going to do business with you, if they've had a privacy
[00:02:13.760]
breach or something like that before, then they're not going to use you on the basis.
[00:02:18.200]
They don't think you take it seriously.
[00:02:20.160]
So it's a big thing for keeping your potential customers informed.
[00:02:27.920]
Number four, it's a security first mindset.
[00:02:31.160]
We need to take these things as they are.
[00:02:34.750]
under GDPR laws, came in recently in the last few years.
[00:02:39.880]
It was good practice for most companies.
[00:02:41.920]
Most companies were ethical in the way that they market it and gather data.
[00:02:44.960]
They were doing this stuff anyway.
[00:02:46.400]
It wasn't a big shock for them.
[00:02:48.190]
There was a little bit of a freak out as
[00:02:50.510]
to what it actually meant, but the bones of it was, most of it,
[00:02:55.000]
decent companies were doing anyway because they took the security of the information
[00:02:59.560]
they were gathering really seriously in the first place.
[00:03:02.320]
So they didn't have a big problem with it.
[00:03:04.960]
And it's the same there by showing your privacy policy, it shows that you
[00:03:09.440]
take it seriously, that if somebody hands over their name,
[00:03:12.640]
their address as a minimum, email address, maybe even more than that,
[00:03:17.040]
personal home address, business address, maybe even more details than that.
[00:03:22.640]
Sometimes you go on to these sites
[00:03:24.030]
and they want the ins and outs of everything in your life.
[00:03:27.000]
You got to prove that you would take that area seriously, and you're going to look
[00:03:32.710]
after their stuff as best you can following best practice.
[00:03:36.800]
So the security first mindset is really important.
[00:03:41.200]
Number five, it avoids potential legal issues.
[00:03:44.400]
So if you don't have one and one of your
[00:03:47.600]
clever fancy web people or someone in your office has decided, Oh,
[00:03:51.200]
let's put a capture form up, and you don't have a privacy policy
[00:03:54.030]
on there, you could land yourself in some bother.
[00:03:56.800]
So to make sure you've got one on there, it will cover you from any potential
[00:04:01.360]
issues that may crop up from a legal standpoint.
[00:04:06.520]
Number six, believe it or not,
[00:04:08.120]
is an SEO marketing benefit to have a privacy policy
[00:04:11.440]
search engines will look for these pages now.
[00:04:13.600]
They will look for these policies.
[00:04:15.190]
We add them in as text within a page, and therefore, they are read by the search
[00:04:20.760]
engines, and it can tell if it exists or if it doesn't exist.
[00:04:24.360]
So it's really important that if you're
[00:04:27.470]
looking to market your website, you want found for the right reasons.
[00:04:31.190]
A trust factor for the search engines is
[00:04:33.560]
you've got a privacy policy page, and therefore, there's a link to it
[00:04:37.320]
from your homepage onto your main page where your privacy policy is held,
[00:04:40.960]
and that it exists, because that will give you a little bit
[00:04:44.290]
of a boost Look, it's not going to set the world on fire.
[00:04:47.160]
But you know what?
[00:04:48.150]
It will do a lot more than if you didn't have it.
[00:04:50.750]
So it's worth doing it for that reason.
[00:04:53.080]
Number seven, let's face it, sometimes in life, you just got to do the right thing.
[00:04:57.400]
And by putting this privacy policy up
[00:04:59.590]
on your website, it's just doing the right thing.
[00:05:02.680]
Do you always need it?
[00:05:04.240]
Maybe, maybe not.
[00:05:05.470]
I don't know your personal circumstances.
[00:05:07.800]
If you're not collecting any data, is it a legal requirement to have it?
[00:05:11.280]
Maybe not. I'm not advising you on that.
[00:05:13.480]
You make your own decision. But you know what?
[00:05:15.600]
Sometimes we have to do the thing that is
[00:05:17.470]
right and going above and beyond a little bit just to make sure that our customers,
[00:05:22.280]
our potential customers, and the visitors to our sites go, You know what?
[00:05:25.950]
They seem like a decent bunch of people.
[00:05:28.120]
They're taking this seriously.
[00:05:30.320]
Let's move a little bit more forward with this company,
[00:05:33.320]
rather than them moving away from you onto the next one that does have one.
[00:05:37.160]
So do the right thing.
[00:05:38.560]
Make sure your privacy policies in place.
[00:05:40.480]
If you don't know how to do it, then speak to your web developer.
[00:05:42.800]
If you're having a new website, then we do this for you and help you out.
[00:05:46.200]
So have a great day, everyone.
[00:05:48.760]
Look out for your privacy policies.
[00:05:50.560]
Remember, if you can't find it on your site, your customers won't find it either.
[00:05:55.120]
So make sure it's available openly and freely for everybody to see.
[00:05:59.280]
Have a great day. See you on the next video.
