This policy explains how Online Growth collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you visit onlinegrowth.co.za, use our free tools, contact us or work with us. We handle personal information in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).
In short: we only collect what we need to respond to you and do our work, we never sell your information, analytics and marketing cookies stay off unless you allow them, and you can ask us to see, correct or delete your information at any time.
1. Who we are
Online Growth [registered name and registration number, e.g. Online Growth (Pty) Ltd, 2020/XXXXXX/07] is the responsible party for the personal information described in this policy. We are a digital marketing consultancy based in Johannesburg and Plettenberg Bay, South Africa.
Information Officer: Daniel Tompkins
Email: daniel@onlinegrowth.co.za
2. Information we collect
2.1 Information you give us
- Contact and Start a project forms: your name, email address, phone number, business name and website, the services you’re interested in, your goals and budget, and anything else you choose to tell us about your marketing.
- Free keyword ranking scan: your name and contact details, your business name, website, industry and the areas you serve, the services and keywords you choose, and competitor websites you add.
- Emails, calls, WhatsApp and meetings: whatever you share with us when we talk.
- Clients: billing details, contact details for your team, and the access and information needed to deliver our services.
2.2 Information collected automatically
- Website analytics (only if you allow analytics cookies): pages visited, how you arrived on our site, approximate location, and device and browser type, collected by Google Analytics.
- Advertising measurement (only if you allow marketing cookies): whether a visit from one of our Google ads led to an enquiry.
- Security: your IP address and basic technical information, used by our hosting provider, Google reCAPTCHA and Akismet to keep the site secure and block spam.
2.3 Information from other sources
When we prepare a ranking scan, audit or proposal, we look at publicly available information about your business, such as your website, Google Business Profile, search results and social media pages. If someone refers you to us, they may give us your name and contact details.
We don’t knowingly collect special personal information (such as health information) or information about children through our website.
3. How we use your information
| Purpose | Lawful basis under POPIA |
|---|---|
| Responding to your enquiry and preparing a proposal | Steps you’ve asked us to take before a contract, and our legitimate interest in responding |
| Preparing and sending your free ranking scan, and following up about it | Your consent, given on the scan form |
| Delivering our services, invoicing and managing our relationship | Performing our contract with you |
| Keeping accounting and tax records | Legal obligation |
| Understanding how our website is used, so we can improve it | Your consent (analytics cookies) |
| Measuring which of our ads bring in enquiries | Your consent (marketing cookies) |
| Keeping the website secure and blocking spam | Our legitimate interest in protecting the site and our visitors |
| Sending you marketing about our services | Your consent, or as an existing client (see section 4) |
4. Marketing
We only send marketing by email, SMS or WhatsApp if you’ve agreed to receive it, or if you’re an existing client and the marketing is about services similar to those you already use. Every message gives you a simple way to opt out, and you can also opt out by emailing us.
5. Who we share it with
We don’t sell or rent personal information. We share it only with service providers (operators) that help us run our business, under agreements that require them to keep it secure and use it only for our instructions:
- Website hosting provider, which stores our website and form submissions.
- Google, for Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Ads measurement, reCAPTCHA and our business email and documents.
- Automattic (Akismet), which checks form submissions for spam.
- Our accounting and professional advisers, where needed.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect our rights. If our business is sold or restructured, information may transfer to the new owner, who must continue to protect it.
6. Information sent outside South Africa
Some of our service providers, including Google and Automattic, store or process information outside South Africa, for example in the United States or the European Union. We only use providers that are bound by laws, contracts or binding rules that give your information a level of protection similar to POPIA, as section 72 of POPIA requires.
7. When we work for clients
When we manage a client’s website, ad accounts or analytics, we may handle information about that client’s own customers. In that case the client is the responsible party and we act as their operator, under our service agreement. Questions about that information should go to the business concerned.
8. Cookies
Cookies are small files stored in your browser. Necessary cookies are always on. Analytics and marketing cookies are only set if you allow them in our cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time using Cookie settings.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Kept for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Necessary | |||
| og_consent | Online Growth | Remembers your cookie choice | 12 months |
| _GRECAPTCHA | Google reCAPTCHA | Protects our forms from spam and bots (set on pages with forms) | 6 months |
| Analytics (only with your consent) | |||
| _ga, _ga_1QH38H6ZBK | Google Analytics | Tells visits apart so we can see how the site is used | 2 years |
| _gid | Google Analytics | Tells visits apart within a day | 24 hours |
| Marketing (only with your consent) | |||
| _gcl_au | Google Ads | Measures whether a visit from our Google ads led to an enquiry | 90 days |
You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking necessary cookies may stop our forms from working.
9. How long we keep it
- Enquiries and ranking scan requests that don’t lead to work: up to 24 months after our last contact.
- Client records: for the length of our relationship, then 5 years for tax and legal purposes.
- Google Analytics data: 14 months.
- Marketing lists: until you opt out.
After that, we delete or anonymise the information.
10. How we protect it
We use secure (HTTPS) connections, access controls and two-factor authentication on our accounts, keep our website and plugins up to date, and limit access to the people who need it. No system is completely secure, but if a breach affects your personal information, we will tell you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.
11. Your rights
Under POPIA you can:
- Ask what information we hold about you, and get a copy.
- Ask us to correct or delete information that is wrong, out of date or no longer needed.
- Object to us using your information, including for direct marketing.
- Withdraw your consent at any time, including your cookie choices.
- Complain to the Information Regulator if you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information.
To make a request, email daniel@onlinegrowth.co.za. We may need to confirm your identity first, and we’ll respond within 30 days. Our PAIA manual is available on request.
Information Regulator (South Africa)
Website: inforegulator.org.za
Complaints: eservices.inforegulator.org.za
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
Toll free: 0800 017 160
12. Other websites
Our website links to other sites, such as LinkedIn and Google. This policy doesn’t cover them, so please read their privacy policies.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of the page shows when it last changed. If we make a significant change, we’ll ask for your cookie consent again.
14. Contact us
Online Growth
Johannesburg and Plettenberg Bay, South Africa
Email: daniel@onlinegrowth.co.za
Website: onlinegrowth.co.za