SSL Certificates Now Boost Your Google Ranking
Google announced on August 6th that HTTPS encryption – available exclusively from SSL certificates – will now be a positive factor for search ranking position and SEO.
Mastering SEO and getting the best ranking for your site is important. Google is the world’s most popular search engine by far and a majority of traffic for many sites, including personal websites, and especially for e-commerce sites, is driven by Google.
So, let’s make it simple: Having SSL for your site is a good thing. Not only does SSL provide encryption via HTTPS, which protects your visitors’ privacy and data; It also provides data integrity, so you and your customers know that their data or your website has not been tampered with. High assurance certificates (OV and EV certificates) also provide identity assurance so customers know you are who you say you are.
Now, as another benefit of SSL, you get a boost in your search ranking with Google. Currently, this is just a “very lightweight signal” because Google does not want to move too quickly and punish webmasters who are not yet ready to switch to HTTPS. Google has been an advocate for internet security for a long time, and all indications show that SSL will most likely become a more highly-weighted signal in the future, after websites adjust to the new change in Google’s algorithm.
This change is a result of tests that Google has been running on their search algorithms. Google’s Webmaster Trends analysts Zineb Ait Bahajiji and Gary Illyses, mention that, based on the positive results of Google’s test, where they tweaked their search ranking algorithms to incorporate whether sites use secure encrypted connections, the team decided to use HTTPS/SSL as a ranking signal in its search results.
It’s important to know that the SEO boost only applies to pages protected by SSL. So, if your website only has its login or checkout page secure, you will not be maximizing the benefit of your SSL certificate or Google’s ranking update. Enabling HTTPS encryption across your entire site is called “Always-On SSL” or “HTTPS Everywhere”.
As part of this change, Google has also published some tips on how webmasters can make the switch to HTTPS easy and maximize on their SEO gain. We have published an in-depth look at this tips and how to use Google’s Webmasters Tools to bulletproof your SSL implementation.
If you have any queries or concerns related to SSL Certificates, please click here to have them handled by industry-leading experts at The SSL Store™.
5 Ways to Determine if a Website is Fake, Fraudulent, or a Scam – 2018
in Hashing Out Cyber SecurityHow to Fix ‘ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR’ on Google Chrome
in Everything EncryptionRe-Hashed: How to Fix SSL Connection Errors on Android Phones
in Everything EncryptionCloud Security: 5 Serious Emerging Cloud Computing Threats to Avoid
in ssl certificatesThis is what happens when your SSL certificate expires
in Everything EncryptionRe-Hashed: Troubleshoot Firefox’s “Performing TLS Handshake” Message
in Hashing Out Cyber SecurityReport it Right: AMCA got hacked – Not Quest and LabCorp
in Hashing Out Cyber SecurityRe-Hashed: How to clear HSTS settings in Chrome and Firefox
in Everything EncryptionRe-Hashed: The Difference Between SHA-1, SHA-2 and SHA-256 Hash Algorithms
in Everything EncryptionThe Difference Between Root Certificates and Intermediate Certificates
in Everything EncryptionThe difference between Encryption, Hashing and Salting
in Everything EncryptionRe-Hashed: How To Disable Firefox Insecure Password Warnings
in Hashing Out Cyber SecurityCipher Suites: Ciphers, Algorithms and Negotiating Security Settings
in Everything EncryptionThe Ultimate Hacker Movies List for December 2020
in Hashing Out Cyber Security Monthly DigestAnatomy of a Scam: Work from home for Amazon
in Hashing Out Cyber SecurityThe Top 9 Cyber Security Threats That Will Ruin Your Day
in Hashing Out Cyber SecurityHow strong is 256-bit Encryption?
in Everything EncryptionRe-Hashed: How to Trust Manually Installed Root Certificates in iOS 10.3
in Everything EncryptionHow to View SSL Certificate Details in Chrome 56
in Industry LowdownPayPal Phishing Certificates Far More Prevalent Than Previously Thought
in Industry Lowdown