6. Analysis tools and advertising
Google Analytics
This website uses functions of the web analysis service Google Analytics. The provider of this service is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Google Analytics uses so-called cookies. Cookies are text files, which are stored on your computer and that enable an analysis of the use of the website by users. The information generated by cookies on your use of this website is usually transferred to a Google server in the United States, where it is stored.
The storage of Google Analytics cookies and the utilization of this analysis tool are based on Art. 6 Sect. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of this website has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user patterns to optimize both, the services offered online and the operator’s advertising activities. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g. an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.
Browser plug-in
You do have the option to prevent the archiving of cookies by making pertinent changes to the settings of your browser software. However, we have to point out that in this case you may not be able to use all of the functions of this website to their fullest extent. Moreover, you have the option prevent the recording of the data generated by the cookie and affiliated with your use of the website (including your IP address) by Google as well as the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available under the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
Objection to the recording of data
You have the option to prevent the recording of your data by Google Analytics by clicking on the following link. This will result in the placement of an opt out cookie, which prevents the recording of your data during future visits to this website: Google Analytics deactivation.
For more information about the handling of user data by Google Analytics, please consult Google’s Data Privacy Declaration at: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=en.
Demographic parameters provided by Google Analytics
This website uses the function “demographic parameters” provided by Google Analytics. It makes it possible to generate reports providing information on the age, gender and interests of website visitors. The sources of this information are interest-related advertising by Google as well as visitor data obtained from third party providers. This data cannot be allocated to a specific individual. You have the option to deactivate this function at any time by making pertinent settings changes for advertising in your Google account or you can generally prohibit the recording of your data by Google Analytics as explained in section “Objection to the recording of data”.
Archiving period
Data on the user or incident level stored by Google linked to cookies, user IDs or advertising IDs (e.g. DoubleClick cookies, Android advertising ID) will be anonymized or deleted after 14 month. For details please click the following link: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7667196?hl=en
Hotjar
This website utilizes Hotjar. The provider is Hotjar Ltd., Level 2, St Julians Business Centre, 3, Elia Zammit Street, St Julians STJ 1000, Malta, Europe (website: https://www.hotjar.com).
Hotjar is a tool used to analyze your user patterns on this website. Hotjar allows us to for instance record your mouse and scroll movements as well as your click. During this process, Hotjar also has the capability to determine how long your cursor remained in a certain position. Based on this information, Hotjar compiles so-called Heatmaps, that make possible to determine which parts of the website the website visitor reviews with preference.
We are also able to determine how long you have stayed on a page of this website and when you left. We can also determine at which point you suspended making entries into a contact form (so-called conversion funnels).
Furthermore, Hotjar can be deployed to obtain direct feedback from website visitors. This function aims at the improvement of the website offerings of the website operator.
Hotjar uses cookies. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer and stored by your browser. Their purpose is to make our website presentation more user friendly, more effective and more secure. These cookies allow us to in particular determine if this website was used with a certain device or if the functions of Hotjar have been deactivated for the respective browser. Hotjar cookies will remain on your device until you delete them.
You can set up your browser in such a manner that you will be notified anytime cookies are placed and you can permit cookies only in certain cases or exclude the acceptance of cookies in certain instances or in general and you can also activate the automatic deletion of cookies upon closing of the browser. If you deactivate cookies, the functions of this website may be limited.
The use of Hotjar and the storage of the Hotjar cookies are based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user patterns, in order to optimize the operator’s web offerings and advertising. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g. an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.
Deactivation of Hotjar
If you would like to deactivate the recording of data by Hotjar, please click on the link below and follow the instructions provided under the link: https://www.hotjar.com/opt-out.
Please keep in mind that you will have to separately deactivate Hotjar for every browser and every device.
For more detailed information about Hotjar and the data to be recorded, please consult the Privacy Policy of Hotjar under the following link: https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy.
Google AdSense (not personalized)
This website uses Google AdSense, an ad embedding service provided by Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
We use Google AdSense in the “non-personalized” mode. Contrary to the personalized mode, the ads are not based on your previous user patterns and the service does not generate a user profile for you. Instead, the service uses so-called “context information” to choose the ads that are posted for you to view. The selected ads are thus based e.g. on your location, the content of the website you are visiting at the time or the search terms you are using. To learn more about the distinct differences between personalized targeting and targeting that has not been personalized by Google AdSense, please click on the following link: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/9007336.
Please keep in mind that even the use of the non-personalized mode of Google Adsense results in the potential archiving of cookies. According to Google, these cookies are used to combat fraud and misuse. These cookies will remain on your device until you delete them.
The use of Google Adsense in the non-personalized mode is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. We have a justified interest in the analysis of user patterns to be able to optimize both, our web presentation and our promotional activities. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g. an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.
Google is certified in accordance with the “EU-US Privacy Shield”. The Privacy Shield accord was executed between the European Union and the United States with the aim of ensuring that European Data Protection Standards are observed in conjunction with the processing of data in the United States. Every company that is certified in accordance with the Privacy Shield regulations undertakes to comply with these data protection standards.
You have the option to autonomously adjust the advertising settings in your user account. To do so, please click on the link provided below and log in: https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.
For more information about Google’s advertising technologies, please click here:
https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads
https://www.google.de/intl/en/policies/privacy/.
Google Ads and Google Conversion Tracking
This website uses Google Ads. Google Ads is an online promotional program of Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.
In conjunction with Google Ads, we use a tool called Conversion Tracking. If you click on an ad posted by Google, a cookie for Conversion Tracking purposes will be placed. Cookies are small text files the web browser places on the user’s computer. These cookies expire after 30 days and are not used to personally identify users. If the user visits certain pages of this website and the cookie has not yet expired, Google and we will be able to recognize that the user has clicked on an ad and has been linked to this page.
