What is SSL Certificate?
Protection of user privacy and data has always been of paramount importance to both the businesses as well as their customers. With so many data breaches happening recently, customers will be unwilling to share their vital information online with your business unless they know you are a trustworthy source and that their information both personal and banking will remain safe with you. While there are several ways to build trust in the online community, the quickest is to ensure that your website has an SSL certificate.
What is SSL Certificate?
First off, SSL stands for “Secure Sockets Layer”. SSL certificate is an added layer of security to your website. It allows for a secure connection from the web to the browser by digitally binding a cryptographic key to an organization’s details. A quick way to determine if a website has an authorized SSL certificate is to look in the address tab of the web browser. If you see a small green padlock followed by the word “SECURE” then the website has a valid SSL certificate. Another good way to determine this to look for the HTTPS in the address bar of the website. The “S” at the end stands for “secure”.
How does SSL Impact SEO?
Much like many updates that Google has pushed in recent times, having a secure website is a positive ranking factor. Let’s look at the impact of SSL on SEO.
- If your website is not secure, if a customer clicks on the link then he will be first taken to a page which provides the user with an additional warning stating unequivocally that the data the user will be sharing on the website will not be safe and could be stolen. In such a scenario, most users will not proceed any further into the website. This can negatively affect your website’s dwell time and bounce rate which are Google ranking factors.
- Google will automatically lower the rankings of the website in its searches making it harder for customers to find your website.
- Having an SSL certificate will help boost user confidence in your website enabling them to spend more time on your website and even make purchases online if you sell any product or service.
- SSL certificates can be very affordable from the right vendor so it is a cost-effective way to get a slight bump in rankings (as your non-SSL compliant competitors will be pushed lower in the SERPS).
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SSL Used as a Ranking Signal
Google has confirmed that it uses HTTPS as a ranking signal. Security is and always will be a concern for Google and the sooner you get on board with their plans the better for your website and business.
The breaking news is that according to Search Engine Land in July 2018, Google’s Chrome browser will officially mark non-HTTPS websites as “NOT-SECURE”. About 60% of all web browsing traffic comes from Google Chrome so think about how much traffic you could be losing when July 2018 comes through.
If you still need a visual explanation on what is SSL and how does it work, then we’ve got a short video to show you.
Our suggestion would be to switch over to the HTTPS version as quickly as possible whether if your website ranks in Google or if it doesn’t. The most important reasons would be to keep your customer’s sensitive information protected as well as conversion. Here at Innovation Mind we can help you fix this problem.
