What Is the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate and Why is it Important for SEO?

The Internet is a wide, complex and unknown world, even for those who claim to know it. Despite all of this, its appeal and importance are still acknowledged by many people, to the point that a great number of businesses have decided to partially or fully move their operations toward common websites or Ecommerce websites because of the high percentage of users surfing the Net has made it essential for companies to have an online presence.

The decision to create a website for your company comes with the assessment of many aspects of technical, programming, stylistic, and marketing-related needs. Above all, is the challenge of bringing the customers to you and making your company stand out among over 1 billion websites that are currently active. However, we have stated that the Net is a wide world, integrating billions of websites (a number that is constantly growing), so when users or potential customers are looking for a store, a restaurant, or a location, things go beyond design, content or functionality: one of people's biggest concerns is for the website to be safe. That alone inspires enough trust to simplify the user's experience. It ensures customers their privacy is not at risk, especially when dealing with an Ecommerce website.

Website Safety: Before and After

Before getting to know the SSL Certificate and its importance for SEO, it is pertinent to learn some of the Internet's history. Years ago, around 1989, when the Internet was just starting to come onto the public's radar and people were beginning to create their domains with informative and commercial purposes, the topic of safety probably wasn't a reason for concern, not only because the number of websites was limited, but also because during those times integrating a safety system into a website entailed a considerable increase on the load time of a page; this happened because load times were already slow because the Internet wasn't as developed as it is nowadays. Adding more weight by attempting to encrypt information worsened this problem.

Thanks to the imminent evolution that the Internet has accomplished throughout the years, with the creation of broadband and by perfecting everything relating to it, this medium has experienced a considerable improvement. However, one of the disadvantages brought by the popularization of the Net came with the inability to control the random creation of billions of websites, which can be counterproductive and is the reason why web safety has turned into such a necessity.

Even if by 1999 having security in a website wasn't something companies or people worried about, it was the year when a version of a cryptographic protocol was defined by Netspace, along with other engineers. Presently, years after the creation and refinement of SSL, the time has come to start thinking about how an SSL Certificate might help your business' website.

What is the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate?

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is known as a safety technology keeping information encrypted and protected within websites. This security measure serves to maintain the integrity of private data within the Net via digital certificates that authenticate and verify the site, making said authentication visible for all users visiting a website.

There are many types of SSL Certificates to choose from. They are commonly available in different visual presentations for the user to verify a website is safe. Regardless, all versions carry the function of encrypting the information on the site.

For example, Google Chrome shows different icons on its URL that help you identify whether you are in a safe website:

1. The terrestrial globe, which indicates a site doesn't engage in data retrieval despite a site not having SSL.
2. An icon with a green lock indicates that the website is fully safe because it has the corresponding SSL; in contrast, the gray and yellow lock lets you know that, even with an integrated SSL, precautions must be taken.
3. How do I know if a website is unsafe? When a red lock appears next to the URL, the website is not safe.

However, you can also identify a safe website when the URL starts with https- instead of http-.

Among the biggest benefits brought by integrating the SSL Certificate to your company:

• More safety against hackers or people wanting to steal private information from the site or its users.
• Users' trust in your products and services grows within their search interests.
• The traffic in your website increases by generating enough trust for users to browse through it.
• With more trust and traffic, come more possibilities of sales and revenues.
• Preventing your website from being affected by a malware that might damage all the work you've completed.
• It greatly helps your Digital Marketing and SEO.

SSL Certificate and Its Importance for SEO

You might wonder how a safety certificate can help your website position itself within search engines like Google.
Beyond generating more traffic as a result of the authenticity provided to users, this also relates to Google's algorithm and its preferences. In 2014, Google announced that sites with https as their classification signal would start being checked, which means that by having a safe website, you'll be able to improve the search engine optimization (better rankings within search engines that translate into more popularity and sales). In the same vein, as of July 24 2018, Google Chrome's browser will mark all websites without https as "unsafe," which may affect the user's experience and reduce conversions if your website doesn't have the due certification.

It is important to understand that having an SSL Certificate in your website will not automatically upgrade its ranking in Google, Bing, or any other search engine; it will only tell Google and a billion of Internet users that your site is safe. However, once a potential customer enters the site and knows that your business (content, products, services) is authentic, the user's experience will improve and others will be invited to generate more traffic. As we've stated, this could be very lucrative for your business.

How Can I Ensure My Website is Safe?

While the idea of getting an SSL Certificate might sound very easy to accomplish, it really isn't. In order to implement it in your website, you must find someone who is familiar with this technology. As with most unsafe websites, there's a number of factors that must be taken into account to make the site "authentic". Buying an SSL Certificate, installing it, making sure that all the links on the website are modified to https and not http, and most importantly, certifying that your website sets up a 301 redirect from the http version of the site's pages to the new https version are all part of the process.

On top of this process, you must get access to tools like Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools to notify the shift from http to https, as well as getting technical information from your hosting company to ensure that the website will sustain the great change that is entailed with the integration of an SSL Certificate.

It sounds like a complicate ordeal, doesn't it? Specially because all 301 redirects must be implemented correctly, otherwise you might lose the top positions within search engines in the process of turning your website to https. This is why it's so important to find the appropriate group of people to help you through this transition.

WebFindYou Handles All the Process for You!

WebFindYou is the first All-In-One Digital Marketing Technology that exists in the market, integrating over 20 digital tools -combined into one single Technology-. The purpose is to offer everything you need to simplify the steps to create and implement an effective and fully-rounded digital marketing strategy. This allows for digital marketing to be managed with less hassle, reduced costs, and increased results and revenues.

Knowing that by July 24 your site should be provided with SSL, WebFindYou simplifies the whole process to acquire the Certificate, so you won't have to worry nor spend extra money on your path from http to https; WebFindYou automatically manages all 301 redirects for your website, so we guarantee a simple and stress-free migration for your website to fulfill the SSL Certificate and for you to secure your search engine optimization and sales in the process.

Likewise, if you're already working with our technology, don't worry! We will be contacting you to help you through this transition and to keep you informed about this modification in Google's formula.

If you own a website and still don't use WebFindYou, the time has come to move your website to our technology in order to make all the changes regarding this and each new update required by Google and by Digital Marketing as a whole, with less hassle, reduced costs, and increased revenues for your business.

Contact us Today to Get More Information!

As you can see, WebFindYou will save you many headaches on changes in Google's algorithm. To get more information, fill our contact form or call us at 866-SEO-WEBS. We will be happy to assist you!

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