A different cookie is allocated to every Google Ads customer. These cookies cannot be tracked via websites of Google Ads customers. The information obtained with the assistance of the Conversion cookie is used to generate Conversion statistics for Google Ads customers who have opted to use Conversion Tracking. The users receive the total number of users that have clicked on their ads and have been linked to a page equipped with a Conversion Tracking tag. However, they do not receive any information that would allow them to personally identify these users. If you do not want to participate in tracking, you have the option to object to this use by easily deactivating the Google Conversion Tracking cookie via your web browser under user settings. If you do this, you will not be included in the Conversion Tracking statistics.
The storage of “Conversion” cookies and the use of this tracking tool are based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user patterns, in order to optimize the operator’s web offerings and advertising. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g. an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.
To review more detailed information about Google Ads and Google Conversion Tracking, please consult the Data Privacy Policies of Google at: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.
You can set up your browser in such a manner that you will be notified anytime cookies are placed and you can permit cookies only in certain cases or exclude the acceptance of cookies in certain instances or in general and you can also activate the automatic deletion of cookies upon closing of the browser. If you deactivate cookies, the functions of this website may be limited.
Google DoubleClick
This website uses features of Google DoubleClick. The provider is Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, (hereinafter “DoubleClick”).
DoubleClick is used to show you interest-based ads across the Google Network. Advertisements can be tailored to the interests of the viewer using DoubleClick. For example, our ads may appear in Google search results or in banners associated with DoubleClick.
DoubleClick must be able to recognize the respective viewer in order to be able to display interest-based advertising to users. For this purpose, a cookie is stored in the user’s browser, behind which the websites visited by the user, clicks and various other information are stored. This information is aggregated into a pseudonymous user profile to display interest-based advertising to the user concerned.
The use of Google DoubleClick takes place in the interest of targeted advertising measures. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g. an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.
You can set your browser so that it no longer stores cookies. However, this can restrict the accessible functions of websites. It should also be noted that DoubleClick may also use other technologies to create user profiles. Disabling cookies therefore does not guarantee that user profiles will no longer be created.
For further information on how to object to the advertisements displayed by Google, please see the following links: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads and https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated.
Facebook Pixel
To measure conversion rates this website uses the visitor activity pixel of Facebook. The provider of this service is Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland. According to Facebook’s statement the collected data will be transferred to the USA and other third party countries too.
This tool allows the tracking of page visitors after they have been linked to the website of the provider after clicking on a Facebook ad. This makes it possible to analyze the effectiveness of Facebook ads for statistical and market research purposes and to optimize future advertising campaigns.
For us as the operators of this website, the collected data is anonymous. We are not in a position to arrive at any conclusions as to the identity of users. However, Facebook archives the information and processes it, so that it is possible to make a connection to the respective user profile and Facebook is in a position to use the data for its own promotional purposes in compliance with the Facebook Data Usage Policy. This enables Facebook to display ads on Facebook pages as well as in locations outside of Facebook. We as the operator of this website have no control over the use of such data.
The use of Facebook Pixel is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The operator of the website has a legitimate interest in effective advertising campaigns, which also include social media. If a corresponding agreement has been requested (e.g. an agreement to the storage of cookies), the processing takes place exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the agreement can be revoked at any time.
In Facebook’s Privacy Policies, you will find additional information about the protection of your privacy at: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.
You also have the option to deactivate the remarketing function “Custom Audiences” in the ad settings section under https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences/?entry_product=ad_settings_screen. To do this, you first have to log into Facebook.
If you do not have a Facebook account, you can deactivate any user based advertising by Facebook on the website of the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance: http://www.youronlinechoices.com/de/praferenzmanagement/.
HubSpot
This website uses functions of the web analytics service HubSpot. The provider is HubSpot, Inc. (“HubSpot”). 25 First Street, 2nd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02141, USA.
HubSpot enables us to personalize the user experience on our sites, to launch and manage marketing campaigns, and to ensure that we have relevant data at our disposal. The software collects cookies and user information.
The storage of HubSpot Analytics cookies and the use of this analysis tool are based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user behavior in order to optimize both his website and his advertising. If a corresponding consent has been requested (e.g. consent to the storage of cookies), the processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR; the consent can be revoked at any time.
The web pages of HubSpot also describe how HubSpot regulates the use of personal data in marketing campaigns and lead generation, including the use of a process known as double opt-in. HubSpot participates in the EU-US Privacy Shield Agreement and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield and is certified for compliance. For more information on privacy, please see HubSpot’s Privacy Policy at: https://legal.hubspot.com/en/privacy-policy.
This website includes also a self-developed chatbot (“Ian”) as interactive contact form. After consent the following information might be collected and further processed via HubSpot: Name/company name/phone number/address/e-mail.
SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey (SurveyMonkey Europe UC, 2nd Floor, 2 Shelbourne Buildings, Shelbourne Road, Dublin, Ireland) is a provider of web-based survey solutions.
See https://de.surveymonkey.com/mp/legal/privacy-policy/#pp-section-2.
The legal basis for the processing of users’ personal data is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR and if the processing serves the purpose of the contract, Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR. The collection and storage of personal data serves the purpose of contract processing and participation in a representative online opinion survey. We have no influence on the duration of the storage of the data by Survey Monkey. The personal data shall remain stored as long as the account exists. With the cancellation of the account, the personal data is usually deleted. The general information (opinion data) is retained in order to be able to use it further for the evaluation of opinion surveys.