As businesses shift to the internet and online transactions take the place of many other traditional payment methods, different attacks are made to steal confidential information. According to research around 68% of the people using the internet believe that the existing laws are not enough to protect their rights. So, Google has taken strict actions to protect the privacy and security of its consumers by implementing an advanced secure connection (HTTPS) for users. HTTPS was announced as a ranking factor the SEO importance of SSL certificates increased. In this piece of content, you will learn about the SSL certificate, the importance of an SSL certificate in SEO, and the advantages of installing an SSL certificate.
Table of Contents
What is an SSL Certificate?
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or digital certificate is a file containing the cryptographic key of the organization’s details and activates a padlock. It uses a special process that scrambles the data into an undecipherable format that is only read with the exact decryption key and used to set secure connections from any internet browser to a web server. Don’t forget to understand, how you can prevent data breaches.
In other words, an SSL certificate is an electronic password that is used to establish an online entity’s credentials when they are doing business on the internet. It contains the certificate holder’s name, serial number, and expiry date, the digital signature of a certificate-issuing authority, and a copy of the certificate holder’s public key.
An SSL certificate is present between the web server (application layer) and channel (transport layer). Whenever a website is handling sensitive and confidential data like credit card details, forms, registers, and passwords. If someone wants to break the channel information (transport layer). In case, any hacker has breached the transport layer but cannot access the information because of the strong encryption of the data. Moreover, you can understand the SEO importance of SSL certificates by remaining private, secure, and shielded from phishing attacks. The main HTTPS usage is to prevent man-in-the-center attacks and wiretapping.
How to set up an SSL Certificate?
Is SSL important for SEO? Will my credit card information be safe? Can someone steal my personal information? Can anyone track my transactions? The SSL certificate is the answer to all these questions. Following are the simple steps to set up an SSL on your website:
- Get an SSL certificate
- Activate the certificate using CSR
- Now, install your certificate
- Configure on your web server
- Update your website to use HTTPS
How Important is SSL for SEO?
SSL Encrypts Sensitive Information
It is the main purpose of an SSL certificate to secure all the communications between web servers and browsers. Once the certificate is installed on any website, the data between the server and users will be exchanged in an encrypted way. So, it is mandatory to protect any confidential or sensitive information from hackers that are actively trying to steal this information. You can also say that the data is locked and no one can open it except the server and browser.
SSL Helps to Satisfy PCI/DSS Requirements
It is necessary for all websites accepting online credit card payments to meet the PCI/DSS requirements including PCI compliant hosting and SSL certificate otherwise you will be banned for accepting online payments or paying monthly fines.
Compulsory From 2018
Google has decided to flag websites without having an SSL certificate by the end of 2017, so anyone who fails to comply will be punished by all popular web browsers used worldwide like Google Chrome and Firefox with a warning message of “Not Secure” in the URL bar. Moreover, it is also possible to block the websites having no SSL certificate to load on the browser shortly. So, the SEO importance of SSL certificates can never be ignored.
SSL Provides Trust
The importance of an SSL certificate for a website is not only by encryption and authentication but it is also vital for customer trust. Every user can identify whether the data he is going to send is secure or not. If you know the SSL importance and installed a certificate then your website visitors will understand that you are a legitimate entity and they would love to do business with you. HTTPS also protects against phishing attacks and protects you from criminals because they won’t perfectly impersonate your website. If your connection is secure then users will see the lock icon with the message “Connection is secure” as you can see in the picture given below:
Enhance Search Engine Rankings
In 2014, Google has changed the algorithm to favor HTTPS-enabled websites. The study conducted by Brian Dean also indicates the strong correlation between HTTPS (SSL-enabled website) and higher search engine rankings. Online business on the first page of Google means greater business and profits, so it is mandatory to improve your website’s SEO and install a new SSL certificate.
SSL Provides Authentication
How important is SSL for SEO? According to the nature of the internet, your customers are sending data from several computers located in different locations that might pretend to be your website and ask your users to send their personal information to them. The SSL certificate is only issued to a verified company after a verification process. So, it is only possible by installing an SSL certificate from a well-reputed and trusted SSL provider.
SEO importance of SSL certificates can never be ignored because it is mandatory to make internet transactions secure with the help of the encryption process. These certificates are digital passports that provide authentication to protect both the confidentiality and integrity of the website communication with internet browsers. Mainly, there are four types of authentication,
- Basic multifactor authentication (Passwords, PINs)
- OAuth
- Form-based authentication
- SSL authentication in RESTful Web services
The SSL authentication makes it much harder for unauthorized entities to get access to sensitive information.
Improve the Speed of Websites
SSL will always have an edge over websites without SSL encryption because it is also a factor in SEO ranking. It is understood, that websites having HTTPS have higher ranks in the search engines. When your visitors see a secure connection with your website then definitely you will get more customers and get higher ranks in the Google search engine because they understand the communication with your web server is more secure. Moreover, along with security, the speed of the HTTPS-enabled website is higher than simple HTTP as you can test using this website.
Final Words
Basic web security measures play a vital role in the success and reputation of any website or online business. It is a fact, that you can never ignore the SEO importance of SSL certificates because these are necessary for any well-reputed business brand. It is also important to realize the comprehensive guide to HTTPS and SSL certificates before making any final decision.
Angila Wilson
Your blogs are amazing and I am glad to read them. I must admit it was helpful and looking forward to more info similar to this.
Sweety Kumari
Hey,
I know about ssl, it is a security technology which enable encrypted communication between a web server and a web browser.It is very important because it is used to secure data transfer and logins , credit cards transactions etc.
It also improve the speed of website and provide ssl authentication.You have shared all the important facts about ssl which is very important to other readers and i also gain some new things about ssl.
thank you,
-sweety