TRACKING AND TARGETING POLICY

Domain Holdings Australia Limited (ABN 43 094 154 364) and its related bodies corporate, partnerships and joint venture entities (we, us or our) collects data about your browsing activity on our network (which includes our websites and apps). We may also use non-personal information that we collect about you on our network to identify you on third party websites where we have an arrangement in place to serve ads on those third party websites. We may also collect anonymous internet usage data from third parties.

One of the reasons we collect usage data is to display targeted advertisements or content on our network and also on third party websites. For that purpose, usage data is collected and assigned to one or more pre-defined categories (for example “buyer”). If this infers a particular interest, a cookie is placed in your web browser which may determine the type of targeted advertising or content that you receive. We target advertisements and content in order to improve your user experience – so that you are served advertisements and content that we believe may be more relevant or useful to you.

To create consumer profiles, we also collate data from other sources across our network including property enquiries, Domain account membership, surveys and competitions. We will only use this data in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), our Privacy Policy and other applicable laws.

Advertisements or content may also be “targeted” to users based on:

  • the type of content displayed on a given web page;
  • the geographical location of a user (i.e. identified by an IP address);
  • specific searches undertaken by a user; or
  • the type of customer (e.g. member versus browser).

Other reasons we may collect anonymous usage data include:   

  • to limit the number of times users are served certain ads;
  • to monitor the performance of advertising campaigns;
  • to audit, research, and analyse usage in order to maintain and improve our services, and to develop new services;
  • to ensure that our ad-serving technologies function properly; and
  • to provide you with recommendations, based on your usage patterns.

We will not collect usage data or target advertisements based on the following market segments:

  • racial or ethnic origin;
  • political opinions;
  • membership of a political association;
  • religious beliefs or affiliations;
  • philosophical beliefs;
  • membership of a professional or trade association;
  • membership of a trade union;
  • sexual preferences or practices;
  • criminal record;
  • health information; or
  • genetic information that is not otherwise health information.

If we ever seek to target advertisements based on the above market segments, we will first obtain your express consent.

We will not create categories designed to target children under the age of 13 years (however, this does not prevent us from marketing children’s products to an adult audience).

In the rest of this document we explain and provide further detail on:

  • what is a cookie;
  • why we use cookies;
  • the types of cookies we use; and
  • third party cookies and what we allow third party advertisers to do.

We also explain what a device ID is and how this is used for targeted advertising.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your device (such as your computer, smartphone or other internet-enabled device) when you visit a site or page to collect data about the usage of our app or website at a later date. The cookie will help the website, or another website, to recognise your device the next time you visit the site. Most web browsers are set by default to accept cookies.

In addition to cookies, we also use web beacons and other storage technologies to collect information from our websites and apps. Like cookies, web beacons and similar storage technologies collect data about the usage of our websites and can recognise your device the next time you visit.

Why we use cookies

We use cookies to personalise your browsing experience (for example, by remembering your preferences and recognising you as a repeat visitor to our network), and to track statistics about the usage of our network. This allows us to better understand you (including valued members) and improve the layout and functionality of our websites and apps. This tracking is generally conducted in such a way as to ensure your anonymity. While the cookie may identify your computer, it should not identify you unless you are registered as a member. In that case, the cookie will be linked to your profile so that we can identify you and provide more relevant content.

The types of cookies we use

  • Strictly necessary cookies that are required for the operation of our network, such as cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our network or to comply with the law (for example, to keep your information safe). If you opt to disable these cookies, you may find that certain sections of our network do not work properly for you (for example, you may not be able to access all of the content that membership entitles you to access).
  • Performance cookies which recognise and count the number of users to our network and help us see how users move around our network. These cookies do not collect information that identifies you. We only use such information to improve our network. This information helps us to find out how well our network is working and highlights where it can be improved.
  • Functionality cookies which are used to recognise you when you return to our network and assist us to personalise your content and network experience by remembering your preferences. These cookies are also used to provide services you have asked for. Information collected by functionality cookies may or may not be anonymised, but they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
  • Targeting cookies which are used to record your visit to our network, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed.


Session and Persistent Cookies

Our network may place session and persistent cookies on your device. Whereas the difference between a first party and third party cookie relates to the party controlling the initial placement of the cookie on your device, the difference between a session and a persistent cookie relates to the length of time the cookie lasts. Session cookies are cookies that typically last for as long as you are using your browser, or browser session. When you end your browser session, the cookie expires. Persistent cookies, as the name implies, are persistent and will last after you close your browser. This allows for quicker and often more convenient access to our network.

What is a device ID?

A device ID is a string of numbers and letters that identifies an individual smartphone or tablet. It is stored on the mobile device and can be retrieved by any app that is downloaded and installed. Apps typically retrieve the ID for identification when talking to servers.

Depending on your operating system, the device ID may be used as the identity which advertisers, marketers and other services will track when looking for a particular type of device.

Most handsets allow you to view or reset your device ID and/or opt out of ad personalisation. For more information please refer to your handset manufacturer’s website.

How do we use device IDs?

We use device IDs to identify mobile users where cookies may not be available. The use case for device IDs is similar to cookies, they give us a better understanding of our users so we can improve the layout and functionality of our products and serve more personalised advertising.

Third party cookies and technologies

Third party cookies are cookies that are set by a URL other than the one being visited by you. If you visit our website and a separate company sets a cookie through that website this would be a third party cookie.

