In the game of “secure website” versus “insecure website” the website without an SSL will lose beginning July 1, 2018. This is the date, for any web design or hosting company “in the know” has long seen coming. In recent times we have continued to see the push for secure websites by Google with secure sites getting slight boosts in rankings just for ensuring it’s security.

Affecting Over 95% of ALL Searches

The change Google is making is not a governing rule, it’s a preference for Google. They will make the change only when you use the Google Chrome browser. So how many searches will this actually impact? Recent research shows that the Google Chrome browser, across all devices, accounts for roughly 95% of all search volume. That’s a large amount of searches your site will stop showing up in.

Aren’t Most Sites Already Secure?

No. About 2/3 of all websites don’t have current HTTPS or SSL certificates. This is because prior to this requirement, only sites that collected payment details needed them, and even then only the third-party processors, like Authorize or PayPal, required them to process directly through your website. And they only did this to ensure security during checkout.

More recently, sites that collect personal information have been pushed to add them or associated ad campaigns through this major publisher would be denied. However, even these requirements were only enforced when sensitive information was being collected. And when those pages were the landing pages of budgeted campaigns. Still yet between this requirement and other website security requirements set by third-party providers, many websites remain insecure.

What Happens Now?

Sites flagged as insecure will display a warning in the address bar of the user’s browser and Chrome 68 is anticipated to have a warning flag built into it. This will be released at the same time as the change is enforced by Google. Indeed the time for site owners who have lagged on adapting their site to HTTPS encryption, the time to adapt is now.

Opportunity is Knocking

In the battle to be number one in search few are the opportunities to take a commanding position over your competitors. A change, especially one on so grand a scale as this, is a major opportunity to catapult your website to the top of search engine ranks. Ensuring the security of your website not only benefits you, and your site users, but now can have a dramatic result in website traffic. Talk to a professional, like those at Hunter Marketing Group, today to discuss options for your business.

How to Encrypt Your Site

There are a few dependencies, such as size of website, that factor into the challenges faced during migration into a secure site. These factors in mind, the migration from HTTP to HTTPS, while straightforward for any website hosting provider, may be quite an undertaking when you consider the need for validation and rules for dealing with mixed content.

Most website hosting providers can get you an SSL for less than your typical domain hosting company can sell you one, and they are generally knowledgeable enough to complete the migration for you, but with so many sites wanting to get this done facing the impending deadline, you may want to contact them immediately to get in their queue.

Need Help? Hunter Marketing Group Offers Premium Hosting Solutions that Include SSL Certificates.

Hire a Hunter for Your Marketing Today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an SSL Certificate?

SSL is an acronym for Site Security License. In a nutshell, once configured to your website it transforms the URL string from HTTP to HTTPS on your website. Once the SSL Certificate is installed on a web server it activates a secure connection between the browser the surfer is viewing the content on and the web server that the content is initially derived.

What Do SSL Certificates Do?

SSL certificates help the web reduce entry points of hackers and cybercriminals, often performed through security loopholes in web browsers.

If the connection between the surfer’s web browser and web server are not secure through an SSL connection, a moderately skilled hacker could seize information, such as credit card numbers, as it is being typed into a form on an unsecured website.

Why are SSL Requirements Important?

There are multitude of reasons why site security is important, for every website, but we can point to the three most important reasons. 1) it provides authentication, 2) it establishes trust and builds brand power, and 3) it provides encryption of sensitive information.