vital marketing

This week Google added a privacy link on their home page and results pages.

Here’s an excerpt from Google’s blog about the new link:

“So, today we’re making a homepage change by adding a link to our privacy overview and policies. Google values our users’ privacy first and foremost. Trust is the basis of everything we do, so we want you to be familiar and comfortable with the integrity and care we give your personal data. We added this link both to our homepage and to our results page to make it easier for you to find information about our privacy principles. The new “Privacy” link goes to our Privacy Center, which was revamped earlier this year to be more straightforward and approachable, with videos and a non-legalese overview to make sure you understand in basic terms what Google does, does not, will, and won’t, do in regard to your personal information.”

Like Google, all web marketers should include a privacy statement on their web site, clearly stating if you will share any customer data and if so, how. Make the policy easy to understand and make it easy to find on your web site—a best practice is to include it in the footer of the web site so that it appears on every page.

Plus as an added bonus, the search engines like privacy statements! It makes your site appear more legitimate and professional—include one and you’ll be rewarded with higher ranking.

Of course not everyone needs a privacy statement quite as sophisticated as $168B Google. Something like WEconectIT’s Privacy Statement is sufficent for many organizations.

If you need help crafting your policy statement, check out The Direct Marketing Association’s Privacy Policy Generator. Simply fill out a few questions and this useful online tool will generate a privacy web page that you can post on your site.