Matomo, the Ethical Alternative to Google Analytics

Découvrez Matomo Analytics, la solution de suivi statistiques open-source et recommandée par la CNIL

Preamble

Today, data collection and analysis play a crucial role in enabling data-driven decisions for online businesses. However, it is equally important to respect user privacy and comply with regulations such as the GDPR. This is where Matomo Analytics comes in.

In this article, we will explore the features and advantages of Matomo Analytics – from basic functionalities to advanced tools – while highlighting its commitment to protecting personal data.

Data Collection

Information Collected

If you use Matomo’s default JavaScript tracking mode to monitor user activity, here are the types of data you can collect:

IP address (which should be anonymized)
Date and time of the request
Title of the page viewed
URL of the page viewed
Referrer URL
Screen resolution
List of downloaded files
Outbound link URLs
Page generation time

Data Stored in Cookies

Matomo’s default JavaScript mode creates cookies—stored on your website’s domain—to remember the user’s consent regarding tracking as well as the following information:

Unique visitor ID (to identify returning visitors)
Date and time of the first visit
Date and time of the previous visit
Number of visits by the user

Matomo can operate without cookies (cookie-less mode), which is also one of the steps toward GDPR compliance. However, some reports will no longer be available.

Data Reporting

Data Aggregation

Matomo generates its reports without sampling and is based on all collected data. Processing these statistics can therefore take time when large volumes of information are involved. As a result:

It may take several hours to generate a report.
Segmented reports may not be immediately available.
Some date ranges may show no data.
Matomo may fail to aggregate data from real-time reports.

To improve processing time, regular data archiving processes need to be scheduled.

Dashboard

Each website tracked in Matomo has a customizable dashboard organized in a grid layout. It displays widgets summarizing statistical reports as well as Matomo-specific widgets.

You can add multiple dashboards to group insights together for faster and more tailored reading.

For each dashboard, you can:

Adjust the number of columns
Add a widget
Remove a widget
Move a widget
Copy the dashboard layout to another user account

Report Organization

Matomo groups its reports into three main categories:

Visitor: information about the visitor
Behavior: information about what the visitor does during a session
Acquisition: information about how the visitor arrived on your site

Visitor Reports

Report	Description
Visits Log	Shows detailed logs of each visit your site receives. While other reports show aggregated behavior, the visits log provides granular details. You can also use segments to filter for specific visit types.
Real-time	Displays real-time visit flows on your site, including visitor counts over the last 24 hours and last 30 minutes.
Real-time Map	Shows the location of visitors on your site within the last 30 minutes.
Geographic Location	Reveals the countries, continents, regions, and cities where visitors come from, in both table and map formats.
Devices	Provides insights on device types and models—helping you optimize your site for the most used configurations.
Software	Displays visitors’ operating systems, browsers, and browser plugins to help ensure compatibility.
Visits by Time	Shows when users visit your site. Local visit times help tailor content; server times can indicate technical load.
User ID	Shows visits associated with logged-in users.

Behavior Reports

Report	Description
Pages	Information on the URLs of pages viewed.
Entry Pages	Shows the pages visitors first land on during the specified period.
Exit Pages	Shows the pages visitors leave from during the specified period.
Page Titles	Shows titles of pages visited.
Site Search	Displays the keywords users search for on your site, the pages they view afterward, and queries with no results.
Outbound Links	Hierarchical list of external URLs clicked by users.
Downloads	Reports on custom events configured on your site.
Content Tracking	Helps measure the popularity of content elements on a page, including impressions and interactions.
Content	Content tracking helps you determine the popularity of certain content elements on any page of your website or application. This section reports the number of impressions and interactions that different content elements on your site receive.
Engagement	Provides insights into new vs. returning visitors, average visit duration, pages per visit, visit frequency, and time between visits.
Transitions	Shows what users did immediately before and after viewing a specific page.
Performance	Helps analyze the overall performance and speed of your website or application.

Acquisition Reports

Report	Description
Tous les canaux	Cette section vous montre le nombre de visites provenant de différents types de canaux et de référents. Cliquez sur les boutons plus ou moins pour afficher les référents dans chaque type.
Moteurs de recherche et mots-clés	Cette section vous aide à analyser l’optimisation et les performances de votre moteur de recherche. Il est possible de connecter Matomo directement à la Search Console pour avoir des rapports générés avec les performances des mots-clés.
Sites web	Dans ce tableau, vous pouvez voir quels sites Web et quelles URLs ont renvoyé des visiteurs vers votre site.
Réseaux sociaux	Dans ce tableau, vous pouvez voir quels sites Web ont renvoyé des visiteurs vers votre site.
Campagnes	La section Suivi de campagne vous permet d’analyser les visites associées aux différentes valeurs de suivi qui ont été liées à vos campagnes numériques. Il peut révéler le trafic généré par vos campagnes et l’engagement des visiteurs de la campagne. Ce rapport peut être plus détaillé avec l’utilisation de l’extension gratuite Marketing Campaigns Reporting.

Limitations of Matomo

Although Matomo is a powerful and versatile web analytics platform, it also has some limitations that should be considered.

Server Load

Since Matomo is self-hosted, data is stored on your own server. This can increase server load in terms of storage and processing, especially for high-traffic websites.

Technical Skills Required

Self-hosting Matomo requires technical skills for installation, configuration, updates, and troubleshooting.

Cost of Options and Maintenance

Matomo is available as a paid Cloud version. The On-Premise version includes costs for installation, configuration, training, hosting, maintenance, and paid extensions—though these costs are relative.

Despite these limitations, Matomo remains an excellent option for many site owners, especially those who value privacy, customization, and control.

Matomo and GDPR

Ensuring GDPR Compliance

Data anonymization
IP anonymization
Consent management
First-party cookies
Ability to view visit-level data
Ability to delete visit-level data

Precautions

When using Matomo On-Premise, raw data and aggregated reports are stored indefinitely. You should therefore define a data retention policy.

Before choosing Matomo, it is important to evaluate your specific needs, technical skills, and available resources to determine whether this platform meets your expectations.