In an era when data breaches are rampant, privacy is a top concern of the general public, and hackers are constantly searching for new ways to access our personal information, it’s not surprising that security has become a major factor in website design. That’s why every business should ensure that their site is secure by using an SSL certificate and switching from HTTP to HTTPS.
Back in 2014, Google announced that site security has officially become a ranking signal in their search engine algorithms. It’s not a huge factor, but it can make the difference if you tie with a competitor on every other factor and they have HTTPS, while you have HTTP. In addition, having a site that is secure helps establish trust with visitors and is an important part of optimizing for user experience.
It’s also a requirement for using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), which is a great tool for SEO because it helps sites load faster on mobile devices. AMP requires HTTPS in order to work, so it’s yet another reason to consider making the switch.
Getting an SSL certificate for your website is a straightforward process, and we offer competitive prices on certificates from trusted third-party certificate authorities (CA) like DigiCert and Sectigo. Once you have a certificate in place, your domain will automatically be converted to HTTPS and the green padlock icon will appear in your web browser. This is a sign of trust and shows visitors that your website is secure and you value their privacy.
Aside from the benefits mentioned above, HTTPS has a direct impact on SEO in that it increases your search engine rankings. That’s because Google deems websites with HTTPS as more trustworthy and gives them a slight ranking advantage. Google wants to encourage the use of HTTPS in order to increase security on the internet and protect users from harmful attacks.
In 2018, Google started flagging sites without HTTPS as “not secure” in Chrome and other browsers. That’s enough to deter many visitors from interacting with your site, let alone entering their personal information or purchasing your products.
Even if your site isn’t ranking on page one of Google, it’s still essential to have a strong SEO strategy that includes on-page SEO, acquiring backlinks, and creating SEO content. But if you’re not ranking on page one, it’s likely that you haven’t been putting as much effort into your SEO as you could be. By adding HTTPS to your site, you can increase your chances of getting on that first page and driving more traffic, sales, and conversions. So don’t delay – start optimizing your site for SEO success and make the switch to HTTPS today!
