How secure do you think your website is? If you look in your browser address bar, and the first part of the website reads, “http://”, you should speak with one of our SEO professionals before it is too late.
In August last year, Google announced that being on a secure connection would soon be an official ranking factor. At that time, HTTPS hadn’t been used by a large enough percentage of web users to show significant change. After a more recent analysis, Google confirmed positive results for the first time. It is very possible for websites that are currently unsecure, on HTTP, to gain a few percentage points in search engine visibility when making the switch over to HTTPS. As of right now, remaining on HTTP is not hurting ranking factors by much, but Google says they “may decide to strengthen it in the future.”
Google’s vague approach to the outcome on ranking factors is quite troublesome to many businesses, which is why the Comit approach is to take preventative measures before our clients get slammed with big ranking hits. When Google throws a hint like this it is better to be ahead of the curve and switch to the secure server sooner rather than later.
By switching over to HTTPS, you are not only making your website data more secure, but you will also gain some percentage points which, in turn, could boost your overall ranking. You will also receive the only copy of a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate verifying your website on the secure database.The main purpose of the switch is security: to prevent hackers from accessing personal information that you have saved on various platforms through the HTTP server.
With HTTPS, all communications are encrypted creating a much more secure server overall. This inevitably means that hackers can do their best to break into the connection, but they will not be able to decrypt any of the data that passes between you and the website without the private key provided by the SSL certificate.
SSL and Transport Layer Security (TLS) are used in HTTPS to encrypt a website’s data. These encryptions are how HTTPS secures data from hackers while it travels through multiple databases. Once your website is in the HTTPS server, you will notice a padlock at the beginning of the browser address bar. When the Extended Validation Certification is verified and installed, the address bar will turn green as indication that it has been completed and the site is secure.
We all know that Google’s ranking system is based on trust. From the hints that have been released about HTTPS and how it indicates high levels of trust, it causes us to believe that Google could place larger emphasis on this factor in the very near future. Comit has made sure that all new sites we design and host have SSL, so iIf you act now, you will have nothing to worry about. Give us a call or contact us for a free quote and consultation if you are concerned about your site’s security and your future ranking health.
