Is https set to become standard for your website domain? Internet security has been in the news a lot recently. Claims in the USA about cyber attacks aimed at swaying the outcome of the American election results should serve to make everybody who uses the web sit up and take notice.
Recently Google announced that it is now using HTTPS as a ranking factor and has called for it to be used right across the web, emphasising that making sure your website site is secure is important and that it going to become more so in the future. So what are the SEO implications of all this for ordinary business websites?
HTTP or HTTPS, What’s the difference?
HTTP is the protocol used in the transfer of data between your web browser and a website. It is the secure version of the same protocol, the ‘S’ stands for secure and it means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted.
HTTPS is used on e commerce sites to tender protected transactions and you may have noticed that your bank will use it to secure your personal information — easily recognized by the padlock on your browser.
SEO & HTTPS
These days it may well worth considering using HTTPS for your website, particularly if you are planning a new site and it is WordPress. Doing so will mean a more secure site for your users and will potentially give your website the HTTPS SEO advantage over similar sites that do not use the secure protocol, certainly where Google is concerned. Using it will also future proof your site as we move towards making the web more secure. It is also significant that in 2016 over 45% of pages in the top 20 results were encrypted using HTTPS, up from 12% last year.in 2016.
If you are interested in adding HTTPS security to your site and want to know how to get an SSL certificate installed for your website domain please get in touch with us at Red Leaf Web Design Chichester, we can purchase the certificate, install it and make the necessary changes so that your business can make the most of the HTTPS SEO advantage.