Third party advertisers purchase advertising products from us that enable them to target particular types of users of our network, for advertisements served both on our network and also on third party websites.

We also permit advertisers to embed their own cookies in advertisements and we allow other third parties to use cookies and other tracking technologies on our network. Generally, advertisers will embed cookies in advertisements to monitor the performance of their advertising campaign, but they may also collect anonymous usage data relating to browsing activity on our network. We encourage advertisers to have a privacy policy that outlines their data collection activities and usage. Please refer to such third party privacy policies for more information.

We will not provide any personal information to an advertiser or any other third party without your express consent or in accordance with our Privacy Policy or this Tracking and Targeting Policy. However, to the extent that anonymous user data does not constitute personal information, we are entitled to deal with that information in any manner we see fit.

The table below sets out in more detail examples of the types of cookies and similar technologies we use and what we use them for, including for advertising purposes, analytics, or to track or record user engagement.

 

Systems, tools and vendors that utilise or set cookies or use other identifiers Purpose
Facebook
Criteo
Google Adwords
Bing
Google Marketing Platform (DV360)
Verizon Media
Xandr Invest (formerly AppNexus)
Remarketing (also known as retargeting) is the tactic of serving targeted ads to users who have already visited or taken action on our website or app. In terms of technical execution, remarketing is the process of using a javascript tag (known as a pixel) to place a cookie or similar technology in the user’s browser. The cookie or similar technology then informs a remarketing platform to serve specific display and search ads across other websites, search engine results pages or apps through an ad exchange, based on the pages or products the user has engaged with.
Facebook
Adjust
Google Marketing Platform (Campaign Manager)
Marketing attribution is the process of identifying a set of user actions and marketing sources that contribute in some manner to a desired outcome and then assigning a value to each of these events. Cookies or a similar technology are used to remember the user action or marketing source so it can then be attributed as the source of said desired outcome.
Google Analytics
Google Optimize

Mixpanel
Nielson Digital Content Ratings
Integral Ad Science
Moat Analytics
Digital analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of web and app data for the purposes of understanding and optimising web and app usage. Cookies or a similar technology anonymously measure the number of visits and visitors to the website or app and understand the user’s website or app experience and segment those that are either new to the website or app from those that are returning.
Adobe Audience Manager
Salesforce Audience Studio
Data Management Platforms (or DMP) is a tool used to consolidate or disperse data across first, second and third-party channels. It uses cookies or a similar technology to manage the segmentation and identity definition of a user to then provide cohesive audience targeting across all of the various channels where we might be engaging with a consumer.
Google Mobile Ads
Google Ad Manager & Ad Exchange
Magnite (formerly Rubicon Project & Telaria)
Xandr (formerly AppNexus)
Triplelift
Adyoulike
Pubmatic
Index Exchange
OpenX
Adslot
Onsite advertising is the display of messages from selected partners via an ad serving platform utilising cookies or a similar technology to provide both general and personalised advertisements based on a user’s behaviours across the web.
LiveRamp
Nine Audience Data Collector (ADC)
Identity partners
LiveRamp provides an Authenticated Traffic Solution (ATS) for people-based advertising. ATS enhances addressability for publishers while providing visibility and control for individuals. ATS allows publishers to match user data with a LiveRamp IdentityLink in real-time, enabling people-based advertising on authenticated, cookieless inventory across the internet. Click here to learn more about LiveRamp. If you’d like to opt-out, please click here.
Nine’s Audience Data Collector (ADC) assigns a Nine user ID to Nine registered users. ADC links multiple partner IDs together including Adobe, Microsoft & 9Now. This solution enables Domain to serve more relevant advertising as users move between devices.


We adhere to the Australian Best Practice Guideline for Third Party Online Behavioural Advertising (Guidelines). A copy of the Guidelines can be accessed here. The Guidelines only apply to “Third Party OBA”, which occurs when browsing behavior off our network is used to deliver behavioural advertisements on our network. The Guidelines set out self-regulatory principles designed to promote transparency, consumer awareness and consumer choice in relation to the type of advertising consumers receive and to encourage good practice and accountability in businesses that deploy Third Party OBA.

The Australian Digital Advertising Alliance (ADAA) has also developed an information website (Website) to educate consumers about Third Party OBA. The Website answers frequently asked questions, explains how the technology works, and allows users to manage their online advertising preferences.

We adhere to industry “best practice” for the storage of anonymous usage data. Security firewall, data encryption, and authorisation access are used to safeguard data held by us.

We only store usage data for a reasonable period following the date of collection, or longer as required by law. You have the right to opt-out of Third Party OBA on our network.

Opting-out means that the display advertising you see on our network may not be tailored to your interests or preferences on the web browser you are using. Anonymous usage data may, however, continue to be collected by us for other purposes (including those outlined above).

You can also manage cookies in your web browser privacy settings. For more information regarding how we treat personal information and, in some cases, non-personal information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

For more information about this Tracking and Targeting Policy, or our tracking and targeting practices, or if you would like to make a complaint to us in connection with this Tracking and Targeting Policy, please send an email to privacy@domain.com.au.

GDPR and CCPA

We do not collect usage data or target advertisements or content to any individual whose data is subject to the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), other than collecting IP addresses for application monitoring and security purposes.

We may change this Tracking and Targeting Policy from time to time. Any updated versions of this Tracking and Targeting Policy will be posted on our website. This Tracking and Targeting Policy was last updated in June 2021.