In the digital age, the importance of enhancing a website’s SEO (search engine optimization) is critical to surpass the competition. Last August, Google announced one of the factors in their complex search algorithms that give websites a ranking boost in their search engine. Having an SSL (secure sockets layer)-enabled website is the key.
With their announcement, Google hopes to add more security and privacy to the internet, especially when it comes to confidential information like credit cards and social security numbers. Their goal is to aid in protecting online data and to allow internet users to browse the internet more safely.
Having an SSL-Certificate helps provide more security to a website through encryptions. Sensitive information can be transmitted through the encrypted link from the SSL-Certificate because two keys (a public and private one) work together to create that safe connection. The encryptions prevent sensitive information from attackers trying to intercept the data.
When the certificate is installed, it creates a reliable session between the web server and the browser, and the information passed between the web server and site’s visitor will remain secured and private.
The process of obtaining a certificate also helps protect the validity of it. To create the private and public keys on your server, you have to create a Certificate Signing Request (CSR). It involves verification from an issuer (called a Certificate Authority or CA), and this trusted third party authenticates the organization’s identity.
This detailed process helps protect information from phishing attacks because it verifies the website is reliable and trustworthy. Phishing sites pretend to be a genuine site to steal information, but if they try to purchase an SSL-Certificate, they will be unable to do so because of the validation process.
Visitors can recognize the secure symbols of websites with an SSL-Certificate. The websites begin with https rather than HTTP and are accompanied by either a lock icon or green address bar depending on the browser. Those symbols help visitors feel safe browsing the website and entering their confidential information.
Along with security and privacy, obtaining an SSL-Certificate provides more referrer data. The referral information is preserved with traffic passes to an HTTPS website, providing more accurate information about where the traffic comes from.
Every day, more websites are obtaining their SSL-Certificate thanks to Google’s push towards safety and security. Any website focusing on optimization should consider adding theirs to the list, if not for the protection of private information, then because of the added boost Google will provide them with their search engine.
